On Mar 7, 8:16 pm, wrote:
On Mar 7, 7:58 pm, "Dan" wrote:

My wife & I are looking at houses on the outskirts of the Seattle area. I
posted awhile back about septic systems, which many of these houses have &
which I had never experienced, & got some good feedback. Often, these same
houses have well water, which outside of those hand operated pumps in parks
etc., I haven't really had much contact with. I'm sure it varies from one
well to another, but in general, what's it like living with well water? You
hear horror stories about whole neighborhoods having their wells
contaminated from some long abandoned factory etc. Also about the water
having a bad taste sometimes, being exceptionally hard, so it's tough on
fixtures, clothes washed in it, your skin, and so on. I'm guessing there
are filtration systems you can install, as well as water softeners. Is
there generally a pump present? Any helpful observations appreciated!

Dan

Well....let me get my sales pitch prepared...

The first thing I'd do if I were you - have it inspected by a
driller. I own a drilling company, but we don't do inspections right
now, so alas. Have it inspected should be able to tell you whether
or not the well is up to code - this is important because the local
Health Department will want to know that it is up to code before
approving any development activities you may pursue (guest house,
etc). Also, the person inspecting the well should provide you with a
document showing that it is up to code, if it is. Additionally, any
property you buy shoudl come with a water well report, unless the well
is extremely old (more than 25 years) - this would be equivalent to
the document an inspectio would provide you.

The big concern is whether or not the well has been properly sealed &
capped. When we drill wells, we drill a 10" hole to 18ft, & then set
a 6" steel casing inside of that. We pour a bentinite clay in to
create a seal (it swells on hydration & remains that way). Also, if
the well hasn't been capped & stayed capped - all sorts of creepy
crawlies have been down that thing.

The pumps are usually submersible - ie down the bore hole. I
wouldn't use anything else, except to draw from a holding tank
system. You should have the pump system inspected also. They are
normally 230v systems that can pump anywhere from 5 to 100+ gallons
per minute. Some pump less because the bore hole doesn't make as
much as the pump can actually pull - this is where you'd usually run
into a holding tank situation (except King Co. which usually requires
holding tanks on almost every house has a well - fire sprinklers &
what not).

Ultimately, I'd ask the real estate agent or the seller to provide
these documents - if you decide not to take it, it would be good for
them to have those documents for the next potential vic...buyer.

Anyway, that's a bit rambling - I have kids that are demanding to be
read to as I finish this....you can contact me at
if there are more Q's.

Oh, additionally....neighbors are generally unreliable....For some
reason, we consistently run into people on the drill site that say "my
well is only 50 feet deep". Then, as you drill into an acquifer at
250ft, they come back and say "my well is only 150 feet
deep".....which is great, but...rather inconsistent, no?

The Department of Ecology maintains a publicly available database of
water well reports at www.ecy.wa.gov