uninvited project

   / uninvited project #11  
Yes, the spring has always come back, though that never stops me from sweating as long as it's dry! My anxiety stems from the fact that the rains must arrive in time to saturate the ground before the world freezes solid. Once the ground freezes, water doesn't seep in.

www.GatewayToVermont.com
 
   / uninvited project
  • Thread Starter
#12  
What a cruel world. I went to visit my place in VT last weekend and now the brand new well that I spend 5 days installing has gone dry too.

High techie, reciently founded a startup company and struggling for tractor time.
 
   / uninvited project #13  
Welcome to Vermont, Peter!

Our springhouse is still bone dry, but with rain on the way I'm eternally hopeful for change. Of the two old abandoned springhouses elsewhere on our hill, one is overflowing with water. In fact, I've used that water thru a system of hoses all summer and fall to water the garden. So it makes sense that instead of abandoning springhouses, a better path would be to have feeder lines running from all of them to a central water line that goes to the house.

My wife finally sees the wisdom of this line of thinking, and I'm hopeful I might get a backhoe out of this drought!

Pete

www.GatewayToVermont.com
 
   / uninvited project #14  
Pete,

I guess you know you could drill a deep well for the cost of a backhoe, but I sure wouldn't tell the wife. Maybe try the "honey, the poor dogs need water. Guess I'll just have to buy that backhoe."/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Markv
 
   / uninvited project #15  
My 400' well at the upper cottage ran over $10,000, but can't support both properties. The neighbor several hundred yards downhill has two deep wells costing over $23,000 total...and both ran dry. I'm thinking $6,500 for a backhoe is a deal if I have reliable surface water.

www.GatewayToVermont.com
 
   / uninvited project #16  
Didn't see anything about treating this surface water you guys are using. With sources as shallow as these, or on the surface in some cases, don't you worry about all the nasties? Are these vacation places and you boil the drinking water? Or is Vermont water just naturally pure? Reminds me of my brother's cabin in the Cherokee National forest back in Tennessee. The water was from a small stream about 100' uphill. I was waiting for the coffee pot to fill one morning and it seemed even slower than usual. Investigation of the little screened collection box up the hill turned up a crawdad in the pipe. Didn't tell the wife. Coffee tasted just fine. 'Course I've been inadvertently drinking Tellico river water for so many years I must be immune to most water borne pathogens.

Chuck
 
   / uninvited project #17  
Chuck -- Generally folks in the valleys are more likely to treat their surface water, as are those drawing from a river. When I first arrived in Vermont I treated our spring water just like I used to on the submarines and surface ships I served on. But the halogen content never dipped, i.e., the water was really clean, so I stopped. With our winters, the shallow streams like we're tapped into (backup water supply) don't support much aquatic life. The critters prefer ponds with muddy banks.

Pete

www.GatewayToVermont.com
 
   / uninvited project #18  
As I peruse this thread I wonder about that too.

Just got back from a week with my brother in MN. They've got a shallow sandpoint-type well (they are next to a lake). Boy, their water is NASTY. I could hardly stand to take a shower with it. They use some sort of active filter arrangement to remove the nasties for drinking, and they soften it for other uses. Still, the water that comes out of the tap unfiltered smells really bad. I think there is some sort of sulfur content, but don't really know.

I asked my bro' about drilling a deep well, but he says that neighbors that have done that got rid of the sulfer, but got big loads of iron.

I feel really lucky. We have a deep well (450'), and the water comes out clear, cool, and tasty.

The GlueGuy
 
   / uninvited project #19  
Pete

The price of drilling in your area surprised me. We drilled a 550' well about 4 years ago for $6500. Is that just Georgia vs. Vermont prices or am I missing something?

MarkV
 
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