Water. I've been transporting it from Atlanta for years now in 5 gallon containers. Water for drinking, cooking, and dish washing. Water for bathing has been harvested from rainfall off the roof of the bath house. Not long after I became employed again, I started thinking about running water and planning on having it run from the street out to the cabin. I surveyed the route testing it to 24" depth with a soil probe to find a relatively non-rocky path. I bought the hydrants for the yard, the pipe, valves, and other fittings. I talked to a man about digging the trench. Then finally, I talked to the woman from whom I would acquire the connection to the main and the water meter. She told me I first had to have a septic tank permit from the county. I explained I was planning on dry composting toilets and agricultural disposal of grey water and that I would have no need of a septic system. She said it did not matter. I contacted the county health department and found out that step one was to get an approved surveyor to perform a perc test. This is a test to make sure that the soil under the location of the drain field would allow the effluent to disperse at an acceptable rate. I hired a surveyor from their list. He came out and spent the better part of a day digging holes, measuring flow rate, taking soil samples, and surveying the immediate area of the proposed tank and drain field site. This service cost me $500. I then sent his report to the county along with my application for the permit and a $200 check. Guess what? They decided that my soil was not good enough as is (even though the surveyor said it passed his tests)and that I was going to have to haul in more soil and start over. Those of you who know me can easily imagine how I reacted to this news. I'll leave it at that.
Now, I have a well. The driller tells me I have 25 gallons per minute flow into my well. That is ten times more water than I will ever use. It has a little iron in it but I hear that is good for you :)
I have obscured the name and number of the drilling company to protect the innocent. Needless to say, I have refrained from trying to go by the book. From here on out I'm doing things my way and I ain't askin' permission. This man did an outstanding job for me and I highly recommend him. Call me if you would like a referral.
