[MikeM]

We have a well on our property which seems to hold somewhat in excess of 2000 litres and I was wondering if there is a way to use that as our main source of water. The thing is, it's on a part of our property that stretches along the road (not un common round here) and our neighbours own a building between us and the well. That is not insurmountable, but I'd probably have to get someone in to hook it up to the house and I'm not sure what to look for in the yellow pages, i.e. what kind of person would do this. Is it something just a plumber would do or is it more specialised?

[mab]

probably not the best person to answer this as I'm on mains water.

I think most folks I know with their own water DIY rather than use a plumber, but you could certainly ask a plumber.

questions are:

have you worked out a route for the pipe around your neighbours building?

how deep is the well (or rather how far does the pump have to suck it up/ push the water)?

Are you going to drink the water? if so I believe you need to get it tested, and may need purification / filtration equipment.

if you do a search on well pumps you will probably find suppliers with help-lines who can advise on what you need - though of course they'll probably try and sell you an all singing & dancing setup.

[MikeM]

I have worked out a route, it's not the best ever route, but it should suffice.
I think the well is about 7 foot deep and probably another 3 feet below the level of the house.
yup, drink the water, I've already presumed we'll need some sort of purification.
I'll do a search on well pumps and see where that leads me.
 
Thanks for the advice, didn't even think of looking for well pumps, that'll be a good start.

[shygirl]

please be careful, my friends dad died after falling in head first.

[MikeM]

what was he doing diving into my well?
 
 
 
oh, you meant another well, sorry.

[chrismahon]

Problem with wells that are very shallow is they can pick up all sorts of contaminants MikeM. Pesticides, animal waste, human waste, dead rats and that sort of stuff. Purification will be expensive, if it is at all possible and it will need to be tested by the health dept on a regular basis I think (someone I met had a shallow well of only 30 metres taking ground water not subterranean water). The well may have 2000 litres in it but what about Summer? How fast will it replenish or will it run dry? You may be better off collecting rainwater from your roof. They usually use a simple submersible pump from a DIY store (Machine Mart) if they are shallow. Look at the pumped 'head'. Deep water (over 10 metres) pumps are expensive. At only 7 feet deep it isn't much more than a garden pond and your well may only be suitable for washing your car in Winter.


I'm a jobbing plumber and tackle all sorts, but that isn't the sort of job I would tackle. There are specialist well drillers that will know what you need to couple up an existing well, or if it is suitable. Plumbers typically operate only above ground level within a dwelling or a building.

[MikeM]

thanks chris, all good information. I have actually pumped the well dry and it took about a week to refill. It's actually at the base of a hill and the water table there is pretty high up. The main downside is that the hill it's at the bottom of is the churchyard, so there is a risk of contaminants from that, so that's something I would need to consider (this is why we are wanting to get professional advice and not going the DIY route). I will look up some well drilling firms.

[chrismahon]

Hi MikeM. It occurred to me that you are trying to get what is called 'potable' water -that's water fit to drink. Your local water authority will have extensive testing facilities and perhaps you can take a sample to them for full analysis?


Most country houses here have wells, but no-one would drink from them now. Too many agricultural chemicals and septic tank outlets. From what I have seen the major contaminants come from the properties own non-compliant 'fosse septique', which in many cases has never been emptied and discharges raw sewerage all over the ground. The French have legislation in place to deal with it, but it could be 50 years before all properties comply.

[MikeM]

thanks Chris, my understanding is that it is a (sensible) requirement to have off grid water checked. That's certainly one aspect we'd need to look at. I guess we want to get some people in to give us an idea of what we need and how much it will cost. We're on a water meter here and it costs us a fortune each year, so it'd be good to use our own resources if it can be done.
Your advice and input is very useful.

[UPoneacre]

Just a thought - might be worth checking for any local borehole specialists - they can advise on pumps/controls/pipework etc and if they have a website that might well (sorry!) give you a lot more info. Our two local ones mid Wales are Powys Drilling Services Ltd and WB+AD Morgan - if you Google them their websites will give you more info. If I remember rightly it's a requirement to get your water tested and confirmed as safe potable water for consumption - as mentioned before.

[MikeM]

good idea UP, will check that out.

[Blacksheep]

We have a well that collects spring water,  I think unless you have a spring you may find that you are liable to pay abstraction charges.    Our water is pumped uphill to a storage tank, from here water is gravity fed to the house, yard and fields, the neighbour also takes their water supply from our tank.   As I understand you do not need to have your water routinely tested if it is only supplying your own property, ours now has to be routinely tested by the local authority at our expense as the neighbour takes their supply from the same source (free of charge although they are required to contribute to maintenance costs and electricity for the pump)
Last time pump replaced it was in the region of £800 or so, I think it was probably one of the contractors mentioned by Uponeacre as we are on the Powys borders.
You could probably ask the Local Authority to carry out the testing, I think it is around £200, although they tested both the tank and the tap water, the kitchen tap water goes through a UV filter.  However the test did not really seem very specific, ie we were told that there were coliforms present probably due to plant roots that the water passes through to be collected, not much you can do about that, but it didn't confirm that or whether there were more harmful ecoli present etc. Just told us we needed to replace the filter/bulb on the purifier and to only drink boiled water - not sure we really need to regularly pay £200 to be told that and to do what we already do!! So it would probably be worthwhile checking how specific your water testing would be for pathogens etc with testing labs beforehand, they should then also be able to advise you on the type of water purifier you would need to treat the water.
Good luck

[bazzais]

I've had quotes for drilling - they are ridiculous - I made a pond in the top field - its settled for 3 years - took a syphone out of it into old orange concentrate tanks - it gravity feeds all the water troughs in the ttop fields in those 9 months.

We use mains water in the house - dont cost hardly anything compared to animals.

Mains water tastes like poo - but cant afford to purify my own.

[nicandem]

it seems that part of the reason for wanting to use it is to get rid off the water rates..... excuse the silly question, but are you on mains drainage?
if yes then you will still pay a large part of your rates?
were on main supply and our own drainage and its not too bad here at under 100 a year so not worth utilising the well outside for more than watering plants, beds etc.

[MikeM]

we're on a water meter, and our drainage rates are based upon how much water we draw through the meter. I believe we are in the area with the most expensive water charges, and if we're ever so careful and use rain water to flush the loo etc our water bill comes in at about £380 a year, so we have a certain incentive to get it lower if we can.