Our new homestead's well has been wonderful. After a short time using it, our skin is less dry, my hair is shinier and softer - and frankly, the water tastes better than any city water we've ever drunk. But within a week of taking possession of our new homestead, I turned on the bathroom faucet...and nothing came out.
It was a Thursday night, so we called the best well company in the area first thing Friday morning. They were so busy working on other people's wells, we didn't hear back from them until Saturday. In the meantime, my 7 year old son, who eats fresh plums like they will soon be extinct, looked like he literally lived in a barn. Sticky hands and arms quickly become covered in dirt. We all needed a shower. The dishes were piled up in the sink. And we were lugging rain water into the house in order to flush the toilet.
Saturday night, the well guy came out. I really thought he'd say there was a problem with our pump, or something simple like that. But no. "Your well is dry," he said.
I confess, my first reaction was to ask God, "Why? Why, why, why???!!!" Our beautiful homestead no longer felt like any type of blessing.
You see, our state forbids drilling deeper into established wells to find additional water. So we have to drill for a new well. The trouble with that is, even though they can witch for water*, there is no guarantee that when they drill they'll find enough water for a decent well. But they charge you for the time it took to drill that well, of course. Oh, and the state now requires steel wells. Steel?? Steel rusts, which means your well will need expensive work when it rusts through. Sigh.
When I heard that our well was dry, my first thought was that we'd been duped by the previous owners.
But while I was feeling upset with God about all this, my dear husband had the right attitude and soon set my heart straight. He said, "You know, I was beginning to wonder if we were on God's path, because everything was going so smoothly." I've typed before about his wonderful - and spot on - attitude about difficulties in life. Basically it boils down to this: If you're doing what God wants you to do, Satan has a keen interest it making it as hard for you as possible.
Then my hubby also reminded me of what is kind of his family's motto: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) All things. Not just some things.
So now I'm feeling more peaceful about our well. We are still waiting on an estimate for the cost of installing a new one, but the well guy already has a spot he thinks is suitable for drilling. And, praise God, we have rainwater collection tanks that are pretty full, and we've been able to transfer water from them into the dry well's holding tank, so we can flush the toilets and run the dishwasher. And, praise God again, my in-laws are just down the road, so we can do laundry and showers at their place.
My prayer now is that somehow this problem will be a blessing for us. I pray the new drilling spot will have abundant water.
And I think we realize now, even more than before, that we need a back up plan for water. In fact, YOU do, too. Even if you live in the suburbs or city, your water could disappear or become undrinkable at any time. And if you rely on running to the store to grab water only after your city water is unavailable, chances are you won't be able to buy enough because everybody else will be out buying water, too.
Did you know the Federal government recommends that all citizens "should store at least one gallon of water per person for three days?" And that doesn't include water for flushing toilets, doing dishes, washing laundry, or even taking showers.
One way everyone can prepare for loss of water is to keep commercially bottled water on hand. If you don't open those bottles, and you keep them in a cool, dark location, they will last at least until the expiration date on the bottle.
Some people like to reuse the bottles water come in; you can do that, but there's a little higher risk of the bottle leaking or the water inside the bottle becoming contaminated with bacteria. Always thoroughly wash re-used bottles in hot water and soap, then sanitize with bleach. For those of you who can, another idea is to use canning jars. As your jars become empty, sanitize them and add tap water and a lid. Store in a cool, dark location for up to three months.
For more detailed information on storing water, or if you want to know how to store water when you have a well, visit Ready.gov and read The American Red Cross' .PDF "Food and Water in an Emergency."
* Well witching (sometimes called "water dowsing") is considered nonsense by some, but I've seen it work splendidly many times. In fact, not only do many well drillers use this technique, but so do many city water and maintence workers. You can read more about water witching here.
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