Well water, septic tanks, leach lines and rural living...

So, who wants to tell me everything they know about them? LOL

Well water-they say it's bad for you now. I drank it for years on weekends and all summer. Is it really bad for plants?

Septic tanks-have only ever seen one once. Ours backed up when I was little. I had nightmares forever about that big "poo" hole in the back yard. LOL

Leach lines-clean (?)water that filters out from below ground?

Rural living...it looks pretty good to me. Nothing is THAT far away from the house that I am considering. There is plenty of room for the kids AND my plants and even some critters.

So who wants to educate me? Please.

Well Water - I think just have it tested before you start drinking it, and then test it periodically. We have a well here and we use the water for coffee and cooking, but we drink bottled water. We only drink bottled water because we prefer the taste. We have our well water tested periodically, because we live not far from an old abandoned uranium mine.

Septic systems - I don't think you want to talk with me about those right now. We've had to have ours pumped twice in the last month at $130 a time. First time it was our fault that it backed up into the basement. We forgot to have it pumped this spring, and it needs to be pumped every two years. Second time it was because we've had so much rain that the drainfield is saturated and the water had nowhere to go.

Hmmm...what other good news do I have?

Rural Living...for the most part I love it. I love being able to run outside in my nightie to shut the water off. I love having the room to roam and experiment with plants, landscaping and nobody has to see my mistakes if I fix them fast enough. I don't like that I have to drive 20 miles to buy milk, and I don't like driving 25 miles one way to work in the winter.

I don't know what leach lines are?

Well waters are not the same everywhere. Ours is considered hard because it contains calcium and iron. It tastes fine. In Oklahoma where we lived and I grew up, we had a well of water containing gypsum, which was undrinkable for humans, but cattle didn't mind. A very bitter taste. We hauled our drinking water. and used a cistern when there was enough rain. The treated water in towns with chlorene and so forth are undrinkable to me. I can think of no good reason to live in town, and will not again as long as I can avoid it. Country living is great.

Hey, well water is the best! At least it is here in SE TX. If you are in town the water is treated with chemicals. We have a deep water well and have a filter on the water coming in the house. It is the best tasting water anywhere. I guess it depends on your location.
We also have a septic tank (everyone does that lives outside of the city limits here) and have never had it pumped or had it back up. It all hinges on proper drainage lines and proper care of what goes into it. All my wash water and sink water just go into field lines underground, but only the commode water goes into the septic tank. I occasionally use caustics to clean my commode but always put my sour milk, old yeast, etc. in the commodes to feed the bacteria in the septic system. Just plain old common sense. Jenny

The guy who pumps our septic system said that powdered laundry detergent is the worst thing for septic systems. Liquid is better, and you can buy a biodegradable kind at walmart. I've not tried the biodegradable kind yet.

I was using the powdered form of the homemade laundry soap posted here on DG, but I stopped using it after he told me that. I am now using liquid Tide, which most likely isn't much better.

The kind of well water you have will determine if it's good or bad. Take a sample to your County Extension office. Any Master Gardener should be able to tell you where that is.

I personally love well water. My brother has threated several times to get us hooked up to city water--with all that chlorine and fluoride they put in the water. GROSS!! Our water actually comes from an underground spring, and it comes right out of the tap very cold. It's tasteless, and I love it. I hope we never have to go to city water.

Depending on the type of well water you have, it could be good or bad for your plants. My well water is wonderful for my plants and my pond and my fish have no problems with fresh water when I clean the pond.

Septic tanks aren't so bad if you maintain them. Rid X once a month, every month, helps keep the good bacteria in the tank eating away at the gook. Dollar General carries a generic brand for about $2 a box. $2 a month is not a bad investment. A farmer's co-op may even sell it in bulk at a great discount. I've been here 15 years and have never had to have my septic tank sucked out. I use generic Rid X every month.

And rural life is the BEST! I used to be surrounded by rice and cotton fields. I awoke each morning to the sound of tractors and crop dusters. I loved it--music to my ears. The city annexed us about a dozen years ago and now I'm surrounded by car lots and other big businesses. No more cotton on the roadside. No more tractors. No farmers waving at me from the field. And too much noise!

You'll love the serenity of rural life. If you're like me, you'll settle out there and rarely want to venture "into to town." Go for it!

NancyAnn

Wow, you all are quick! And thank you!

A couple of things...the realtor said there was a well (which we did see) but the pump was bad. I have no idea what it takes to put in a new one. This was one of those hand pump jobs. He said you would use it to water plants, wash cars, etc. The house also has city water.

He also said (as he surveyed the number of children and the obvious sex of them. LOL) that septic systems work as good as you maintain them and said feminine products going in were bad! No clue what he meant. hahahahaha

Uranium Joan? Oh my! That does sound ominous. So far as I understand, leach lines are how the clean product gets back out of your septic system. Apparently when you got all that rain, yours got full. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

I never thought about laundry detergent! With six kids, that REALLY oughta be a consideration! I am trying to think of the term, is it gray water? If detergent is bad, could I just drain the washer outside or into a barrel or something and let it seep out?

We are looking at buying just over seven acres and there are lots of pros and cons to consider. We know we want to do it but it is just a little scary too. I guess it is not a big secret. Here is what we are looking at buying: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/523540/

For what it lacks right now, it really makes up for with potential, room to expand, one more bedroom than we have now and a HUGE garage/workshop with room for storage and all the blasted tools and toys. LOL

How do you use RidX? If you can flush it down the toilet, it may work for us up here in the north where it's frozen and snow covered most of the year. If it has to be put directly into the septic tank, it wouldn't be possible to do it a lot of months.

Chele, we've been on well/septic for years. It's been tested for every bio problem imagineable and to double our diligence, we have a UV light that's installed on the plumbing system just in case.... the UV light kills 99.9% of all bacteria, etc. We still, just in case, treat the well with liquid Clorox every 18 mos when we know we'll be away for 2 days...or go without a shower for 2 days :), which in our case IS the case since we rarely travel.

Last week we had a terrific thunderstorm here and as usual, the electricity went out - and also fried my hard drive :( Remember, when your electricity goes out, so does your water.....toilets, shower......

All that being said, we wouldn't consider living on a non-well property unless we absolutely had to! We are just starting to build our "dream home" now and it's again, a 'well' property.

Go for it and God Bless your family :)

You flush Rid-X (or did when I still was on a septic system.)

Chele, with all the laundry you must do with that size family, I'd look into a graywater drain system for laundry as well as cooking water. There's lots of info on the web, esp. filtering the graywater with plants and using it for gardening. I don't think it's an expensive project necessarily. I may even have a book on it...

If the well had a hand pump, it's no doubt a shallower well rather than a deep drilled well (in a pipe about 6"-8" diameter) that would have a submersible pump.

There's a good (older) book, The Rural Living Handbook: An Illustrated Guide to Practical Country Skills (Paperback) by Mother Earth News. Has some really good articles about wells, springs, septic systems and lots more.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671657909/qid%3D1120435592/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/103-9788321-8677441

Thanks a bunch Darius. There are several books on that link. I wonder if I can find any of them at the library or books similar to them. I will print that out and see what I can find.

I think we live a fairly simple life already, other than the modern conveniences we can't live without now, like the computer and satellite TV. There is already a dish there.

I think our biggest money waste is eating out and if we have two mortgages for a bit, that will go way down. Maybe I can make some friends out there that will help me fill my freezer with some fresh grown stuff. LOL We would like to get a few animals but I am sure that is something we won't do right off. More than half of the land is fenced but I don't think my kids are gonna wanna eat anything we feed and take care of. Sigh.

I am trying to learn about some of the things that are foreign to me before I make any decisions. We really *think* we want it though. :)

Chele, if you don't find a copy at the library, I could lend mine to you. I trust that I'd get it back! I have several books on going back to the land, just not unpacked yet.

Rid X is a box of powder enzymes that you just flush down the toilet, preferably at night, when you are ready for bed. You just dump 1/2 a box or a whole box (depending on septic tank size) in the commode and flush. Then try not to run any water the rest of the night so the enzymes can begin working while you sleep. If you do it once a month, it will eat away at the gook and prevent backup. The first time you use it, you will use twice as much. Depending on how bad you think your system is, you may want to use twice as much for a couple or three months to get it under control. Then use the regular dosage every month after that.

As far as the outside pump goes, it probably wouldn't be worth fixing. Does the house have an outside water hydrant on it? If not, it might be cheaper and easier to install one or two of those than to fix the hand pump.

NancyAnn

Out by the street, there is a big cement box with a cement lid on it that my hubby said is probably the actual well. Up closer to the house, there is a big wrought iron looking hand pump that sticks out of the ground about five feet tall. The realtor said he did not think it worked. So when he left I went over and gave it a good pump. LOL A big wasp flew out and that was enough info for me! We won't do anything without an inspection.

Yep, the cement box with a cement lid is the well casing/housing. The old hand pump in the yard might be a decoration/remnant from an earlier shallow well.

It may have set unused for so long that it needs some serious priming. You might try pumping it A LOT after you spray wasp killer up the spout. Some repetitive pumping may be all it takes to get it to work again.

You can buy biodegradable laundry detergent from Arm & Hammer that will work just fine for a septic system. It shouldn't be hard to find at all, smells good, and washes well. :-)

When we lived in Wisconsin our well water was wonderful!!! Clean and cold without a taste. Yummm! Then we moved to northern Ohio. Ugh... Ohio has a lot of sulphur and other nasty metals in its ground water, so be sure to have yours tested. (Some neighbors of ours from Ohio went on a trip and came back complaining that the water where they went didn't have any flavor! We were so horrified that they actually DRANK the stuff coming out of the taps we didn't think to inform them that water isn't SUPPOSTED to have any flavor! When we first moved their my parents attempted to make coffee with the tap water. Mom would put in two coffee filters, run just the water through, put in fresh coffee filters, run the water through again, put in fresh coffee filters, and make coffee, and there would STILL be green stuff floating on the tops of their cups. Ewwww.....)

the secret to a healthy septic is to not put anything in it except human waste. it will naturally biodegrade. the problems begin when a family puts lots of TP in it, as well as numerous harsh cleaning products. the paper stops up the leach lines, and the chemicals kill all the bacteria that are needed to break down the human waste. rid-x (as well as buttermilk and leftover yeast) adds back the necessary bacteria.

rural life?? the only way i'd live any other way is if i am incapacitated and unable to choose. how so many people live the way they do, all cramped, and fearful... i'll take my little house in the woods, 20 miles from the nearest town, any time.:-)

You guys are all very helpful and I really appreciate it. Without being to disgusting...LOL...how do we not use *a bunch of TP* with six daughters? I guess I could get a biohazard container from my doctor. An outhouse is starting to sound pretty good too. LOL I really am not trying to make light of things and we are seriously considering this move. I just want to know how things are going to be different and you are giving me very good information and things to think about. Thank you.

We had well water in Providence NY, before we moved here. Was great!!! Of course, when trees knocked down the electric lines, we were the last area to be fixed. Three days w/o electric (and therefore water also, electric pump) was rough. First thing I did was to put aside several gals of water under the sinks, for emergency.

There is a frequency you are supposed to get the septic lines emptied, don't know it. Of course my DA's went out (Ohio) right in middle of a family reunion one year. They hadn't gotten theirs cleaned in years either...

I think you and the family would love it! I always wanted to get the chickens that lay colored eggs!! And the ones that lay twins... ~ Suzi :)

Badseed, I heard that Cottonelle toilet paper was better for septic tanks (degrades quicker).

In Iowa, if you have to replace your septic tank, you have to have a complete system replacement if there are no leach fields. We just had one put in last Jan. or Feb. at the cost of about $6,500.00 and it is law here that the gray water goes through the septic tank as well as that from the bathroom. The only water that doesn't have to go through the system is the run off from the roof. Our new system has to be pumped out every two years now and that is expensive. I'm not sure I would do that job very cheap either, though. It was a horrible mess to deal with and it won't be back to normal around here until sometime next year. Our roof rain water drains into a well (cistern), and I love having it to water my plants. We have a pump on it that is in the basement and it's rigged up so it works just like the regular outside faucet with rural water.

We don't raise any animals on our three acres, but we have lots of birds, squirrels, chipmonks, rabbits, and some other four legged critters and slithering critters that I'm less fond of. I hope you find the perfect place, Michele.

I suggest you go knock on the neighbor's door and say Hi!! I'm thinking about buying next door, or down the road and would like to ask you come questions if you don't mind. Most people in the country want good neighbors and they want to be on good terms with their neighbors, so chances are they will be truthful.

Judy

Badseed...sounds like you are asking all the right questions. Would you need a heated greenhouse to fullfill your gardening dreams? Could you convert one of the outbuildings....and in the conversion, build in Solar heat (passive)...or maybe in Ohio that is a good joke?

I wouldn't worry about the 'IF'...just think of the 'HOW TO'....

Carol

I just realized something. I have a small pkg of papers stapled together with the real estate listing, disclosures and a survey map. The survey map actually has the name of the property owners on it.

If you got a phone call from a stranger, asking you about a property for sale, what they know about it, the school district, property flooding, safe for kids, wildlife, etc, would it totally freak you out? Tick you off? Last thing I want to do is scare or make angry, my new neighbors. LOL Of course I would not overly interogate them unless they seemed willing and friendly. ;)

what I've learned in the 2 years we've been on septic (we have well water as well but since you aren't drinking that, my info there doesn't apply)

don't use cottonelle TP, use single ply if you can stand it, also, "flushable wipes" are NOT flushable into septic

we used cottonelle for the first year we were hare and after ours backed up into the basement, the roto rooter guy that came out (after the builders took out the useless filter) said it was a backup of that and the 1x daily flushable wipe DD used for bm (I wiped her so I know that's all that went down)

as stated before, don't flush feminine products either. I use cloth and a Keeper so that's not an issue here

We now use seventh generation 1ply TP, although our spoiled tushes took a while, you do get used to it....

Laundry wise, an energy efficient front loader uses very little water, I think ours has a max of 16 gallons per load, the avg. top loader uses 40 or more. Also, the front loaders use WAY less detergent and do a superior job cleaning. We personally have used Bi-o-kleen for about 3 years now and when you buy it in bulk, 90-$100 lasts me a year doing laundry for 4. Another plus to the front loaders like Kenmore and Whirlpool is that they have huge capacities! I can wash a king sized comforter in mine.

All our waste water goes into the septic. The advice we recieved from the septic people is to put 1T yeast down the toilet 1x a month and have it pumped every 2-3 years. I'ts only 2 yearts old now and our leach fields are HUGE. I'm still trying to figure out the "rule" on planting on those leach fields.


Oh, and the health dept. most likely has a map of your septic system....

This message was edited Jul 5, 2005 12:22 PM

I used to work for a city water treatment facility. We would glady catch samples of well water from a kitchen faucet (or we'd glady show you how to catch it yourself), then test for a variety of microorganisms, and provide you with an analysis of how safe your well water was for drinking. Call your closest water treatment QC lab, and ask for their assistance.

Don't know anything about septics or the like, but I figured I'd share a professional opinion on the drinking capability of the water.

FWIW, Ohio is a bad state for solar; it's very cloudy. My dad used to build solar units for farm buildings. Iowa and Illinois are great states for solar powered grain dryers and pig buildings, but in Ohio the units are secondary systems.

You might want to google "acreage living". The following information was on our county extension site and has a lot of info. Our well water is bad (very very hard with high iron, etc.) We have a double filter system and a softener and both are high maintenance. If our well goes dry, I think we will hook up to the local rural water system. You might want to check with local zoning commission, health department and Dept of Environmental Quality as to what is and is not allowed. For example, in our county gray water has to go into septic system. We found out the hard way about this.

http://lancaster.unl.edu/acreageguide/contents.htm

Bad,
You might try visiting the neighbors and asking. In person is always preferable to a call from a stranger. I won't even answer the phone unless I know who it is anymore. But, I wouldn't necessarily talk to the owners unless/until you put in an offer that they accept.

Just tell the neighbors that you are interested in buying the place (next door, down the road, etc) and ask them what the school district is like, the place and any potential problems, the sellers, the other neighbors, how many have kids your girls' ages, the county crew at snow-plowing, the wells, the taxes, etc...

You can call the utility companies too. Mine told me how much the average elec/gas usage was for the previous yr. Good Luck!! ~ Suzi :)

My husband and I just moved to a more rural area ourselves. So far we're LOVING it! We both grew up on acreage and yearned to return to a more rural lifestyle. We did visit the neighbors and ask them about living here. They were very friendly and helpful once we introduced ourselves. I also suggest visiting in person rather than calling.

As for well water-- it's my favorite!! We moved off city water just in time, as they were starting to chlorinate it and it tasted bad. The water here is SO much better. The only consideration, as mentioned above, is that when power goes out, so does the well pump.

And as for septic-- I grew up for twenty years on septic, and now we're back on septic again. I only remember the septic being pumpted ONCE during all those years. And my parents didn't necessarily follow all these "rules" that have been mentioned here. They use powdered detergent, any kind of toilet paper, we flushed feminine products, and never used RidX to my knowledge. I'm not sure if they're just lucky, but my impression was that once you get a healthy system going, it doesn't take much to keep it going.

I love living in the country and am so happy to be back. There was a need in me that was never satisfied living in the 'burbs. My husband and I spent a lot of time going to the woods and national parks, trying to get that taste of the outdoors, but I think we'll be happy here again. It's great to sit on the back patio and watch all the wildlife, hear the birds and insects, and breathe the fresh air. I think back to all the things there was to do and discover in the country as a child, and I'm glad we'll be able to provide that for our children, too. I think you'll be very happy in the country!

Danak,
I think you'll be happier in the country too! Congratulations!!

BadSeed,
Good luck on your quest for more info on the place, the bid and getting the property!! ~ Suzi :)

Badseed,
I just found this thread.... and wanted to throw in my 2 cents. Nearly all my life I have had well water and a septic system. My biggest problem is the lack of flouride in the water I grew up drinking, according to my dentist, is why my teeth are bad. My kids so far have had no problems with cavities, but are all getting sealant on their teeth.

All of our kitchen sink and washer water goes directly into a drain that runs into a ditch along side the road here, we so far (knock on wood) have not had a septic problem. Where I live is so rural in part people don't even have septic tanks, their waste just runs into local streams. Of course, the laws now say that if you buy here, the house has to have a septic tank and leach bed put in. I'm sure eventually, I'm sure it will get to the point where everyone has to put in a septic tank (I hope) but right now it isn't getting alot of attention.

My 2 biggest complaints with well water are #1, no water when no electricity (which I saw mentioned above) and #2, a dry season can cause serious water shortages. We have already run out of water this summer once, and we are being VERY conservative. Make sure you ask if there have ever been problems with the well running dry.

A safe bet i to keep on hand some water for cleaning et cetera in case the power goes out (an of course flushing the commode). During the blackout here in 2003, that was the biggest problem we had. We ended up hauling water about 100 yards from a stream (YUCK) to flush with :)

I would never move back into a more populated place, though.... even a small town. You just have to be willing to make allowances.... and think ahead a little more than your city dwelling friends. If we run out of something necessary after 8 PM, we either have to drive 20 minutes and pay convience store prices, or drive 30-45 minutes to get to a major grocery store.

Hope this helps, feel free to dmail me if you need to.

Good Luck!!

Janis

I highly recommend rural living, as well.

We have a well, and the water is fantastic (as far as 'drinking' goes) but it is a bit 'limey'. (One can't really *tell* that it's limey, but the toilet bowl, bathtub, humidifiers, etc...tell it with buildup.) We did have it tested, and I recommend following up on that every few years.
Also, if you should ever have any flooding in the immediate area, have your well water tested at that time.

Since I collect tropicals/indoor plants, there are a few that I water with distilled water since they can't tolerate the high lime content.
It's definitely true, as stated above, that the quality of the well-water depends a lot on the 'where'!

We were told by our Realtor that if you've a large family (we have 4 kids) you should have your septic tank pumped once a year...once every 2 years minimum. We do have it pumped every year, (there's a guy near us who only charges $55!) and haven't had any problems, though I've been considering adding the Rid-X.

Since I grew up in a home with a well and Septic system, I was always told not to flush 'feminine products (the T word!), and paper towels, so common sense told me never to flush the new 'flushable wipes', so I don't when they're used.

My dad used to get soooo mad at my brother, who would often flush paper towels....they plugged up the pipes and he often had to disassemble them at one particular joint and pull out the paper toweling....yuck...(I can still hear dear dad gagging!)

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that with your own well and *electric* pump (if the water for the home comes from the well) your electric bill will be higher than you're used to.

I've also found it helpful to plan a menu each week, and buy everything needed for that menu when I go grocery shopping, (as well as 'extra' gallons of milk, etc..) as a quick trip to the store is no longer possible.....and, well...no longer *feasible*, these days!

Good luck in your decision!

Oh the excitement of rural living--good for you for seeking it out and for asking good questions--helps to know as much as you can in advance.......

I've lived most of my life in rural settings w/ well water/septic systems,etc.

A few comments from the myriad of things that have been touched upon here.

re: talking to potential new neighbors - yes, do it--I agree with someone's earlier comment about chatting in person, even if you call and ask if there is a good time you could stop by--think about it, people always start to "wonder" when a neighbor's place is for sale...so likely they be interested in meeting a prospective new neighbor

well water - some good/some bad--I've been fortunate to always have good water. Get it tested and go from there. A filtering system may correct the issues if you get less than perfect results. Enjoy it--water is one of our most important natural resources - and stands in jepoardy all over the world.

septic - this is a big topic which you've seen illustrated here w/ all the comments! don't be intimidated by it, but instead learn as much as you can about it, and then if you move there--teach your children how it all works--if they understand it they will likely be better w/ their habits

I think its helpful to understand what KIND of septic system you have.....around here it is common to have what we call a drainage field (mabye the same as what people in the thread are referring to as leach lines) OR a mound (used when the site is not suitable for a drainage field)--also would be good to obtain the name of the service who installed the system for future reference/maintainace, etc.

for the size of your family, you may want to consider having your septic TANK pumped once a year for the first couple years and then see if you can go every other year

keeping good bacteria active is very important--so additives are good! but also become very conscience about what you put out into your septic....harsh cleaners and bleach will kill your "good" bacteria, which is needed to assist the natural breakdown of the waste

TP - I understand a single ply is best--breaksdown better - Scott tissue is an example, in fact it and other products will indicate on the label "safe for septic systems".....help your kids understand how the toilet/septic works--and ask them to use good hygiene but try not to to put massive wads of TP down there unnecessarily

best to follow the rule of "nothing but TP"....EVERYTHING else, paper or personal products should go in the trash--it CANNOT break down sufficently and can cause awful problems--its simply not worth it

grey water systems are no longer legal in some places....more research, I know, but best to know your options

I'm not sure what the difference is between powdered and liquid laundry detergent....may have to look into that myself! I do remember hearing once that Tide is terrible for septics bcs it has a gummy quality to it...but I cannot substantiate that

there are some really good "natural" cleaning products available now, some were mentioned earlier--alot are concentrated too--you want biodegradeable products--look for vegetable oil based cleaners instead of the petroleum based cleaners so common on the shelves

storing water for outages - great idea - we store a minimum of 2 gallons of drinking water per person AND extra water for washing/flushing/etc

there are alot of great options for planting above septic systems - aggressive thick roots from trees are to be avoided - they too can cause problems - native prairie plants are great because they often have the type of roots that can go deep into the soil and utilize the nutrients left behind by the waste w/o damaging the system. Healthly attractive plants results that are a benefit to the environment, often providing lots of beneficial bird/caterpillar/butterfly interest!

basically the better you take care of what goes in the better you are caring for the very piece of land you're living on and the groundwater - take good care of it and you will benefit in the long run

ok--I'm done--hope I wasn't the longest-winded one on this..........
good luck!

Since you have an abundance of girls in the household, would it be worth the expense to install a bidet??? It would surely reduce the amount of tissue going into the septic system. I don't think they would be pricier than a good toilet, but I haven't scouted prices...and you would have to hook up a hot water line to it....!!

Gotta chime here too...

When I was 11yrs old, my folks bought a place w/a septic. The
first time the tank was pumped was when the township started
requiring it about 20yrs later. Never a problem. No restrictions
on what we flushed.

Flash forward ... bought a small farm 7yrs ago. Had the tank pumped
after 2yrs and need to schedule it again for this summer. It just
never occurred to me to worry about it - guess we were lucky (both
my folks & me!)

I have spring water & just LOVE it. There is a UV light to sterilize it,
a gizmo to balance acidic tendency and a mechanical filter to make
sure no frog parts get to my drinking water ;-) The only drawback is
electricity does go out 1-2 times a year and sometimes is out long enough
that water is a problem. A generator backup would address this but too
expensive so far to bother with.

Pro's of rural living:
1) privacy. I can get distracted when I zip outside for
something while in my PJ's and start weeding. No one can see just
how excentric I really am ;-)
2) space - i can find space for whatever I want to plant. Even huge trees
3) clean air, quiet
4) sense of self sufficiency - we have chickens & a large veggie garden. Fun
to have meals entirely from our own land.

Con's of rural living:
1) we've got so much going here its hard to travel now. Too many critters to
feed and too many plants to water (I've got a greenhouse here) to leave untended.
We have house sitters when we leave for vacations more than an overnight vacation.
2) can't think of anything elses that ever bums me out about this move!

Have fun & let us know what you decide to do.
Tam

Don't blame the septic systems, blame the so called experts. We moved here in 1982. The man that put in the septic system said he did it in 1978. It had a field tile hooked to it and came out in the corn field about 300 feet from the tank. All that ever came out of the tile was clear water. All of our wastewater went into the septic tank + the water that flowed in the basement in heavy rains. Never had it pumped!
We buy this place 4 years ago, were required to put in the "experts" septic system, with a new drain field. Their tank is solid concrete, 500 gallons. You are supposed to pump it every 2 years. Does anyone know what they do with what they pump out ? I do, they spread it on top of the ground in the closest avaiable field. You can't let bacteria do it's work, but you can spread the crap on top of the ground. Don't make any sense to me!

As for a well, ours is probably illegal. It is hand dug, about 30 feet deep. We have the best water in the world. No filters, no iron, no WATER SOFTNER! Never goes dry either, & we are watering 4 greenhouses & some gardens at times. This well is a lined hole about 16" in diameter. It has a 4" submersible pump hanging in there, set at 50 lbs pressure, boy do we get water!
It has been tested & is very pure.

When I was farming & selling grade A milk years ago, a federal milk inspector drew my name out of the group to inspect. He was spot checking the state inspector. Anyway this was a very nice & knowledgable man. We were talking wells & good water. He said water only has to travel about 50 feet through sand/gravel to make it pure.

The only thing that would bother your plants from well water would be if the PH is wrong. That is very easy tu test for also.

Wish you the best with your new adventure. If it don't work out there is always Minnesota. LOL!
Bernie

I will be reading and rereading everything you guys have posted here. I had to walk away from it for a bit and do some living while putting things in perspective.

We went to the bank today and will have an answer tomorrow! I posted more info on the other thread in the link above. :)

Ok, here is my two cents :-)

We have been on a well, septic system for 36 years.

Wells, leach beds, septic systems are really very simple and I can still remember when we built our home in OH and applied for our septic tank permit the lady said, you take care of your septic tank and it will take care of you.

This is how it works. When water from any source, washer, shower, sink, toilet, goes down the drain, it goes into the septic tank. The solids stay in the septic tank and break down. (more on that later) When the septic tank fills with water, it goes into a distribution box that distributes it into your leach lines. Your leach lines "should" have had a perk test from your local health department. Leach beds are nothing more than lines of pvc pipe lying on a bed of gravel.

The well. It should have been tested when it was dug. Like Dea, we too, pour a gallon of bleach in our well if we are going to be gone a few days even though our water tested safe. That said, it's not a good idea to use lots of bleach in your washer on a regular basis bc the bleach will stop the bacteria from working in your septic tank. Water in OH has lots of iron in it so you may have to get a water softener. That is NOT good for your plants. When we built our home in OH, we by-passed the outside spigots from the water softener. I had a HUGE vegtable garden in OH and some flowers and they loved the well water. Pumps do burn up and we had that happen once in OH and of course it was Saturday night.

The septic tank. I've never used Rid-X but it is a very good product and is meant to keep the solids broken up. I've also heard you can flush a package of yeast down your toilet a couple times a year. I've never done that either.

The size of your septic tank and the length of your leach beds goes by the number of bedrooms in your home which I think is stupid. What if you have 12 kids and have them in two bedrooms.

The toilet paper from 8 people is definitely a concern. You might want to get one of those trash cans that open with a foot pedal, line it, and tell the girls to put their toilet paper there only when they tinkle. We've never done that and we raised 3 girls on a septic tank and we only had to have it pumped once in 18 years and that's bc they did the dishes and thought it was perfectly ok to dump grease down the sink. YIKES! BUT, I have to tell you that we had a huge septic tank and I don't remember how many feet of leach beds but it was a LOT.

It sounds like you have city water in the house but there is a well there also which would be perfect for watering your gardens. There are several kinds of pumps. There are submersible pumps, jet pumps which are above ground, etc.

We LOVE rural living and while the girls did complain a time or two during their teenage years, today they would tell you it was the best place in the world to grow up.