Hello all,

We are about to start building our house which sits about 1000' from the
road. We have city water available but are looking into having a well. I am
told that the iron content is high in the area but folks on that street were
on wells before the city water came in about 7-10 years back.

We are considering a well since a water line from the street back to the
house will be very long, cross two creeks (one is rather large) and be in
heavily wooded area. The lot is 7 acres and densely wooded except for what
we have taken out for the driveway and house. I forsee a lot of problems
with 1000+ feet of pipe near all the trees/roots.

Can high iron water be treated at the well/pump somehow to correct this?
What are the prolems with high iron content? Is it unhealthy or foul
tasting? We will be talking to folks in the business very soon and will get
their opinions but I thought I would throw this question out to you guys.

Any input on the water line also appreciated.

Thanks!

YYZedd wrote:

Hello all,

We are about to start building our house which sits about 1000' from the
road. We have city water available but are looking into having a well. I am
told that the iron content is high in the area but folks on that street were
on wells before the city water came in about 7-10 years back.

We are considering a well since a water line from the street back to the
house will be very long, cross two creeks (one is rather large) and be in
heavily wooded area. The lot is 7 acres and densely wooded except for what
we have taken out for the driveway and house. I forsee a lot of problems
with 1000+ feet of pipe near all the trees/roots.

Can high iron water be treated at the well/pump somehow to correct this?
What are the prolems with high iron content? Is it unhealthy or foul
tasting? We will be talking to folks in the business very soon and will get
their opinions but I thought I would throw this question out to you guys.

Any input on the water line also appreciated.

Thanks!



Questions on the city water line:
Do you get freezing temps out there requiring the line
to be deeply buried?
What is the normal city pressure (PSI) at the street?

If deep burial is not needed AND city pressure is high (~80 psi)
I would at least consider it. A trenching "plow" can bury
plastic pipe quite rapidly. Maybe even consider a no-trench
boring machine service. The creeks will need special
consideration and design. The line will need to be over-sized
to keep pressure drop reasonable.

Iron in the well (I'm *not* a well expert), can be filtered
with a large sediment filter, then treated by a softener, and finally
perhaps a chlorinator.

Besides the discoloration issue, iron bacteria (GOOGLE that)
create a smelly situation.

Jim

City water systems and their rates are to be avoided at all costs. Go with
the well...

About iron in well water...
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/dwg/iron.htm


"YYZedd" wrote in message
Hello all,

We are about to start building our house which sits about 1000' from the
road. We have city water available but are looking into having a well. I
am told that the iron content is high in the area but folks on that street
were on wells before the city water came in about 7-10 years back.

We are considering a well since a water line from the street back to the
house will be very long, cross two creeks (one is rather large) and be in
heavily wooded area. The lot is 7 acres and densely wooded except for what
we have taken out for the driveway and house. I forsee a lot of problems
with 1000+ feet of pipe near all the trees/roots.

Can high iron water be treated at the well/pump somehow to correct this?
What are the prolems with high iron content? Is it unhealthy or foul
tasting? We will be talking to folks in the business very soon and will
get their opinions but I thought I would throw this question out to you
guys.

Any input on the water line also appreciated.

Thanks!

On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 12:06:46 GMT, YYZedd wrote:

Can high iron water be treated at the well/pump somehow to correct this?
What are the prolems with high iron content? Is it unhealthy or foul
tasting? We will be talking to folks in the business very soon and will get
their opinions but I thought I would throw this question out to you guys.

I live in a similar situation, but a little over twice as far from the city
water. If your local water company is like ours, you'll have to get a paper
signed by them allowing you to have a drinking well - they try to force you
to use city water if they can. I have no idea of what is considered the
minimum distance you can be from the water line and not have to connect -
probably varies from company to company and the creeks may be a consideration
also. The local company here said that since I have road frontage, where the
water line is, I would have to hook up and didn't want to sign off until I
made them look at a plat to see where the house was located in relation to
their pipe, so be prepared to do so.

Before you start construction, if you're planning on copper water pipes, find
out what the pH is of the well water in the area - the locals or the local
well drilling company should be able to tell you. Here it is acidic due to
dissolved CO2 and corrodes copper pipes pretty quickly. I had planned on
copper plumbing, but changed to CPVC instead because of this.

Using a filter (I use whole house filter) with carbon will help remove some
iron - problems depend on exactly how high the iron content is . Iron will
give a metallic taste to the water. It can cause brown staining in tubs,
sinks and toilets. It isn't particularly bad for you, could save having to
take supplemental iron if you're anemic.

Here's a list of what the Extension Service checked when I had my test done
in '97, including any maximums in effect at that time. Following it is an
explanation of the letters on some items:

Element EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (ppm except lead)

Aluminum No Standard
Boron No Standard
Cadmium 0.01 (P)
Calcium No Standard
Chromium 0.05 (P)
Copper 1.0 (S)
Iron 0.30 (S)
Magnesium No Standard
Manganese 0.05 (S)
Molybdenum No Standard
Nickel No Standard
Phosphorus No Standard
Potassium No Standard
Sodium No Standard
Zinc 5.0 (S)

Lead (parts/billion) 15

The letter (P) beside an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level indicates that EPA has
established a primary drinking water standard for this element. These are
elements which have been shown to cause adverse health effects. The letter
(S) indicates that EPA has established a secondary drinking water standard
for this element. These elements are not generally considered threats to
health, but can cause nuisance problems such as staining, tastes or odors.
--------------------------------------------
Iron fits into the stain and taste categories, but I understand that iron
bacteria (harmless to humans) can cause sulfurous smells.

My best advice is to ask the locals what they do to reduce the iron (if
anything) and request a glass of water to see if you like the taste/smell.
What really matters is if YOU like the water and how much staining you get
(and are willing to deal/live with) from the minerals (not limited to iron).
Minor staining is easy enough to control in sinks and tubs - there are
treatments that can be put into toilets that claim to stop staining also, but
I don't use them (have cats which occasionally drink from the toilet) so I
dunno if they work or not.

Couple of other things to consider. Since you're so far from the water line,
probably means you'll be on a septic tank.

I recommend that, if you can afford it, you go with a larger tank than is
recommended by the local authority to allow for possible future expansion and
less frequent pumpouts. I say this based on the recommendation of the fella
that pumped my dad's tank when I asked him about house/tank size (was before
I started construction on my current house) - he said to go with the largest
tank you can afford, but I think that could be overkill, depending, of
course, on what you can afford G. I went with 500 gal over the recommended
size, and when I had it pumped after 7 years (no problem, preventative
maintenance), the fella said to call him back in about 12 years unless I just
liked spending money every 7.

About toilet treatments (and cleaning products in general) - you need to
watch what chemicals (and how much bleach from cleaning/laundry) you put in
there to keep from killing the bacteria that break down the waste. A larger
tank helps dilute the chemicals - another reason to go with a larger tank.

Hope I've been of help. If you have any questions, drop me a line and I'll be
happy to answer them if I can.

Later, Mike
(substitute strickland in the obvious location to reply directly)
-----------------------------------


Please send all email as text - HTML is too hard to decipher as text.

YYZedd wrote:
Hello all,

We are about to start building our house which sits about 1000' from the
road. We have city water available but are looking into having a well. I am
told that the iron content is high in the area but folks on that street were
on wells before the city water came in about 7-10 years back.

We are considering a well since a water line from the street back to the
house will be very long, cross two creeks (one is rather large) and be in
heavily wooded area. The lot is 7 acres and densely wooded except for what
we have taken out for the driveway and house. I forsee a lot of problems
with 1000+ feet of pipe near all the trees/roots.

Can high iron water be treated at the well/pump somehow to correct this?
What are the prolems with high iron content? Is it unhealthy or foul
tasting? We will be talking to folks in the business very soon and will get
their opinions but I thought I would throw this question out to you guys.

Any input on the water line also appreciated.

Thanks!

Before investing aniy time/money in a well, check to see if you will
even be allowed to put one in. Many places do not allow them after
municipal water is available. 1,000 ft and a couple creeks looks to me
like grounds for a variance if the powers thiat be object to a well
though.

Harry K

Check on WHERE your responsibility for the pipes/pressure ends
for the city and starts for you. If it's at your meter/street
shutoff, near the house, it's the city's worry.

With a well, it'll be safe water or you wont' get a potability
certificate for it. A little taste you get used to. Also, the
cost/maintenance of a well might pay for a LOT of fixes to
city-connected piping; it's expensive to drill; how deep will
they need to go? You pay by the foot drilled as a rule.
Also check to see if you'll have apenalty for using city
sewers but not city water - inj some places it can make quite a
difference, so you might end up wanting a septic, too at another
5 to 10k.

Pop


"YYZedd" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hello all,

We are about to start building our house which sits about 1000'
from the road. We have city water available but are looking
into having a well. I am told that the iron content is high in
the area but folks on that street were on wells before the city
water came in about 7-10 years back.

We are considering a well since a water line from the street
back to the house will be very long, cross two creeks (one is
rather large) and be in heavily wooded area. The lot is 7 acres
and densely wooded except for what we have taken out for the
driveway and house. I forsee a lot of problems with 1000+ feet
of pipe near all the trees/roots.

Can high iron water be treated at the well/pump somehow to
correct this? What are the prolems with high iron content? Is
it unhealthy or foul tasting? We will be talking to folks in
the business very soon and will get their opinions but I
thought I would throw this question out to you guys.

Any input on the water line also appreciated.

Thanks!

YYZedd wrote:

Can high iron water be treated at the well/pump somehow to correct
this? What are the prolems with high iron content? Is it unhealthy or
foul tasting?

There are at least two possible types of "iron"...

The first is ferric oxide...iron particles (rust, actually) that can be
filtered.

The second is ferrous oxide which is black. Normally, it is in solution and
invisible (and cannot be filtered) but when the water is exposed to air it
converts to ferric oxide and stains fixtures, clothes and the like. A
regular soft water unit is helpful in removing it if there isn't a lot in
the water; if there is, you'll need a unit just for that purpose...they use
potassium permanganate.

AFAIK, neither is unhealthy. Most water that is foul tasting/smelling is
water with hydrogen sulfide, not iron.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

AFAIK, neither is unhealthy. Most water that is foul tasting/smelling is
water with hydrogen sulfide, not iron.

It is called hemochromatosis, look into it.

http://www.americanhs.org/

Try a water softener . will remove iron.


YYZedd wrote:
Hello all,

We are about to start building our house which sits about 1000' from the
road. We have city water available but are looking into having a well. I am
told that the iron content is high in the area but folks on that street were
on wells before the city water came in about 7-10 years back.

We are considering a well since a water line from the street back to the
house will be very long, cross two creeks (one is rather large) and be in
heavily wooded area. The lot is 7 acres and densely wooded except for what
we have taken out for the driveway and house. I forsee a lot of problems
with 1000+ feet of pipe near all the trees/roots.

Can high iron water be treated at the well/pump somehow to correct this?
What are the prolems with high iron content? Is it unhealthy or foul
tasting? We will be talking to folks in the business very soon and will get
their opinions but I thought I would throw this question out to you guys.

Any input on the water line also appreciated.

Thanks!

Eric,

The link you posted is for a hereditary illness. The intestines tend to
block the absorption of iron in normal people.

Dave M.

David Martel wrote:
Eric,

The link you posted is for a hereditary illness. The intestines tend to
block the absorption of iron in normal people.

Dave M.

True, but not exactly rare "estimated 1 in 8 people as "silent
carriers" and 1 in 100 to 200 people with the full blown disease"
Source: http://www.americanhs.org/

I know it won't cause it, but if you are in the risk group it sure
could tip the balance

Most people who have it don't even know they have it. Just pointing out
a possible side effect, I know 4 people who have it. It has only been
screened for the last few years, and then only by doctors who are aware
of it.

Look your spendsing BIG BUCKS on the home, spend a little more for
water and sewer if available.

Other utliities will have to be run, gas water electric sewer cable?
Why worrry about just one?

There are hundreds of trillions of miles of water lines in service for
decades nationwide.

plastic continious line doesnt care about roots.

you will spend lots to drill a well, continious costs to treat water,
power outages mean no water and you will always worry about running
well dry.

city water is the best way to go.

Today our electric power was restored after a 43 hour outage. We had
our city water and gas water heating. The house got warm but with
flashlights we stayed there okay. In our previous house we had a well.
No electric no water. Time in the house was limited to how much water
we managed to get in the tubs before the storm and still no showers.
Municipal water is reliable and usually pretty safe. Oh and someday
you'll need a new well pump.



wrote:
Look your spendsing BIG BUCKS on the home, spend a little more for
water and sewer if available.

Other utliities will have to be run, gas water electric sewer cable?
Why worrry about just one?

There are hundreds of trillions of miles of water lines in service for
decades nationwide.

plastic continious line doesnt care about roots.

you will spend lots to drill a well, continious costs to treat water,
power outages mean no water and you will always worry about running
well dry.

city water is the best way to go.

Stay away fromcitywater andsewer. Well and septic are

preferable.
wrote:
Look your spendsing BIG BUCKS on the home, spend a little more for
water and sewer if available.

Other utliities will have to be run, gas water electric sewer cable?
Why worrry about just one?

There are hundreds of trillions of miles of water lines in service for
decades nationwide.

plastic continious line doesnt care about roots.

you will spend lots to drill a well, continious costs to treat water,
power outages mean no water and you will always worry about running
well dry.

city water is the best way to go.

Stay away fromcitywater andsewer. Well and septic are

preferable.
wrote:
Look your spendsing BIG BUCKS on the home, spend a little more for
water and sewer if available.

Other utliities will have to be run, gas water electric sewer cable?
Why worrry about just one?

There are hundreds of trillions of miles of water lines in service for
decades nationwide.

plastic continious line doesnt care about roots.

you will spend lots to drill a well, continious costs to treat water,
power outages mean no water and you will always worry about running
well dry.

city water is the best way to go.

A backup generater and propanetank makes you self sufficient
Howard wrote:
Today our electric power was restored after a 43 hour outage. We had
our city water and gas water heating. The house got warm but with
flashlights we stayed there okay. In our previous house we had a well.
No electric no water. Time in the house was limited to how much water
we managed to get in the tubs before the storm and still no showers.
Municipal water is reliable and usually pretty safe. Oh and someday
you'll need a new well pump.



wrote:
Look your spendsing BIG BUCKS on the home, spend a little more for
water and sewer if available.

Other utliities will have to be run, gas water electric sewer cable?
Why worrry about just one?

There are hundreds of trillions of miles of water lines in service for
decades nationwide.

plastic continious line doesnt care about roots.

you will spend lots to drill a well, continious costs to treat water,
power outages mean no water and you will always worry about running
well dry.

city water is the best way to go.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Stay away fromcitywater andsewer. Well and septic are

preferable.

Not always.

The cost of my water/sewer is not much more than the maintenance of a well
and septic system. There will always be exceptions on both side, but my
sewer has never had a problem and I know of people that spent $10,000 to
have a new leach field put in when the septic system failed.

In some places, you have no choice if water and sewer are on the street.
You must hook up.

wrote in message
oups.com...
A backup generater and propanetank makes you self sufficient

Yes, it will. The cost of a generator is equal to ten years of water bills.
Doe snot add up for me, but you go right ahead and enjoy it.

Thanks everybody for all the good input. Seems that I have some homework to
do. Also, I said "city water" but it is actually county (Henry county, GA),
and we are zoned RA if that makes any difference as to whether or not you
are required to hook up. No neighborhood assoc. either.

There is no sewer or gas service. We are planning on getting a tank for gas
though. So the only utilities coming in are electric (which will be
partially areial and partially buried), phone and possibly water.

I am not sure what the psi is at the meter (which is by the street, 1000'
from the house) but the largest hook up we can get is 1 inch.

If anyone is interested, here is a link to some pictures of the project. We
are actually getting the gravel driveway finished up this weekend and
getting rid of most of the stumps and wood. Some to be buried, some
chipped/mulched and some will be cut up for firewood. So I don't have pics
of the finished product yet but I will soon.
http://philt.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php

On Fri, 21 Jul 2006 13:29:02 GMT, YYZedd wrote:

Also, I said "city water" but it is actually county (Henry county, GA),
and we are zoned RA if that makes any difference as to whether or not you
are required to hook up. No neighborhood assoc. either.

Not too far from you - western Douglas Co. Don't think zoning has anything to
do with it. I think distance and topography will be the main factors taken
into consideration. Call the county water company and ask. They can also tell
you an approximate cost for installation of the water line ($X.xx/ft) and
cost of the meter (IIRC was told that WSA wanted $200 for a meter when I
built in '97). Might be able to help a little with the "homework" - would be
happy to provide (via email) some specs and price of my well for comparison
if you want, would think that depth, pump and tank would be similar. Prices
are '97, but should give you a general idea that you can compare to any
quotes you get from local drillers.

There is no sewer or gas service. We are planning on getting a tank for gas
though. So the only utilities coming in are electric (which will be
partially areial and partially buried), phone and possibly water.

I recommend purchasing and burying the tank instead of renting and having
above ground - if it's allowed. I understand some counties don't allow
underground propane tanks. I've got a 500 gal underground and only have to
see the hump part on the top of the tank where the fill pipe and pressure
gauge are - easily disguised. If you're interested in the cost (Dec '97),
email me by fixing the addy in the sig and I'll look it up for you.

FYI, depending on what you'll have on gas, and whether or not you want to
sign up for monthly topoffs, you may want to go with a larger tank - may be
able to give some pointers here too.

I am not sure what the psi is at the meter (which is by the street, 1000'
from the house) but the largest hook up we can get is 1 inch.

1 inch would probably work fine, but cost of installation of that length and
crossing the creeks would be my concern. Also, if your local water company is
like WSA (Douglas Co's Company), you'll be responsible for maintaining all
the pipe on your side of the meter.

As I recall, for our part of the country, the recommended depth for water
pipe is below 18" - although I think you could probably get by with a little
less if absolutely necessary. Since you've already bridged the creeks, you
may wind up with a large expense for special equipment to install the pipe in
these locations. Make sure you bring this point up with the water company if
they're iffy about signing off so you can get a drinking water well -
provided you go that route. If necessary, insist that they have a
representative visit the site.

Some to be buried, some
chipped/mulched and some will be cut up for firewood. So I don't have pics
of the finished product yet but I will soon.

Make sure of the regulations regarding burial of organics - Douglas Co.
requires that any organic burial site be marked on the plat, which means a
surveyor must determine the exact location and provide a new plat with the
burial site marked - this plat must be recorded at the courthouse too, IIRC.
Was explained to me that they don't want any construction to occur on an old
burial site to prevent settling. Considering what some of the developers have
done in the recent past, the regulation is probably a good idea.

Might be best to chip/mulch all that you don't cut for firewood or just leave
it to rot in an out-of-the-way pile. The mulched stuff is good to spread
along the sides of the drive until new growth can get started.

Great pix! Been there, done that (except the bridge) - lotsa good exercise
G.

Looks like a great location. I still have a quarter mile as the crow flies to
the nearest neighbor for the moment - but that'll change in the
not-too-distant future since subdivisions are sprouting like toadstools :-(

Later, Mike
(substitute strickland in the obvious location to reply directly)
-----------------------------------


Please send all email as text - HTML is too hard to decipher as text.

On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 12:06:46 GMT, "YYZedd"
wrote:

Hello all,

We are about to start building our house which sits about 1000' from the
road. We have city water available but are looking into having a well. I am
told that the iron content is high in the area but folks on that street were
on wells before the city water came in about 7-10 years back.

I know nothing about water, but can't you make pipe installation
pretty easy, including the streams, by going next to the driveway? Or
did you leave the trees right next to it (which I would understand,
except they usually want to get wide housebuilding things in there,
don't they?)

My girlfriend may have been a ditz, or just busy, but she told me for
months that her well had dried up, and I guess she was taking water
from work to her home, but eventually it turned out the pump had
broken.

On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 12:06:46 GMT, "YYZedd"
wrote:


We are considering a well since a water line from the street back to the
house will be very long, cross two creeks (one is rather large) and be in

BTW, why can't you get water from the creek? I live right next to a
creek, and I've wondered if I could drink the water. I keep meaning
to have it tested.

I guess the biggest problem woudl be upstream fertilizer, but maybe I
would finally get taller.

heavily wooded area. The lot is 7 acres and densely wooded except for what
we have taken out for the driveway and house. I forsee a lot of problems
with 1000+ feet of pipe near all the trees/roots.

BTW, why can't you get water from the creek? I live right next to a
creek, and I've wondered if I could drink the water. I keep meaning
to have it tested.

I guess the biggest problem woudl be upstream fertilizer, but maybe I
would finally get taller.


no biggest risk is animal dies upstream in creek, your safe water is
suddendly hazardous.

ground water should NEVER be used unless its continously treated.

stream water is excellent for irrigation and other nod potable uses

"Michael Strickland" wrote in message

Words of a tried-and-true city person.



Now, consider where the city water comes from - most water companies get
their water from surface water (rivers/lakes) where everyone upstream has
dumped their sewage. I'd much rather drink from a well than from the end
of
somebody else's $#!+ pipe. All the water company does is filter out the
lumps
and add all sorts of chemicals to try to kill the pathogens.

You are speaking in generalizations. Plenty of cities have wells for their
water and it is as pure as can be. Some have excelllent sources of surface
water and y es, it does require a bit more treatment.

I know plenty pf people with contaminated wells. "Everything from sulpher,
to oil, to benzene to whatever. We hae a well at work that is not suitable
for drinking and after spending $10,000, it is not suitable to feed the
boilers either.

As for cost, you may drill and hit water at 50 feet, or 100 feet, or 500
feet, or never. You can get into some really serious costs in some areas.




The supposed excessive cost of a backup generator to have well water
during
an outage, mentioned in another post, is just silly. A generator provides
other uses beside just pumping water.
. Probably would be a 10 year payback if you just consider
pumping water, but the other things (particularly preventing food spoilage
and convenience) can cut deep into that payback time - particularly if you
had to rent a generator to do some work (like constructing an outbuilding)
away from the house.

Again, depends on where you live. In my last house, never had power out
more than 1 hour in 15 years. This house, only once was it out more than an
hour (about 30 hours after a hurricane) in 25 years. What would the
payback be for me? Probably over 100 years. That would be just plain
silly.



As for sewer being the best alternative, proper care of a septic system
drastically increases the length of time that a drainfield lasts so that
replacement cost is spread over 20-30 years, possibly even more depending
on
soil type.
When I had my
tank pumped after 7 years (new system and had it pumped to help figure
timeframe for pumpouts), splitting the cost over the time period gives
$2.38
per month

OK, you got me there. I'm paying almost $9 a month for sewer but have not
had any problems either. I like that.

All in all, I see the cost of city water/sewer quite comparable to
well/septic moneywise in the case that the OP proposed. Being on a well
and
in control of your water supply so that YOU and ONLY YOU determine what,
if
any, chemicals are added is a great benefit.


If only you were correct. You do NOT have any control over your water
supply. You pump what is in the aquifer. Do you read the newspapers?
Stories about hundreds of well being contaminated for one reason or another?
Happens all too often. Yes, there are 100 year old wells that are good pure
water, but there are 3 year old wells that will kill you.

Your situation is, evidently, is good for you, but the circumstances must be
considered for every location on their own merits.

With a choice, I would opt for city water/sewer over well/septic, if I
had a choice.

In situations where a very long line is run to get to city/county water,
the question to ask yourself is how long will it be before a closer
neighbor goes on city/county water?? Things have a way of creeping
closer and closer to you.

I will build a new home soon and city water is not an option. 100 ft
down or 600 feet down, water in this area has sulfur and varying amounts
of dissolved limestone.
Treatment for both will be required. Easy treatment for sulfur is to
let the water aerate before use, that is pump into a tank that holds at
least a day's worth of water, before going to a water softener that also
treats sulfur and calcium/magnesium.

Drain fields are FORBIDDEN by county law here. Clay content of soil is
so high and land is RULER flat. Septic effluent MUST be sprinkled.

Another way to have backup power is to add a solar array. This has the
benefit of net metering so that with a proper sized array, the utility
company sends you a small check each month. Course, this doesn't help
during a hurricane or tornado that cuts power lines for hours to days.
Only batteries or a generator will do that. Generator is MUCH cheaper
to acquire and install. Solar has immediate impact on power bill.

On Fri, 21 Jul 2006 12:02:06 -0400 (EDT), "Michael Strickland"
wrote:


I recommend purchasing and burying the tank instead of renting and having
above ground - if it's allowed. I understand some counties don't allow
underground propane tanks. I've got a 500 gal underground and only have to
see the hump part on the top of the tank where the fill pipe and pressure
gauge are - easily disguised.

Even above ground tanks can be easily disguised. I painted mine brown
and black and painted a face on it, and everyone things it is a cow.