Wells going dry

[Summer]

Yesterday I heard several people talking about lots of wells going dry recently. One lady had to dish out $5,000 to have a new one drilled. Anybody having problems? Is it helpful to have a holding tank and about how much does that cost to get one? Hope we get a lot of rain and snowpack this year.

[Dodgergirl]

We have a shared well up here in Teaford. I'm told there are actually three of them, but I've never wandered up there to check for myself... Anyway, one of our neighbors checks the water level daily & posts it so we can all see where we stand. It's been at 50% for the past few weeks... something I could understand and live with if I didn't also know that our neighbors put on their sprinklers every morning at 2am for a couple hours. I wonder who else notices that they have the only green lawn in the area...? So, while we conserve we have the enjoyment of looking across our brown grass at the beautiful green lawn across the street....
Maybe Newcomer will tell of his experiences with wells, drilling and such, I'm sure he could make it less painful than it really is with his colorful storytelling....

[Summer]

We have a shared well up here in Teaford. I'm told there are actually three of them, but I've never wandered up there to check for myself... Anyway, one of our neighbors checks the water level daily & posts it so we can all see where we stand. It's been at 50% for the past few weeks... something I could understand and live with if I didn't also know that our neighbors put on their sprinklers every morning at 2am for a couple hours. I wonder who else notices that they have the only green lawn in the area...? So, while we conserve we have the enjoyment of looking across our brown grass at the beautiful green lawn across the street....
Maybe Newcomer will tell of his experiences with wells, drilling and such, I'm sure he could make it less painful than it really is with his colorful storytelling....
Wow, 50% sounds a little scary. Is it? What the heck do I know, I'm still learning about living in the mountains! I would be ticked off if I was trying to conserve water and my co-share had a green lawn! No fair. Several months back I was watering the heck out of our front lawn - didn't want it to become a dust bin like previous year. Hubby and I went round and round. He wanted to conserve water - I laughed at his concern at the well going dry. Guess whose NOT laughing now? It was a very real concern and after all these years I don't know why I don't listen to him! But that's another story. I don't think Newcomer will have a "colorful" story to tell about wells running dry as I know that was a real concern and worry for them last year. Fights at bars - yes - wells going dry - Nada! What I don't understand is expansion of the Casino going on and plans for more building projects in Oakhurst if and when it becomes a City. Where the heck is the water going to come from? I recently also heard that if you own vacant land in Oakhurst and want to drill for a well it is not allowed as you will be forced to use Hillview wells if you are within the perimeter of their jurisdiction. Wow. You can own your own land but not be able to have your own well? Where and when did this happen? Lots of questions to be answered and I think the ultimate worry of landowners is what happens when your well goes dry.

[Newcomer]

Sorry DG, There is nothing nice about a dry well, Without water there is no life. Without water on your property your property is worthless pretty much other than grazing land. We had a our 460ft deep well drop to 1/3 a gallon 2 years ago and had the choice to either go deeper or drill a new well. We went deeper. We had to go down to 930ft to get more water and it was not cheap. We hit solid straight granite for 900ft below us. Luckily we hit a water strata and the water in the shaft rose to only 60ft below the earth surface so we did not need to get that real expensive pump that is mounted way down deep and has to muscle the water 900ft verticle through steel pipe. The wire alone I hear weighs a few hundred pounds, I hear that 16 stage pump alone costs in excess of $8,000 and takes 6 weeks to deliver from across the sea. Wellco drilled our well and they did a fine job. They saved us but it cost us. I pray each day for the water gods to bring a good snowpack and keep everyones wells flowing.

[Newcomer]

More on Well drilling. Well drilling is like gambling. I am not sure what the fee is now but I bet it is somewhere between $14 - $16 per foot plus a setup fee not to mention if you need a new pump if you go that deep. Watching them drill is like sitting at a $15 per hand blackjack table and every foot betting another $15 not even knowing if you will hit. It can bring a grown man to tears (litterally). If you drill a new well you have no idea if any water will be found at all at any depth and you may come up with nothing after going down 700+ feet and that is a lot of dough to dish out for Nada. On the other hand if you do have a well that is still slightly producing like ours was 2 years ago and decide to go deeper you are also taking a gamble at loosing what little your well was producing by going deeper and hitting a dry fracture and the water that was producing flowing down and out into the dry fracture that may go for miles and miles. Fractures in granite can produce clean clear quality water like ours does or you can end up with a sulfer smelling water that you can't even bear to get near. There are so many variables to drilling that can occur. The stress of having a well go dry can be one of the worst times you will ever go through. I sat at drill side for a complete full day and watched the drill bit go round and round deeper and deeper about an inch per minute without hitting a single fracture in the granite until we reached 900ft, If the water level would not have risen the 840 ft that it did I would have needed that special pump but we were lucky. I hope that none of you have to go through what we did. Our water is clean, clear like water from a bottle and we ran the mountain water test kit (30 tests sent into a lab) on it and it came back very very pure with no uranium.

[Summer]

What a terrible ordeal Newcomer. I know of one couple who were in total tears and layed themselves on the ground and prayed. Their well started pumping the next day but what if it hadn't? This is serious stuff. I think we all need to look into how much our wells are performing and what about holding tanks? I am seriously looking into getting one. Even a small one should help thru the dry times.

[Dodgergirl]

Sorry DG, There is nothing nice about a dry well, Without water there is no life. Without water on your property your property is worthless pretty much other than grazing land. We had a our 460ft deep well drop to 1/3 a gallon 2 years ago and had the choice to either go deeper or drill a new well. We went deeper. We had to go down to 930ft to get more water and it was not cheap. We hit solid straight granite for 900ft below us. Luckily we hit a water strata and the water in the shaft rose to only 60ft below the earth surface so we did not need to get that real expensive pump that is mounted way down deep and has to muscle the water 900ft verticle through steel pipe. The wire alone I hear weighs a few hundred pounds, I hear that 16 stage pump alone costs in excess of $8,000 and takes 6 weeks to deliver from across the sea. Wellco drilled our well and they did a fine job. They saved us but it cost us. I pray each day for the water gods to bring a good snowpack and keep everyones wells flowing.

Never said it was nice, just knew you had a story (nightmare) to tell and you have a way with words... So, my apologies to those offended...

[Newcomer]

What a terrible ordeal Newcomer. I know of one couple who were in total tears and layed themselves on the ground and prayed. Their well started pumping the next day but what if it hadn't? This is serious stuff. I think we all need to look into how much our wells are performing and what about holding tanks? I am seriously looking into getting one. Even a small one should help thru the dry times.

Oh trust me, we prayed, we shed tears, We had a holding tank 1500 gal but with all the landscaping and animals & such we would go through that in a day. We need to get a larger holding tank but just have not done it yet.

[Kahlua Kid]

Do a rain dance! Pray for water! Pray for snowpack!

For all of us - for all of California - for all of the western US. I wouldn't wish a dry well on anyone. Not even my worst enemy.

I've never been as distraught and fearful and tears never came so fast and furious and I never praysed as hard as I did that night, as the night we went to bed at 900 ft drilled down and hadn't hit water.

Come morning- water had miraculously filled the well shaft to 60' and we had somehow, hit a strata that didn't start producing til that night.

I hope to NEVER face that situation again. But living here, I know its a reality and a fact of life here in the mountains. I like being self-sustainable with our own pure water that noone can mess with - except God.

[beautiful_mess38]

My mom lives up on rd 620. Her well is dry. It might pump enough for a shower. She does have a holding tank. We all need to pray for rain and snow this winter. If we have a winter like last year we're in for a world of hurt.

[Newcomer]

My mom lives up on rd 620. Her well is dry. It might pump enough for a shower. She does have a holding tank. We all need to pray for rain and snow this winter. If we have a winter like last year we're in for a world of hurt.


So sorry to hear about your moms well :( Is she getting water delivered to her holding tank from Bezak Water?

[Ironhorse]

My folks have a well, have had to drill it deeper a few years ago, first time in the almost 30 years they've had the property. It produces well, but even they are considering a holding tank, if for no other reason than to have extra water if the unthinkable happens and they need it for a fire.

[Lacey]

Summer, for as long as I worked in real estate over there it was the rule that, if you owned property within the hillview district, you had to go with Hillview water! So when Hillview put a moritorium on new customers getting water, those people who owned bare land who had never purchased Hillview were SOL! They owned a parcel they could not build on and could not sell because no one would buy a parcel they could not get water on. For a while they did make exceptions, but I don't remember what the criteria was for you to be able to get around it. Very sad situation!!

[Newcomer]

Summer, for as long as I worked in real estate over there it was the rule that, if you owned property within the hillview district, you had to go with Hillview water! So when Hillview put a moritorium on new customers getting water, those people who owned bare land who had never purchased Hillview were SOL! They owned a parcel they could not build on and could not sell because no one would buy a parcel they could not get water on. For a while they did make exceptions, but I don't remember what the criteria was for you to be able to get around it. Very sad situation!!

I think the criteria for Oakhurst is that you can drill a well on your own property as long as you drill another producing well also for the city to tap into.

Nice of them. huh?

[ginpole]

heres a thought have everyone clear the brush on their land, it reduces fire danger and helps the water table recharge.

[Newcomer]

It looks like our rain dances did the trick. :) Hope this rain up in the hills helps out the water table a little bit. We need more of them, Keep dancin.


Summer, I have the ant chalk now. PM me

[BGW]

heres a thought have everyone clear the brush on their land, it reduces fire danger and helps the water table recharge.

And, a great idea that is as long as everyone gets it done before the fire danger level reaches 'extreme'. We are actually not suppose to weed eat or mow (other than a nice green lawn, I suppose) or anything of that sort right now. Too much of a chance of hitting rocks etc. and starting a fire.

[LemooreTerry]

Hi all. I'm Terry in Lemoore and I plan to live up with you all some day. This topic of wells going dry is very interesting to me. I just wonder about the changes the earth is going through these days and how it relates to all resources. My question to everyone that can answer is: what would you do if your well DID dry up? Earthquakes can cause things like this to happen, and other natural phenominon. But what if most of the well actually Did dry up? And you bit the bullet and drilled down some more and came up empty handed. What then? Thanks for any relipes!
Terry

[Newcomer]

Cry!

or

Suicide is always an option.

Talk with a neighbor who has a good producing well and maybe buy in?

Get a bigger water tank and have water trucked in. This service is available.

Or pull together and demand the county put in water infrastructure for us. We pay the same amount of property taxes those in Madera city pay and get minimal services for it.

Forgive my above comment on Suicide but the thought does cross my mind in situations like that one. Sorry if it upset anyone but I was being honest.

[Yosemite_Wolf]

No worries Newcomer. Humor is acceptable here.