Surviving without well water

Carol & Paul Huss

Special to the Village News

In the fog of the morning, Oct. 1, I positioned the kitchen faucet (with a reverse osmosis filter located under the kitchen sink) to get water for our coffee. To my surprise, no water was to be obtained. There was no water anywhere in the house that day!

This put a hold on all laundry washing, automatic dishwasher working, and toilet flushing as well as cleaning for ourselves with showers and the rest of the household. The orchard, vineyard, and garden suffered also. Simply put, it was gross. Sponge baths and three-minute showers took place eventually.

We began problem-solving and exploring possibilities on how we might resolve these issues. I am sorry to say that cleanliness was put on a hold that day and for several months with a few of those tasks.

We went to a laundromat and brought water home from town for drinking. Luckily, it was our rainy season. We collected rainwater to flush toilets and water some plants. We lost a newly planted cherry tree, but the new persimmon tree survived.

The water tank was at a low level that required more water to be pumped to the house and garden from the well. We found the well pump no longer worked to draw water from the well to the tank. The well water was at a lower level than known previously. A well crew that inspected the situation dug deeper and saved our well, preventing us from having a new well dug and costing more money. The well pump was replaced.

With prayers, we received wisdom. Instead of depending so much on so little rainfall this year, we ordered water truck deliveries to our tank each month until our well was working in our favor. A pump to the house was still operating, but the problem was getting water to the tank from the well.

We had electrical power, but watering the orchard and vineyard required gravity and hoses for various trees and grapevines so their survival would endure the excessive lack of water from the irrigation system.

We were inconvenienced for seven months and many dollars for the complete project. When a new and stronger well pump was installed, we received more water than we had ever had before this. We are so happy.

Referred information for this venture was from Stehly Brothers Drilling in Valley Center, https://www.stehlybrothers.com/.