Query for you rural well users.....

[mapper]

I grew up drinking spring water and except for a couple of short periods in my life have lived on spring or well water. We have been at our current location for about 35 years, we have a 90' well, we drink the water every day. The only time we had any problem was after the Nisqually earthquake, the water was a bit discolored with iron that a been stirred up by the shaking, I pumped it for an hour or so and it was fine after that.
Our water is a bit acid and does contain a little bit of iron, not enough to taste, city water tastes really nasty to my wife and I.

 

[KYErik]

Check with your local health department, they can possibly test your water for a small fee. As others have said- bacteria (more specifically, fecal coliforms) are the main worry. I had low levels of bacterial contamination when I lived in KY (even after shocking the well with bleach), so I ended up connecting to the county water supply.

As others have said, most bottled water is actually from municipal water supplies.

 

[ultrarunner]

Respectfully asking here how many of the members here have topped off a battery recently? I have always had 4-5 vehicles and sometimes more during the last 20 years but have never needed to top off a battery on any of them....:laughing: :laughing:

My 6 volt batteries still have caps as do my large industrial batteries... so I still check and the industrials do need topping off about once a year.

 

[ultrarunner]

The water in Washington is the best I have ever had... tested clean and it really is delicious... the previous owner had a basic filter and that's it.

Nearby Tumwater was the home to the Olympia Brewery and the Artesians are still working hard... downtown Olympia has Springwater fountains with lines to fill water jugs.

Blessed with great water in Washington and really can tell the difference when in the Bay Area.

 

[dickfoster]

The water in Washington is the best I have ever had... tested clean and it really is delicious... the previous owner had a basic filter and that's it.

Nearby Tumwater was the home to the Olympia Brewery and the Artesians are still working hard... downtown Olympia has Springwater fountains with lines to fill water jugs.

Blessed with great water in Washington and really can tell the difference when in the Bay Area.

You're drinking water imported from the Hetch Hetchy in a lot of the Bay Area. Many of the wells in the South Bay are polluted with chemical waste and what isn't so polluted they can't use it they load up with chloramine and other chemicals so it won't kill ya out right. It's more like simulated water than real water. Much of it you can't put into a fish tank without killing the fish.

 

[Retiredguy2]

You're drinking water imported from the Hetch Hetchy in a lot of the Bay Area. Many of the wells in the South Bay are polluted with chemical waste and what isn't so polluted they can't use it they load up with chloramine and other chemicals so it won't kill ya out right. It's more like simulated water than real water. Much of it you can't put into a fish tank without killing the fish.

"Simulated water" rather than real water...I wonder if that kind of crap I am paying for...."HERE FISHY, FISHY...let's see if you can live two weeks in this brew....":laughing:

 

[NoTrespassing]

We have a 70ft. deep bored well. It's the only way to go where we're at. Some neighbors have to haul water in the summer. I bring home water from work 5 gallons at a time. The funny part is, it's the same water they sell at our local Walmart for 80 cents per gallon. I usually treat the well with a gallon of chlorine once a year or so.

Kevin

 

[ultrarunner]

You're drinking water imported from the Hetch Hetchy in a lot of the Bay Area. Many of the wells in the South Bay are polluted with chemical waste and what isn't so polluted they can't use it they load up with chloramine and other chemicals so it won't kill ya out right. It's more like simulated water than real water. Much of it you can't put into a fish tank without killing the fish.

My place in Oakland is EBMUD

It all depends on where the water is sourced and it does change...

Friends have HetchHetchy in Hayward and the water would run white sometimes.

Some of you may have heard of Alhambra Water?

It originally was spring water bottle and sold all over California and rail cars would fill up on it for wide distribution many years ago... today, it is only a name from what I understand.

Anyway, my brother's ranch/farm has deeded water rights to that Spring and that is what they use... and the place has since the mid 1800's

 

[IXLR8]

Except for the 14 years I lived in NM and AZ, for 60 years I have had well water. Never had an issue, our present well is slightly acidic so have a calcite filter to neutralize it. We have several companies in the area that sell water treatment equipment and they will test the water for free. Our local plumbing supply company will also test the water for free, if you can convince a plumber to deliver a sample to them.

 

[teg]

More worried about the "city" water, use a carbon filter for drinking and cooking. Never thought twice about well water in the country... about 1/2 mile to a neighbor. No clue about how deep the well is. (or how old the pump is...)