If you're looking at rural land so you can grow your own food and start a hobby farm, one important thing you'll want to do is make sure the land has water that you're allowed to access with a private well. Even if municipal water is available, well water is a better choice for farm life so you can water animals and crops with free water you get from the ground. These are things you should know about drilling and owning your own well.
Check For Water Before You Buy The Land
You want to make sure water is available and that it isn't contaminated before you buy the land. You'll also want to find out if the water is restricted in any way because it's possible to buy land and not be allowed to use the water. This information is easy to find out with a survey and inspection, which are steps you normally take before buying rural land. Things to find out include local regulations for well drilling, where you can place the well, and how deep the well will be. A well drilling contractor can find water just about anywhere, but it may be deep beneath rock and require deep drilling to tap into. Once a good source of water is found, the water should last for years and provide you with water that's filtered naturally and free of chemicals found in city water.
Look To The Future When Placing The Well
If the land you want to buy is undeveloped, be sure you and the drilling contractor choose a spot where the well won't become contaminated in later years. Think about where you'll put your house, septic system, and barns. A well should be fairly close to your house, but it has to be in a location where water drains away from the surface and not too close to sources of contamination, such as a septic field. Putting a well in the wrong place could mean you'll have to decommission it as your farm grows and have a new well drilled.
Test The Water And Keep The Well Sanitary
Natural water is usually much cleaner than city water that's been treated, but that's not always the case. The ground water or well can be contaminated sometimes, so you'll always want to test the water when the well is new and then at least once a year after that. A flood, runoff from a nearby farm, or a dead animal in the well could cause contamination. Fortunately, a well can be cleaned and sanitized after it's been contaminated, but preventing contamination is safer for your family. Keeping the well sanitary is an important part of well maintenance, and that involves replacing a cap that has damage so nothing can get inside the well and contaminate it, such as a small animal or runoff from cleaning a barn.
For more information, contact companies like Lefty's Pump & Drilling Co Crane Missouri.
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