Water Question?

[Shane]

Hey out there, just asking another question here. I was going over some planning maps and bylaws for my area and had noticed that commercial business here are able to drill well, and still hooked into the sewer. Only have to pay for sewer charges, seeing as a deep drilled well with pump would only cost between $2500-$5000, now I say deep that being deep enough here to get a good sustained flow suitable for a laundromat(low mineral and potable). The question is, how would these affect your monthly water bill and would you do it if you were able to in your area?

[MGS]

My water bill is $6,000 per year, and sewer is $6,000 more. It would make economic sense for me, if it can in fact be done for $2500 - $5000.

[Adamski]

Shane,

I actually drilled my own well at one of my laundromats when the city had a major water rate increase. I stayed hooked up to city sewer and paid only for that.

Pros:
No water bill
No rusty water when the city flushes their mains

Cons:
A 150 ft well cost $5,000 way back about 1978
Back then it cost about $50/month to pump the water
The quality of the water was marginal

Conclusion: I wouldn't do that again.

Larry /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[galaga]

I just put a new well in my home,over $8000.
City won't allow anyone have well in any commerical building in my area,if the city bring city water to your home area,they will force you cap your well ,use city water.AL is gone in Chicago for a long time,now the city is like ....
If you have well,you may want to look into a storage tank(when pump not able to keep up) and water sofner system(water too hard) .

[Shane]

Well, around here wells are common place, and not very expensive at all. Now with all the numbers I have looked at being;
1) price
2) viability
3) depth
4) flow rate
5) environmental
6) quality of water

Now the price as I stated earlier is indeed correct for a well deep enough for a commercial laundromat in my region is priced at around $5000 +/- $1000, the ROI is 12 months to 18 months this is factoring in electrical usage and sewer costs. This service is available to me, making it viable, the depth and flow rate are reflected in the price. The environmental part is a no brainer, and the water is not hard nor is it to soft , also is potable.

So with that information in front of you, how would decide, now its not a definite yes or no, more like YES – I think looking into this may be in my best interest maybe a feasibility study, or let a number cruncher browse over the exact numbers or NO – never in a million years.

[Adamski]

Shane,

I don't understand how you know what your well water quality will be when you haven't drilled the well yet. Are you basing that assumption on the quality of a nearby well?

Assuming everything you say is correct; it's still a toss-up for me. Well's can have problems after they're drilled. You have a 5 HP submersible pump, a 300 gallon underground pitless adapter/pressure tank, controls, filter, etc. I like the convenience of using city water so that's worth a premium to me.

Larry /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[galaga]

If the city allow,depent on how much water cost,I may have both system.
Water bill has gone up 400% in 2 of my laundromats since 1990.City decide to use lake water instead of well water,we have to pay for the new pipe,pump station....and they do not allow well in commerical building.I wish I can have a well.

[fatboy]

Given your statement of fact regarding the quality, I'd do it... but ONLY if I could bottle the water and sell it, too. Now THERE's some profit!!

[petefritz]

You do not mention how much the water costs pipe in from the city. Mabe it is not available? Some have an option, others do not. City water will be clean, and dirt free. In Canada I assume it would be cheap also.