well water or rain water harvesting

bazbrady

Hi Guys,
Im just trying to decide which direction to go down considering the new water charges that will be coming in this year.My house is a bungalow on 1/2 acre and mains water unsoftened..im trying to work out which system would be best to save money and to run and which would cost more,a roof rain water harvest system or dig for a well.at the moment our septic tank takes the rain water from the roof which will have to be changed anyway especially with the tank inspections coming down the line so I could tie this in with a harvesting system,anybody here have one and recommend any makes,currently theres just 2 of us in the house but I would presume one or two kids in the very near future. would you always find water when digging for a well and it just depends on depth you go?.is there alot of upkeep to wells ,again im thinking with the charges coming in seems like a no brainer long term to install a well and go off mains.any advice ,recommendations suggestions on whats the best options out there.cheers

Sir Arthur Daley

Unfortunately untreated/filtered rain water is good for watering the garden and little else. Algae in the rain water will cause it to turn yellow with a green slime forming surface quite rapidly so you would need filtration/treatment to make it serviceable.

K.Flyer

A properly installed and carefully maintained well will give many years of good service.
Shallow wells go down approx 100ft - 200ft but I have had to haul pumps out of much deeper.
Set up costs will be determined by the depth of bore required, ask around your locality if anyone else has had it done and what depths / cost were involved.

bazbrady

WikiHow wrote: »

Unfortunately untreated/filtered rain water is good for watering the garden and little else. Algae in the rain water will cause it to turn yellow with a green slime forming surface quite rapidly so you would need filtration/treatment to make it serviceable.

From the research ive done most harvesting systems the tanks are under ground which reduces bacteria /algae and the unit id be going for has filters on it along with a uv light treatment, the companys say you can use it for washing machines and showers /baths etc.

bazbrady

K.Flyer wrote: »

A properly installed and carefully maintained well will give many years of good service.
Shallow wells go down approx 100ft - 200ft but I have had to haul pumps out of much deeper.
Set up costs will be determined by the depth of bore required, ask around your locality if anyone else has had it done and what depths / cost were involved.

TKS,i will look into this just wondering what the average size pump is and usual electricity cost to run the well for a year?...Think it might be worth getting the well considering the new charges.