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MizLucinda t1_jd30aj6 wrote

Town water all the way. I’ve known too many people whose wells dried up to ever want to have to deal with that. And, unless you have a generator, you can’t use your water in a power outage since the pump would run on electricity. And if you have a well chances are you’re also somewhere that you need a septic system, which also can have problems. Apparently I’ve given this a lot of thought.

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MissJudgeGaming t1_jd3bojs wrote

I left a comment in regards to being pro town water, but also this exact sentiment.

My parents had a well and an animal rescue on the property. Without a generator, a bad storm knocked the power out and it was a disaster. You don't want to be in a position where you have no power and can't flush toilets.

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IndefinableMustache t1_jd3qrel wrote

That's why we fill our bathtub if a nasty storm is coming through.

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kellogsmalone OP t1_jd4xk3q wrote

I hope you clean the tub regularly!

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jsled t1_jd51q5f wrote

The water goes into the toilet tank, so the tub cleanliness is not really at issue.

But, if you're filling your tub for potable water, there are liners one can purchase to assist with that concern, as well.

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Outrageous-Outside61 t1_jd43g9i wrote

Unless you have a gravity fed spring!

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landodk t1_jd4vu37 wrote

Yeah, toilet and sink at my parents runs without power. Well does run dry every now and then…

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Outrageous-Outside61 t1_jd5w8rl wrote

I had to dig a new spring for them about 15 years ago, but they’re getting over 10gpm out of this box. 4 tiles deep, 600’ of 1” pipe with a 40’ elevation drop and and three springs running into a good gravel reservoir around the boxes. Done right you really can’t beat a good gravity system.

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mr_chip_douglas t1_jd3dan5 wrote

No water without electricity is the biggest drawback of having a well imo.

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mojitz t1_jd3mvwi wrote

I do find well water to be way tastier generally, but in basically all other regards being hooked up to the city is way better. That said, if it were remotely feasible I would LOVE to have some kind of supplemental well that only feeds to the kitchen sink for drinking water.

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MizLucinda t1_jd5bns9 wrote

I grew up in a house with a well and our water did taste good.

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betcaro t1_jd58oqc wrote

Yes -- town water is reliable. I remember years ago residents in Dummerston ran out of their well water when the town built a skating rink for winter "for the good of the town."

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The_Barbelo t1_jd5e5u2 wrote

This was a huge problem when I lived in Westminster west. The yearly winter power outages made it so we couldn’t drink, couldn’t shower, couldn’t flush, and refilling our huge jugs was too much of a PITA. That’s why I moved closer to town! And Putney and Bratts town water isn’t actually bad at all in my opinion. Florida town water though, where my mom lives….ughhhh taste like you’re drinking canned water. You know that bad can taste? It has that.

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MizLucinda t1_jd5fy13 wrote

We were without water for 5-6 days after Irene and it was awful. The town was awesome about making sure there was water available, but it was really tough. And I grew up in a house with a well so whenever there was a power outage we had no water. No thanks - I’m good with municipal water.

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DayLimp873 t1_jd38jwc wrote

Well water. My water tastes better than anything found bottled. Lucky to live on the side of a mountain and we have a generator.

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whaletacochamp t1_jd355fi wrote

Depends on the well. My well water on a mountain in Franklin county is the most delicious and clean water I’ve ever experienced. It’s slightly high in iron and manganese but otherwise none of the other nasty things people experience with their well water.

I lived in Addison/Chittenden county previously with well water that was disgusting without extensive treatment and I would have taken town water any day.

Good well water > town water > bad well water

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Deathcrush t1_jd3u0s2 wrote

fify
Good well water > good town water > bad well water > bad town water

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whaletacochamp t1_jd3u3pn wrote

I see you’ve heard of my friend Flint

The two bad ones are interchangeable depending on badness. I know someone who lived next to a junkyard and had to emergently switch from well to town water because chemicals from the junkyard were leeching into his well. Funny enough two members of his household eventually got cancer too. Similarly, one of the only cases of tularemia in VT in recent history was from a muskrat dying in someone’s well.

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amoebashephard t1_jd2y7ko wrote

Unless you're on a mountain, I'd be testing that water pretty often if you're near any significant agriculture.

Let the town pay for it, that's part of what taxes are for

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KingKababa t1_jd3qty7 wrote

How would you define mountain? Sounds like a stupid question, but most of VT could be considered mountainous.

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Gnascher t1_jd4cxv2 wrote

If you're in the valley, you're not on the mountain.

Basically, if you're tapping your water well above where any contaminants can get in (livestock, farming, industry, etc...) odds are you're drawing clean, tasty water.

If there's anything "nasty" uphill of you, contamination can become an issue.

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Effinehright t1_jd313vo wrote

I want the town for the shower and the hose and the well for eating and drinking

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SnooMaps1313 t1_jd3d1gs wrote

Unless you're near Bennington and it's polluted with PFAS.

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Meow_Meow_4_Life t1_jd3mpm0 wrote

How is the water in the NEK? Any known groundwater issues?

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WeeGreyCat t1_jd3ppfp wrote

In the southern part (Walden, Danville area) it tends to have a lot of minerals. Tastes great but there’s always mineral deposits in teapots, etc. I love it though!

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FourteenthCylon t1_jd54qmv wrote

My well in Walden is full of sulfur. There's no iron and not much calcium, but every time the filters stop working it smells like I'm taking a shower in rotten eggs.

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WeeGreyCat t1_jd5vtj7 wrote

Hate that… Must be in the Stannard-Greensboro corner.

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vtddy t1_jd2yqz6 wrote

Well water.

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PromiseNorth t1_jd2y7y7 wrote

Town always town. Surely there is some great well water, but modern civil engineering is real!

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RobertJoseph802 t1_jd3bd64 wrote

Flint MI has entered the chat

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8valvegrowl t1_jd376fb wrote

100% well water if it's a good well, luckily mine is. My well tank holds up pretty well during a power outage, and I'm getting solar/battery soon, so power outages longer than 8 hours won't be a concern any more.

My water tastes delicious, and is decent yield (10GPM) at a reasonable depth (220'), plus I'm on a ridge, ticks all the boxes.

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Electrical_Ad_6208 t1_jd2ytfs wrote

Well water. I hate being charged per gallon used. And to follow up I prefer my own septic system too. Most towns charge septic based on water used. So if you water your garden you pay for the water twice.

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Macora2014 t1_jd3e4eq wrote

Prefer well water! Montpelier water is soooo treated. It smells, tastes, and feels “chemically.”

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bibliophile222 t1_jd3iyjg wrote

Normally I'm good with town water, but yeah, Montpelier water is nasty. I once heard it described as tasting like "polliwog shit".

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kellogsmalone OP t1_jd4xyv4 wrote

Had a friend come to the states from Denmark. We were in Western North Carolina and he refused to drink the water. I thought I was fine but I suppose my tastes are chlorinated. I did grow up on a swim tr, so maybe that explains it.

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Otto-Korrect t1_jd31mk2 wrote

Well water. I never gave it amy thought, but I've never lived on a house with town water. I think well water just tastes better.

Fluoride probably would have helped me when I was a kid, though.

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kellogsmalone OP t1_jd35ad4 wrote

My town stopped using flouride. It's good for teeth, not for drinking.

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KITTYONFYRE t1_jd3osqa wrote

it's specifically good for drinking, because it is good for teeth

you're drinking such a tiny amount in treated water, there are no negative effects

anti-flouride is not a particularly well informed POV, especially considering it naturally occurs in groundwater anyway (sometimes in higher concentrations than treated water!)

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kellogsmalone OP t1_jd5yag2 wrote

Good to know. Quantity is important to consider. I didn't realize it was a pseudoscientific debate like vaccines and autism b.s.

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amoebashephard t1_jd32pad wrote

I was lucky and my parents had good dental, so got the treatments. A lot of my friends growing up didn't or couldn't though, and ouch

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bibliophile222 t1_jd3heoy wrote

I've almost never been as good at taking care of my teeth as I could have been, I eat my fair share of sugar, and I once went over a decade without going to the dentist, and I have still never had a cavity. I'm sure good tooth genetics plays a large part, but I've also had town water almost my whole life and got plenty of fluoride as a kid.

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escobert t1_jd34rop wrote

Well. Tastes so much better than town water. I grew up on town water and have had a well for the past 5+ years. Wont go back.

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raqnroll t1_jd34bjb wrote

We were on a mtn side here...72 75gal/min well...best tasting water I ever had...miss it everyday...

EDIT: Added entry from our OG VT Well Driller reports:

​

>Well Use Code:01 = Domestic

>Reason for Well Code:1 = New Supply

>Drilling Equipment Code:

>Total Depth of Well (in feet):199.00

>Yield (in GPM):75.00

>Yield Test Tested For (in hours):1.00

​

If you are looking to decide on a well vs town water, use the resources available to see what type of water is accessible to your land by viewing your neighbors well information. Provides a good estimate of cost + potential GPM.

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Footie57 t1_jd3wtqp wrote

72 is wild. I had never heard of anyone getting more than my parents place at 60

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FourteenthCylon t1_jd3ivwe wrote

If they're both quality I'd prefer the well. That way water is almost free, it's easy to shut off if you need to work on the plumbing, and I know nothing's being added to it. In practice though, my well water smells like a chicken laid a batch of rotten eggs in the middle of a hot spring. Filters take out most of the sulfur smell and taste, but I have to change the filters frequently and I still need a RO system to really make the water drinkable.

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[deleted] t1_jd4u7qp wrote

[deleted]

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FourteenthCylon t1_jd55yw3 wrote

If my pump starts running constantly I'd know it. I have an indoor pump that I can hear every time it kicks on.. Actually, the water in my well frequently comes out under pressure even without the pump. I suppose that's a good feature if the power goes out, but it sure was a problem when the main shutoff valve from the well broke. The only way to replace it was to take a very strong, very cold shower for a couple minutes while I took the old valve off and got the new one on. You are correct about the cost of filters though. I have to use carbon filters to take out the sulfur, and they're over $30 each.

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Loudergood t1_jdaoip5 wrote

Bonus, my town water doesn't go out when the power does.

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crazypamplemousse t1_jd32uke wrote

Town water. My parents have a well, and it has been a pain from day one. Their old well was fine, but the new one has issues with iron bacteria, and even with a chlorinator in place, there’s like a 50/50 chance when they come home from a trip that the bacteria will have made it’s way into the pipes. The amount of time that my parents have had to flush out their whole system is bonkers. Lesson learned: I’m not buying a house that doesn’t have town water

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zombienutz1 t1_jd2yrxm wrote

Town water for sure. Wells can dry up, cost loads of money to dig (if your property doesn't have one), uses a lot of power for pump/softener, buying softener salt, loss of water without power, can get contaminated, etc, etc.

Downside of town water is that the line between the main and your house is your responsibility and costs a lot to replace.

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Meatloaf0220 t1_jd2yvmx wrote

Well water as long as you test it and have proper treatment. Municipal water is disgusting.

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Sea-Election-9168 t1_jd3ac0z wrote

We have had city water at previous homes in Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Virginia, Colorado, Utah and Ohio. All were not great, a couple were awful. We are now in Vermont on the side of a mountain with no other structures above our house or well. Our well water is the best water we have ever had.

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ExpressionFamiliar98 t1_jd4p3e4 wrote

My sister lived in Randolph and tapped into the same aquifer as Vermont Pure or whatever that was before it got bought out.

Artesian spring water. She showered in it.

That. I want that.

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druunavt t1_jd31km7 wrote

An artesian well high on a mountain, which is what I have. 25 gals per minute.

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MissJudgeGaming t1_jd3bge4 wrote

My husband has been an operator for both and works now entirely with town water. To me there is little choice - town water is highly tested and maintained, wells can dry up, and independent costs for installation and maintenance don't make up for anything major.

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OddTry2427 t1_jd3jvki wrote

Well but with a backup hand pump.

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o08 t1_jd410o3 wrote

Well water every time. No water bills.

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proscriptus t1_jd49bnq wrote

I love well water, but the incidence of cavities for kids on well water is so much higher. Water fluoridation is one of the great public health successes.

Plus replacing a well pump sucks.

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CorrectFall6257 t1_jd573hc wrote

I'm in the NEK and we have town water that comes from 3 mountain Reservoirs. The water dept who tests/publishes yearly reports does an excellent job. The past director won the Vermont’s award on water quality. Rip 😔

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andrews301xrd t1_jd5go9b wrote

Location/hydrology dependent for sure.

I would take nothing over my natural spring water source. I have nothing but natural forest uphill from my property and the aquifer is high quality. We also have a 600ft well for a backup that provides water loaded with iron, would take most town water over that any day. I would feel differently about using a spring if I lived near an old gas station, large farm, or had a lot of neighbors.

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reefer_roulette t1_jd33vdo wrote

Town water so when the power goes out, I still have heat (wood stove) and water. I wouldn't mind having a separate well for gardening and such though.

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latinageologist t1_jd3a4pp wrote

As a scientist who informs Vermonters on problems with their private well water quality (who’s ironically on Winooski public water), town water all the way. Private wells are incredibly costly to maintain, and there’s no guarantee the water is safe (since it’s unregulated). You’ve gotta figure that out for yourself (with a nice $160 homeowner’s test kit). Not for me dawg. P.s. funding for private water treatment is very scarce, so people are often looking at thousands of $$$ for treatment installs.

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amoebashephard t1_jd3g2ee wrote

I was just thinking about this again, and a comment I read earlier from someone about how they thought we could bring jobs to Vermont -they were mostly thinking along the lines of resource extraction.

Resource extraction is one of the biggest source points for pollution, whether it's logging, mining, etc through groundwater.

As illustrated by this question, lots of people are on well water, and there are several areas that already have really bad health issues due to well water-I'm mostly thinking Bridport, Orwell area, and then south to Yankee and then the pfa thing. We've already got a ton of water quality issues, we really need to be careful as a state how we build our economy so that we can actually survive here without getting sick

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Deathcrush t1_jd3tp9l wrote

Depends. Burlington water is great. Just let the chlorine evaporate over several hours. Champlain Water District is terrible though, especially if you're sensitive to chloramines.

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kellogsmalone OP t1_jd5y36d wrote

I grew up in the pool but I'm on the other side of the state.

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TheBugHouse t1_jd4644w wrote

I'm on town water and it's fantastic. Minimally treated if at all, spring fed reservoir ... tastes as good as any well water I've ever had. Not to mention no loss of pressure during a power outage. ETA: the cost is not insignificant, water/sewer runs me about $1000/yr

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kellogsmalone OP t1_jd5xy6n wrote

That's not bad. Back in Texas $97 is low/average. Summer months bills get up to $175 and I'm stingy. Some water bills hit $200+/month

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Trajikbpm t1_jd4bzg4 wrote

I'd like to know why our public water will randomly kill all my plants sometimes.

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Gnascher t1_jd4gegc wrote

Perhaps chlorine concentration?

For drinking water, I use a gallon-sized pitcher with a Brita filter and keep it in the fridge. Between the filter, and just letting the water sit and off-gas the chlorine improves the taste dramatically.

For watering your plants, just letting the water sit in a pitcher or some other vessel overnight will reduce the chlorine concentration enough that it won't kill your plants.

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Trajikbpm t1_jd4hsxq wrote

Yea we use a filter now. We always did for drinking anyway.

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Blueslide60 t1_jd4c901 wrote

I can't choose so I can't answer your question OP.

My current water is from an artesian well. It tastes better than most town water, especially Montpelier's. Yes, I lose water when I lose power, but we rarely have an outage past 12 hours. It's not that big a deal. I seem to remember back in the day, Montp frequently had boil water notices and that was bottle water time.

Well water isn't free water. The water here is very hard. It also smells like sulfur. I have to buy and maintain a softening and filter system. I am seeing some new houses in my neighborhood who are drilling. Makes me wonder about the durability of our water table.

Let's not get into sewer vs septic............

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kellogsmalone OP t1_jd4wri1 wrote

I think the water table up here is going to be okay. Now, the Western and Southwestern states....

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smokeythemechanic t1_jd4hwrd wrote

I rather control what treatments are added to the well, and when mains get flushed. Also most towns have gross tasting water.

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BasicallyBanananas t1_jd8ribs wrote

100% town water. You don't have to pay emergency costs to service and maintain the system. You don't have to conduct your own regular testing for purity and contaminants. Plus getting water from the town is not expensive and extremely reliable. City water and city sewars are 2 of the most important aspects of choosing a home imo to safeguard against catastrophic and sudden costs that cannot be delayed if incurred.

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nutmegryder t1_jd35s3e wrote

I’d prefer to not have fluoride added to my water, and we enjoy filtered water from our well, especially for coffee and baking.

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OkWatermelonlesson19 t1_jd3c6lv wrote

I have well water. We’ve never dried up BUT the water is disgusting for drinking and causes digestive issues in people. I do use it for things like pasta or other dishes where it’ll be boiled but I would never drink it straight from the tap.

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mr_chip_douglas t1_jd3d0ay wrote

Well water. Sure you can have issues with the pump or system but the monthly bill is $0. I haven’t had any issues in 14 years, so assuming my water bill would’ve been $100/month, I have saved $16,800. Could drill a brand new well and have money left over.

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blutbad_buddy t1_jd3hfbw wrote

> I have saved $16,800. Could drill a brand new well and have money left over.

I don't think you have looked into drilling a well recently.

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mr_chip_douglas t1_jd3mvyb wrote

True, I’m sure post-Covid prices have soared. A buddy had Chevailier drill one 190 ft deep, all-in for about 12k in 2020. I was going off of that.

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Stockmom42 t1_jd3dz47 wrote

Well water, but we always have a whole house filter regardless of well vs town water.

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ISayZoomNow t1_jd3lvyt wrote

Well or spring in my case, best taste you can get.

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Haltmaw t1_jd45txp wrote

Well. 100%. I am progressive but just look at how bad Montpelier is handling their water problem. Can’t trust the government with that.

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floodurbasement t1_jd476de wrote

Drink from the well, water pressure from the town.. is that an option?

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_twentytwo_22 t1_jd4c502 wrote

In general a public water system will be much more regulated and tested way more often than anyone's well supply. So based on your assumption of equal quality, the peace of mind of frequently tested water would out-weigh a well in my mind.

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lurker71 t1_jd5afvb wrote

Town water. I am a well owner.

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1T-Nerd t1_jd5bu3x wrote

Well Water 100%.

Town I live in has town water and thats what I am hooked up to. I was lucky enough to buy my place but in retrospect should have asked if I'll need to buy a water softener since I've know learned the waters pretty hard.

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deadowl t1_jd5ph9l wrote

I grew up on well water and spring water for the most part. My taste preference is untreated Northeastern New England spring water. Don't know about springs, but for wells I know that maintenance can require a shit ton of money (but then where is Vermont at with keeping phosphorus out of the lake?).

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SVTer t1_jd6ce5t wrote

Grew up with a spring fed gravity water system. Awesome, pure, free water source, but had to maintain the water mains and cisterns (pain in the ass). Rented a place with a well that had hard water with high clay content (even worse pain in the ass. With nasty tasting water that left stains in the bathroom). Now on town water with no meter and delicious pure water sourced from high up near the national forest. Downside is it costs $800 a year. If you have the option I would hook into municipal water.

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BettyLouWho318 t1_jd7a88c wrote

Spring water is the best, and usually just as clean if not cleaner than town water.

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BooksNCats11 t1_jd315uz wrote

I like town water only because if the power goes out I still have water. Planning for rural wells every time a storm comes in is....annoying at best.

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Gnascher t1_jd4f1xt wrote

The power problem is easily solved!

Pick up a portable generator for a few hundred bucks, use it to run the pump when needed. Problem solved.

For a more robust solution, get a proper household generator installed that kicks in when the power goes out and keep your lights, heat and refrigerator going. It'll cost a few grand, but it'll give you peace of mind, and it'll keep you going for as long as you can keep feeding it propane.

For a more environmental solution, install solar and a storage battery. Larger up-front cost, but most solar installs pay themselves back in under 10 years (maybe even faster with the subsidies available now). You have to be a bit more choosy about what circuits you decide to energize with the backup battery, or buy a big honkin' one ... but they do pay for themselves in the long run.

Anybody living in a rural area needs to be prepared for situations when the electricity goes out.

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WantDastardlyBack t1_jd39edz wrote

Town all the way. The backward ways some of the older homes and property deeds were drawn up has me refusing to ever consider another home that's on a well.

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contrary-contrarian t1_jd3pzsa wrote

Town water 100000%. Someone else deals with the maintenance and upkeep... it is much more reliable, it is monitored for safety for you, and overall more robust.

Personal wells are a last resort if you can't get town water. They are finicky, incredibly expensive, prone to bacterial infections and issues... and a pain in the butt.

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joycethegod t1_jd3zfx3 wrote

Well all day. Can trust it way more then City water and way less prone to getting infected

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wampastompa09 t1_jd629e0 wrote

Town with a backup well.

I want fluoride in my water, but also want water if town isn’t working.

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dmccullum t1_jd7gv9y wrote

Essex town water is great imo

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The_Idealist_Realist t1_jd819i8 wrote

Anyone here have a well in Dover? How do you like it? I’m about to install one over the next few months for a new build

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Threadbare70 t1_jd94sb3 wrote

Our spring/well water is some of the best I've ever had. I'll take that stuff eleven times out of ten.

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deathstarmetal t1_jddx0uc wrote

Town water. We have great tasting water in our well, but have had to shock it way too many times because of our uphill neighbors not cleaning up after their dogs or chickens. Knowing a professional is monitoring and treating the water as needed would be so nice.

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Gileslibrarian t1_jd34i60 wrote

Town water, I grew up on well water and it was not great.

0

Gnascher t1_jd4fqu4 wrote

I've had some pretty nasty municipal water too. OP did say that "assuming they were equal quality".

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Celebmir1 t1_jd5upwt wrote

I've had both and town is waaaaay easier and less expensive.

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haddamant t1_jd6778x wrote

Beware of the PFAs (forever chemicals) in town water. Well water might not have as many.

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Nonproductivehuman t1_jd74xmi wrote

Town water is always available (so far). Most wells don't work when the power is out, and can be a limited resource if the well starts going dry.

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