Deep well woes?

We have a 900 foot well with an 18 year old submersible pump. It has served us well and we hope it will continue to do so. When the season is dry we find particulates pumped up, (little black bits). I guess that these may be from the water line dropping and the sides of the well falling in. We have a gardener with a two acre flower project that utilizes pond water to be pumped into an irrigation system. A creek and springs are diverted to keep the pond up. The creek has dried up; the springs are drying up and the gardener wants to use the deep well for his garden project. I have concerns that it would threaten our pumps health and our only source of safe household water. I would love any professional opinions on this matter.

Thanks,
sierradale

Can you afford to replace the submersible pump, can you afford to be out of water for several days to a week, how much do you like your gardener and flowers.

I vote no.

Rancher

Your submersible pump has come to almost three times the average life expectancy. What do you think?

bob...

If the irrigation system is set up to keep the pump from cycling or you use something like a Cycle Stop Valve, the irrigation system will not cause as much wear on the pump as the house. This is the way most pump systems operate anyway. Your pump is already 18 years old. If it goes out after the irrigation system is hooked up, it will be a coincidence, as it is already way past the average life expectancy.

the new stress is a big new stress on the pump. If it konks out, it'll be because of the new stress, on an old pump.

Whether the pump is old or new, anyone should pay (the same amount) for such a valuable service, just to share costs. You as owner see occasional big expenses, but when you spread them out over the years as any accountant would do, you have a regular yearly cost for amortization, depreciation, risk, maintenance, etc. It's a fictitious number; it's not your real yearly cost, which varies by wide margins above and under that amount. But although it's a fictitious number, it "represents" a real cost, as if you could spread out the cost evenly over all the years. Anyone sharing your system should pay a lot to get access to this prepaid system. It's not profit. It's a share of your risk and your cost.

David

You could offer to sell him water at $2.00 per thousand gallons. That is a bargain compared to what most people pay for city water and the revenue would help you put money aside for a new pump installation.

For abour $50 you can buy a rebuilt water meter from www.usabluebook.com

Your agreement should be on condition that he buys enough water to pay for your trouble and expense. For example, you might ask for an advance payment of $200 for the first 100,000 gallons.

What does the gardener do for his household water? Why doesn't he want to use that supply for his garden?