Most of Florida, including our area, is sitting on a water table. I have considered a hand pump for when everything hits the fan. I talked to Mom about this and she said she was considering the same thing. There is a problem. We are members of a homeowners association. No yard decorations are allowed. We would need a hand pump that does not look like a yard decoration or a way to conceal it like behind the bushes up against the house. We have an outdoor water softening system. One idea I have is put the well pump next to the water softener to blend in, make it look it belongs there.

There are members who have a well and can probably give me valuable information. I also need ideas on how to deal with the HOA problem.

Jeanette Isabelle

I would talk to the neighbors with wells first, and while asking them about their wells, look at their installation AND ask about their experience with the HOA.

Some HOA boards are, ummmh, really strict and impossible to work with, others, like my present HOA board, are very reasonable and willing to consider unusual requests. You need to know which type you are dealing with before you go forward.

I would not consider a pump a "decoration," but who knows how your Board thinks. Also, I think you are right about putting more or less out of sight near or among other utility equipment. Putting in the middle of the front lawn would probably cause some problems with the Board. . .and maybe the neighbors. . .

Perhaps suggest to the HOA that a community, or community accessible, hand pump would be a really nice emergency prep for the entire group represented by the HOA, especially if you are dealing with a condo or similar dense housing situation.

If you can have a well for irrigation have one installed with an electric pump and make sure that it is plumbed so that it is easy to remove the connection to the electric pump and install the hand pump or it might be possible to plumb it in with valves that would allow you to choose which pump to use.

On my shallow well it takes me about 15 minutes to disconnect the electric pump and install the hand pump. Haven't had to use it since I re-plumbed the connections when replacing the electric pump. But I have it if I need it.

Assuming you get a well and any water is better than no water; treated water is better than tainted for drinking. Is the water from a shallow well in Florida potable? My well in WA takes water from a fairly shallow 42 feet but it's essentially river water and is potable without treatment. I'm thinking that ground water from a residential area may not be safe as is.

Neighbors are not on wells. The neighborhood is on the municipal water supply.

Jeanette Isabelle

Here is information on the water if Florida. According to this, it should be the same water I drank from the Fountain of Youth when we visited St. Augustine, Florida.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floridan_aquifer

I don't know how deep it is.

Jeanette Isabelle

It would probably be a good idea to have the water tested before you are in a situation where you must use it. I wouldn't be surprised if that isn't part of the well drilling procedure.

Yup, the guys who drilled my well pumped it for a while to check how much the level dropped, how fast it recovered and they sent a sample to the county health dep't.

A few thoughts:

The cost of drilling a well, even a shallow one, is substantial. It's much, much cheaper to stockpile municipal water for emergency use.

Ask about permits! In many municipalities, you can't just plunk in a new water well where you please. They may be restricted or banned for a number of reasons, everything from stability of the land area to water rights in dry areas.

Wells can't just sit: they need maintenance. A well that is static -- not pumped regularly -- can become non-potable due to bacterial growth.