A common debate everyone has when either buying or building a house is whether they want their water to come from a personal well or the public supply. Each option has its pros and cons, but how do they stack up against each other? To help you pick the best water solution for you and your home, we want to look at both options in the same light and see how they stack up against one another.
The Importance of Good Water Services
Despite being essential to fulfill basic survival needs, having water services that work with your lifestyle can either make life a breeze or stressful anytime you turn the faucet. Having no water is something everyone worries about as water is something that you need every day for an array of things.
Rural areas like Purcellville, Middleburg and Lucketts are all highly reliant on water well systems to get residents the water they need. In more built up areas like D.C., public water is often more popular. But which is right for you?
Well Water VS Public Water
Well Water
Availability
What draws so many people to using well water is that you are always going to have water available. The well system you use is entirely your own, so nobody else can tell you how much water you can use in a given time frame as you are the sole determination of how much water is used.
Despite this freedom, you still need to make sure you are not using up all of your water if the well has a limited capacity. If you are facing low water pressure from your well you could have emptied the well of its current water supply.
Cost
Another commonly quoted advantage that people give for using a well system is that you are free of recurring costs. Unlike public systems where you pay a monthly fee based on water and septic usage, your well water is free of charge once you get a well system set up.
Where you will have to face costs with your well is getting one installed and getting well pump repair if needed. Despite the investment cost and occasional maintenance fee, you are likely to save a lot of money since you no longer have monthly water bills to pay.
Convenience
When it comes to convenience, a well system is both very convenient and also not very convenient at the same time. When it comes to the convenience of a well, you are always going to have the water you need if you are using your well supply effectively.
Where these wells become inconvenient is when you need to get them installed or repaired. The fact that you have the entire system on your property and need to maintain it yourself means that if it stops working, you don’t get water. Look for water well pump service near me to get repairs when your water stops.
Natural Disaster Usage
This category relates to how likely you are to get water when the weather gets bad and public services are not always available. Depending on your situation, you can have a water well that receives power and will be able to get the water you need.
Well water allows you access to a personal supply of water when the public water systems are not able to deliver water. However, most well systems are going to need power or a generator to actually get water running into your house.
Public Water
Availability
As we move onto public water supplies, we see a shift in almost every aspect of how the water is provided. As far as availability goes, you will always have a supply of water as long as the town has the water and you can pay for it.
Where issues arise is when the water supply runs low and the town needs to limit water usage in every home. There are certain times when water usage is restricted in communities and you will have little control on how much water you can actually get in your house.
Cost
AS far as initial costs go, you really don’t have to pay anything to actually get any special systems in place to get water to your house. Where the prices come into play with public water supplies is when you have to pay a water bill every month if you still want to turn your faucet on and have water come out.
Why this is unfortunate is because we have seen a rise in water bills which is making the cost of getting water every month rather expensive. This is another bill you will need to set aside every month so that you can pay off your water bill.
Convenience
While the bills can often be overwhelming, the convenience you often get with public water supplies cannot be overlooked. Wells run out of water at times, but it is very rare that a public water supply will ever completely run out.
Public water supplies can be troublesome however when it comes to getting quality water all of the time. Well water comes from natural sources that are very fresh, but public water supplies has added chemicals and additives that not everyone may want to drink. Depending on how much you want clean water, the convenience of the public supply is hard to ignore.
Natural Disaster Usage
When something goes wrong with a natural disaster, the public works systems can come to a halt or face major issues. If a water supply gets damaged or faces issues with getting the water to people, it can be hard for households to get water if there is no water to pump.
Unless the issues are rather minor, it can take a while for towns to get their water back to everyone who is on the water grid.
Looking to get your own well system or need well system repairs?