Well Water

[Joe Jones]

I'm thinking about getting a well drilled after another big increase on my water bill. I live in a suburb of Boston.

What can I expect to get back in resale value (if any) when I sell the house?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Probably nothing.

First step is to get a permit for drilling. Some towns will not let you drill a well since you have town water. They want your money.

Assuming you do get a permit, then you have the quality of the water. If it is very good, that is a plus. If it is not good at all and requires a lot of filtering or processing, that will detract. The well will have to be tested for potability and approved by the town. Cost of a well can be from $2000 to over $20,0000. Often you don't know until the drill starts and either finds good water fast, or has to go for a very long time.

[nicksanspam]

A rational buyer would pay an amount equal to the annual water bill over the well's lifetime, minus electrical and maintenance expenses, adjusted for the time value of money. A well might last a long time, with a new pump every 20 years or so.

With a $300 annual water bill and a 5% interest rate, a 20 year well might add $300/1+$300/1.05+$300/1.05^2+...$300/1.05^20 = $300(1-1.05^-21)/(1-1.05^-1) = $4039 to the price of a house, ignoring electricity and maintenance, or more, if the water bill increases over time or the water tastes better.

Nick

[Dr. Hardcrab]

You may LOSE money.

To have a comnpany come out a dig the pump back up would be a pain in the ass. Plus, I don't know why anyone would want to buy a used well anyway....

[Duane Bozarth]

Do you that? Many municipalities will prevent you from hooking into potable water (reasonably) but won't prevent non-potable use. Whether there is sufficient water table where OP is and how deep is a question, of course, as well as what his particular municipality would allow, of course. Whether he'll get anything additional back on a subsequent sale is very doubtful, imo. And, what his payback period might be counting initial cost and maintenance is quite possibly a lot longer than he thinks, as well...

[Jmagerl]

Can you even dig a well? If you have city water, they won't give you a permit for well digging.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Another factor on the payback is sewer charges. They are often a percentage of the water charges and if you put in a well, they will still be getting your discharge. Now you can either pay a minimum or put in a meter for the waste water. That bill may be $400 a year now, but will be reduced to maybe $100 or $200. Depends on your area.

[Ulysses]

What kind of well are you talking about? Mine is a 4 1/2 inch diameter pipe and the pump is attached to 1 1/4" PVC. You don't "dig it back up" you pull it up with the pipe. As as far as a "used well" goes, what do you mean by that? How can a hole in the ground that goes into an aquafir wear out or somehow become less desirable because it has been used?

[Ulysses]

If you live in a semi-rural area they *might* give you a permit. What I would do is call up some local well drillers and ask them if they think you can even have one drilled. If so, find out how far down the water table is and how much a foot to drill, and how much for the pump and pressure tank etc. Then, after talking to locals and finding out which one actually knows what he/she is doing, find out who the best water witcher is and have him/her come out and see if they find a good spot to drill on your land. It'll be worth the $100-$200 or whatever to see what the water witcher says.

[TURTLE]

This is turtle.

Your plan may sound good but saving or getting a better price for your house later maybe not gotten.

1] If your in a city water district. you pay for Sewer use / same as water bill cost , Garbage pick up, and lastly your water bill per gallion. now if you drilled a well you would only save the water useage and still have to pay for sewer charge and garbage pick up. 2/3 of your water bill is these two things and your water you use is only 1/3 the cost of your water Bill.

2] If you live in a city and have water , sewer, and garbage pick up. Your going to have hell getting to not pay the water bill one way or the other. Now everything is worth a try one time or the other.

TURTLE

[no_child_left_unleashed]

PER GALLON means they're metering it. Having a well means your water doesn't go through their meter. Unless they were clever enough to put a meter on the sewage line.

your "water district" bills for solid waste? What jurisdiction are you in, Turtle?

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle

Let me be simple here.

If you go on your own water system the city is not going to like it not knowing how much water your using to judge how much sewer useage your using. Most base their sewer useage on the amount of water you use. Sewer useage is just based on how much water you use.

Your Solid waste will not make any difference for you can be charge and no rater per gallon to measure it.

I'm In Oakdale, Louisiana 71463 water District.

TURTLE

[TURTLE]

This is turtle.

you explained that better than I.

TURTLE

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Sewer is usually calculated as a portion of the water bill. Some allowance is made for water used in washing cars, watering, etc.

As an example, where I work we use a lot of water that is not returned to the sewer system. It is used in steam and cooling that goes out as vapor. We asked about the sewer charges and the town water department would be happy to bill them seperately as long as we installed a sewer meter.

One reason towns don't usually permit wells with city water available is the lost revenue. As long as you are connected, they want the $$$. If the do permit a well, you can be sure they will bill sewer one way or another. That will be resolved before a well permit is issued.