expounded:

absolutely, well + electric is WAAAAY cheaper. for city water they
charge BOTH for the water AND the sewage treatment.

True if there are sewers in the area. There's plenty of area around
here with no sewers. My water bill is around $280 a year.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

wrote in message
. com...

well water is much better too instead of softened water (if you have
hard water). Ingrid


Better in what way?

I've had it both ways, and usually come out ahead using the well water
+ pump electricity. One variable to check, though, is whether your
city bills for water with a minimum usage assumption. If you would be
under the minimum usage, even with watering, you'd be further ahead to
go with the city. I know it sounds insane to think you could water
and remain under the minimum, but I do it; don't know if my city has a
high minimum usage assumption or I'm just exceptionally thrifty with
water.

You are probably exceptionally thrifty in all regards, very few
households ever get a water bill with usage below the minimum... you
must have been a navy submariner. g

She may have even been to the sub races a few times.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Nope, not naval, just lived in the Southwest in an area that didn't
have a water supply. Learned to be really miserly with it. Have been
to the sub races a time or two, though...:-)

Jo Ann

"JackpipE" wrote in message
oups.com...
My house has public water and well water in the basement that's only
available for garden purposes.
Does any one know what is the cost of using well + electric pump vs
public water? Let's assume that the water quality is not an issue
here.
I live in NJ (northern Jersey) and so far I only got 1 water bill for
$0. We have recently moved into the house so I don't know the bills
look like. I know I'm getting high electric bill mainly because of the
AC but not sure it the well pump is part of it.

Thanks,
Jack


Can only tell you about my case. Live near a small town with a municipal
water supply run by a corporation. I do not have access to that water due
to the distance from that town. The corporation uses a community billing
method. That is, every resident receives that same identical bill each
month. The typical water bill is around $68.00 per month. Have seen it
climb as high as $230.00.

Live in an all-electric home, including the water pump for the water well.
My highest electric bill this year was $110.00 last month for this year.
Last year, was $148.00. I have no other source of water. I live in central
TX. Am single, 2 year old 3 bedroom home 1260 sq ft., thermostat 80F
summer/65F winter. Ceiling fans in a 3 bedrooms/living area/dining area.
AC compressor is SEER 12. House doesn't receive direct sun until after 9:00
a.m. due to tree stand in the east. The pump is a 220VAC version, that's
all I know about that part of it. The water source is 550 feet deep in the
earth. In the last year of the drought (last year), the water was
exceptionally high in anaerobic matter. This year, been relatively low.

Water quality is always an issue. The well water here is high in hydrogen
sulfide, use an aeration/flush system for that. Requires zero maintenance.
If it wasn't there my pipes would be corroding as a result, the toilet bowl
would be black, and the house would stink of rotten egg smell. The water
also contains matter that is similar to moss. I use a sediment filter
followed by a carbon filter for that. Sediment filter changed once a month
is cheap, carbon filter changed every 3 months is not cheap. All filter
systems are housed in an outbuilding I constructed on a slab. My water
filtration house, if you will. Further, for drinking water, use a carbon
filter pitcher that I fill daily and put in the refrigerator. The water is
high in minerals, so I need to install a water softener system as well. It
stains the glasses/pots/pans/tableware with a white substance after drying
normally or in dishwasher. More so in dishwasher, am not using drying
cycle. Its probably affecting the hot water heater as well. Washing the
car or truck has same problem.

Water usage is probably not in par with most people. I have a small yard
that I irrigate if the weather doesn't cooperate. I do draw a bathe once a
week, shower on other days. Fill a 12" deep X 4' diameter kiddy solid
plastic wading pool for the dogs once a month. A small 12"X12' garden plot.
Other water usage is typical washer usage for one person, dishwasher, bath
and kitchen sink, toilet. The water used on the outside water faucets is
not filtered.

I stopped performing irrigation last year around end of August 2006 on yard.
Was unsure of water reserves on my well source. A few people in the area
did run out of water in their wells. Typical water wells in area run from
200 to 1100 feet deep. Believe the dry wells were shallow.

For purposes of your specific question I believe you're asking if there is a
definite difference between cost of municipal water supply and electricity
for our water well pump to provide same amount of water. Look at your water
bill, see the billing period. Open the breaker on the pump, use municipal
water one period. The following billing period, use the well water. Be
consistent in garden water usage as you can during both periods. Not real
accurate, but guessing will show a difference. Another way, kill all
breakers except the water well pump. Record the electric meter reading. Go
water the garden normally. Record the electric meter reading. Subtract the
last reading from the first, this is KW usage. Multiply that by your KW
charge by your electric supplier. That is the actual cost in terms of
electrical usage.
Dave

water is softened with salt and the Na+ can be really high in areas
with hard water. hard on plants. Ingrid

On Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:25:31 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

wrote in message
.com...

well water is much better too instead of softened water (if you have
hard water). Ingrid


Better in what way?

wrote in message
. com...

On Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:25:31 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

wrote in message
e.com...

well water is much better too instead of softened water (if you have
hard water). Ingrid


Better in what way?


water is softened with salt and the Na+ can be really high in areas
with hard water. hard on plants. Ingrid


OK. I wondered what you meant. Most well water here has to be softened, or
it's useless, so well water is NOT always the better choice, which seems to
be what you were saying.

If the well pump is working properly then it should not cost alot to run.
If you are not sure you can have a plumber check it out. We noticed our well
pump running alot more than it should and one day it finally quit. It
probably had not been working properly for a while before we noticed there
was anything wrong. We had it replaced and our electric bills were quite a
bit less following the replacement. Just my opinion but I think we pay less
for our elctricity for the pump than my others pay for municipal water. But
there are more factors to consider than my unscientific opinion.
Marilyn
"JackpipE" wrote in message
oups.com...
My house has public water and well water in the basement that's only
available for garden purposes.
Does any one know what is the cost of using well + electric pump vs
public water? Let's assume that the water quality is not an issue
here.
I live in NJ (northern Jersey) and so far I only got 1 water bill for
$0. We have recently moved into the house so I don't know the bills
look like. I know I'm getting high electric bill mainly because of the
AC but not sure it the well pump is part of it.

Thanks,
Jack

On Sep 10, 11:08?pm, Jim wrote:
Dan L. wrote:

[....]

If the well water is

[....]

yea, out of context but worth the mention. do NOT ever
put well water or city water in a radiator. the mineral
content in both will clog the radiator. use only store
bought distilled water.

I talking car, truck, tractor ... ect type radiators.

That's not true, in fact it's pure BS. Many very large municipalities
have exceptionally soft water naturally... NYC has very soft water,
Long Island water is filtered through it's natural aquifer,
exceptionally soft water results. But modern radiator coolant (ie.
Prestone, etc.) takes care of any water mineral deposits, and more
importantly prevents boil overs by raising the boiling point... never
ever use plain water in a radiator for any vehicle no matter how
mineral free. Using distilled water in a raditor is something you
just made up out of thin air, a crock of doodoo.

In article . com,
Sheldon wrote:

On Sep 10, 11:08?pm, Jim wrote:
Dan L. wrote:

[....]

If the well water is

[....]

yea, out of context but worth the mention. do NOT ever
put well water or city water in a radiator. the mineral
content in both will clog the radiator. use only store
bought distilled water.

I talking car, truck, tractor ... ect type radiators.

That's not true, in fact it's pure BS. Many very large municipalities
have exceptionally soft water naturally... NYC has very soft water,
Long Island water is filtered through it's natural aquifer,
exceptionally soft water results. But modern radiator coolant (ie.
Prestone, etc.) takes care of any water mineral deposits, and more
importantly prevents boil overs by raising the boiling point... never
ever use plain water in a radiator for any vehicle no matter how
mineral free. Using distilled water in a raditor is something you
just made up out of thin air, a crock of doodoo.

That's not true, in fact you are off ... mmmm ... aahh ... slightly.

Another person wrote the radiator question, not me Dan L.

Surface water, like lakes, ponds, rivers and aquifers tend to be low in
mineral content and high in biologicals. Water from these sources are
very soft. Some exceptions like the dead sea

Well water is different, most are high in minerals and low in
biologicals. Well water is what we are talking about, not surface water.
Most wells are deep, mine is 150 feet deep into the ground.

Now if I am reading this correctly, If you are saying all forms of water
are bad for radiators, including distilled ... I agree. I always use the
premixes anyways. However, the poster of the radiator question has some
merits. They the powers that be also make pet friendly radiator mixes.

Enjoy Life .... Dan

--
Email "dan lehr at comcast dot net". Text only or goes to trash automatically.

Jim wrote:
Dan L. wrote:
[....]
If the well water is
[....]

yea, out of context but worth the mention. do NOT ever
put well water or city water in a radiator. the mineral
content in both will clog the radiator. use only store
bought distilled water.

I talking car, truck, tractor ... ect type radiators.

Wrong. You should only use the recommended type of coolant in your car,
truck etc.

--

Travis in Shoreline Washington

it is useless for washing hair, clothes, maybe even drinking. but the
harder the water, the higher the Na+ content, so that some people are
told to RO the water if they have high blood pressure.
I was told about somebody having real trouble with their goldfish,
turned out their "salt" content was so high in the softened water it
was stressing the fish out.
calcium is a pain in flower pots, but here in Wisconsin everything in
my mothers garden grew fabulously well on well water. Ingrid

On Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:35:49 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
OK. I wondered what you meant. Most well water here has to be softened, or
it's useless, so well water is NOT always the better choice, which seems to
be what you were saying.

Marilyn wrote:
If the well pump is working properly then it should not cost alot to run.
If you are not sure you can have a plumber check it out. We noticed our well
pump running alot more than it should and one day it finally quit. It
probably had not been working properly for a while before we noticed there
was anything wrong. We had it replaced and our electric bills were quite a
bit less following the replacement. Just my opinion but I think we pay less
for our elctricity for the pump than my others pay for municipal water. But
there are more factors to consider than my unscientific opinion.
Marilyn

Electricity is a minor cost. Couple of months ago, my pump went too and
cost ~$1,600 to have replaced. That's the 2nd one replaced and add cost
of whole house filter and 2 new pressure tanks. But, this is over a 30
year period and all in all having a well is less cost than buying water.
Same calculations can be done for septic and it comes out cheaper. Rough
calculations based on friends bills on water and sewer show I'm saving
maybe 50%.

Frank

wrote:
water is softened with salt and the Na+ can be really high in areas
with hard water. hard on plants. Ingrid


Nonsense... you make it sound like softeners produce brine. A
properly functioning water softener puts no more salt into water than
exists in the water before softening, in fact water softeners usually
produce water with a lower salt content than contaned by the hard
water before softening, in removing minerals it also removes salt.
The salt used in the softening process does not enter the domestic
water supply, that salt is eliminated in another direction as grey
water. If any salt does end up in dometic water it is so miniscule a
concentration as to be negligible and has absolutely no more effect on
plants than rain water... there is more salt contained in bottled
water. There is plenty of info available on this topic.

http://www.wqa.org/sitelogic.cfm?ID=431

On Sep 10, 1:48?pm, JackpipE wrote:
My house has public water and well water in the basement that's only
available for garden purposes.
Does any one know what is the cost of using well + electric pump vs
public water? Let's assume that the water quality is not an issue
here.
I live in NJ (northern Jersey) and so far I only got 1 water bill for
$0. We have recently moved into the house so I don't know the bills
look like. I know I'm getting high electric bill mainly because of the
AC but not sure it the well pump is part of it.

One thing I neglected to mention is that well water does not contain
flouride... often neither does municipal water. Any household that
does not have fluoridated water needs to discuss this with their
dentist. In case anyone hasn't noticed there is a much higher
incidence of rotten teeth in rural areas.

"Sheldon" wrote in message
ps.com...
wrote:
water is softened with salt and the Na+ can be really high in areas
with hard water. hard on plants. Ingrid


Nonsense... you make it sound like softeners produce brine. A
properly functioning water softener puts no more salt into water than
exists in the water before softening, in fact water softeners usually
produce water with a lower salt content than contaned by the hard
water before softening, in removing minerals it also removes salt.
The salt used in the softening process does not enter the domestic
water supply, that salt is eliminated in another direction as grey
water. If any salt does end up in dometic water it is so miniscule a
concentration as to be negligible and has absolutely no more effect on
plants than rain water... there is more salt contained in bottled
water. There is plenty of info available on this topic.

http://www.wqa.org/sitelogic.cfm?ID=431


Maybe, but softened water sure tastes like crap. Of course, this statement
is based only on my experience in about 15 homes, two of which just had
softeners installed by professionals.