Well and septic advice and thoughts

[supton]

Not sure my experience is the same. I haven't touched my well in the 13 years I've been at my house; I think it and the septic date back to 1995-ish. Regular pumpings on the septic, of course. I've thought about getting a generator, but the power goes out so infrequently that it's not that big of a deal.

I do sometimes wish to be on city water & septic though. Less worries. But then I'd be worried about the what-ifs there too I guess. If a water main breaks, how long to get that fixed? What if the busted pipe/problem is on my property? then they dig up my lawn. So I'm not sure it's really any different. Still at the mercy of the fates.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
I'm on well water now in a 16yo house. Never again. Need a generator in case you lose power. Need a pump every few years for hundreds of dollars. And sooner or later wells go dry. That'll set you back 10 to 30k. And also my septic and leach field are approximately 50 feet from the Wellhead.



Good point. Long power outages are difficult to live through with a well if you don't have backup power. I'm used to septic systems having owned 2 homes with them now. Luckily, I've always been on municipal water. Well water (my own well) I would completely avoid if possible.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: supton
Not sure my experience is the same. I haven't touched my well in the 13 years I've been at my house; I think it and the septic date back to 1995-ish. Regular pumpings on the septic, of course. I've thought about getting a generator, but the power goes out so infrequently that it's not that big of a deal.

I do sometimes wish to be on city water & septic though. Less worries. But then I'd be worried about the what-ifs there too I guess. If a water main breaks, how long to get that fixed? What if the busted pipe/problem is on my property? then they dig up my lawn. So I'm not sure it's really any different. Still at the mercy of the fates.

+1 In my municipality about the minimum you can pay is $100/month for water and sewer, so in my case I broke even on my own well and septic at the 9-10 year mark. Haven't at a problem with it other than the kids playing with the hose running it down to where the pump sucked air for a second and then shut off, reset the switch and its going again. The towns here are all on water meters as well, with sewer also increased on usage, so filling a pool or watering the garden isn't cheap, in fact its cheaper to truck water for a pool!
If I built in town I think I would still investigate my own water and septic, it the site is ideal for both, and I was going to live there a while, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
+1 In my municipality about the minimum you can pay is $100/month for water and sewer, so in my case I broke even on my own well and septic at the 9-10 year mark.


I hear you. Folks that live in town (East Aurora) have sewer and water and pay that. Most areas in Buffalo is a lot cheaper. My Erie county water bill is billed quarterly and I pay about $60 for an average of ~14K gallon usage for the quarter. Septic pumpings every 3yrs or so are about $250. I just dread the day it decides to stop working. It's one of those systems that adds no value to your home for the average buyer. To me? I'd gladly pay more for a home with a new system.

 

[thooks]

I'd get a new well dug or city water or move on.