6 things about your water well to know before purchasing a new home

6 Things you should know about your water well before purchasing your home....  

1. Location ,Location, Location ... knowing the location of your well is just as important as choosing the right neighborhood. Sometimes if your lucky and you don't know your well location it can be found with a metal detector, sometimes its location is on file with the town. However if its not..  excavation is the only way to determine the well location and it usually entails following the water and electrical lines from the house to the well, not something a new home owner wants to deal with especially if they have no water to begin with.

2. Access to the well head.Is their a small forest , fence or pool in the way of getting to the well. Serviceability is key when determining how costly a repair is going to be. Putting rock walls around the well head is a very bad idea as well as it makes it difficult for a pump technician to get the pump puller on the well head, and when purchasing your home consider weather its a good idea to by a home where the well and primary water supply is in the basement , has an addition built over it or deck. Yes we have seen this all to frequently.

3. Know your wells Production....your new home is only as good as its water supply. If their is an inadequate water supply that rain shower isn't going to do you any good in fact you may not even be able to shampoo at all. Having a comprehensive flow analysis is instrumental when purchasing a home. The flow should also be taken into consideration when planning expansions or irrigation. Remediation of a inadequate supply costs $$$$.

4. Know how deep your well is, where the pump is set and how old the pump is. Why you may ask deep wells with pumps that are set deep are more expensive and cost more to service if the pump is older than 7 years this factor should be taken into accordance when purchasing the home as replacement will be just around the corner and usually when its least convenient.

5. Know your water Quality. No only is it just plain common sense to know what your ingesting if their is an issue remediation is never in cheap. Filters can range from $100 to upwards of $10,000 dollars depending on the contaminants do you want to take that risk. Spending the couple hundred dollars extra on a comprehensive test that includes radon and VOC's could save you in the long run.

6. Speaking of Filtration....if their is filtration know how it works how to service it and how often to replace filters. Call a well or filter specialist to find out how expensive the replacement filters are or how costly it is to have the system serviced or re-bedded as this should be factored into the homes maintenance expense.

 

This artical written by: Ashley Connolly of Northeast Water Wells Inc