And my 2026 nightmare continues

[NoTrespassing]

After losing my father one month ago, 2026 has been very difficult for me and our family. We travel 50 miles to my mother's house every Saturday morning to relieve my sister of her duties taking care of my mother.

Last night, I was at home taking a shower, and it was slowly losing pressure. Then, the water stopped! Either the well is dry or my 26-year-old submersible pump died. I had to work a half day today so I will go home and check the water level in the bored well. I could hear the pump humming so I think it's dry. We haven't run out of water since the well was bored but we have been in drought for quite some time. If it's dry I will have water hauled in asap. If it's the pump, I already have a guy on standby waiting for a call. The hits just keep on coming and it's only February!

 

[riptides]

After losing my father one month ago, 2026 has been very difficult for me and our family. We travel 50 miles to my mother's house every Saturday morning to relieve my sister of her duties taking care of my mother.

Last night, I was at home taking a shower, and it was slowly losing pressure. Then, the water stopped! Either the well is dry or my 26-year-old submersible pump died. I had to work a half day today so I will go home and check the water level in the bored well. I could hear the pump humming so I think it's dry. We haven't run out of water since the well was bored but we have been in drought for quite some time. If it's dry I will have water hauled in asap. If it's the pump, I already have a guy on standby waiting for a call. The hits just keep on coming and it's only February!

Sorry for your troubles. Hopefully it is just the pump and not the water.

Keep us posted and think positive. As in, you can take it and make it.

 

[EddieWalker]

Hopefully the well isn't out of water. Can you drill deeper there?

 

[NoTrespassing]

Hopefully the well isn't out of water. Can you drill deeper there?

It's actually a bored well, 3ft in diameter. The wet sand vein is about 70ft down and then there is 3ft. diameter casing to about 110 ft. I think. Deeper doesn't help, we need rain which we are supposed to get a lot of next week. Fingers crossed...and praying

 

[gstrom99]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Been there - done that, with regards to loss/care for parents.

Rain takes quite a long time, to filter down to that level for your well. The well would normally pull from buried aquifers, that come from miles away, but yes - rain may (hopefully) help. Have you asked neighbors if their wells are okay?

 

[Shawn T. W.]

... praying

Me too, for you!

We had a very dry summer, and my creek went dry, but well still was good!

 

[Snobdds]

I have a engineer friend that drilled a well, and then put his septic field over it. He calls it his loop system.

He takes the water out of the ground, and then he puts the septic waste water right back on top of where he is depleting it. He lives in a rain shadow of a mountain that gets pretty dry. He has filters in his house, but he says the 100 feet it takes for the water to get back down to the pump, it's pretty clean. He monitors the filters to see how the loop system is doing.

I thought that was pretty ingenious.

 

[jyoutz]

I have a engineer friend that drilled a well, and then put his septic field over it. He calls it his loop system.

He takes the water out of the ground, and then he puts the septic waste water right back on top of where he is depleting it. He lives in a rain shadow of a mountain that gets pretty dry. He has filters in his house, but he says the 100 feet it takes for the water to get back down to the pump, it's pretty clean. He monitors the filters to see how the loop system is doing.

I thought that was pretty ingenious.

 

[Snobdds]

We do have modern water treatments, you know.

I think you are missing the point, the point is he will never be without water as it's always being replenished.

 

[riptides]

We do have modern water treatments, you know.

I think you are missing the point, the point is he will never be without water as it's always being replenished.

We had a new septic system put in about a year ago.

The hoops were incredible to jump through, every level up to the state. Engineers, environmentalists, architects you name it.

The water is supposed to be drinkable as it exits into the distribution portion.

We had an outhouse still on the property until I took it down about ten years ago.

 

[ponytug]

We had a new septic system put in about a year ago.

The hoops were incredible to jump through, every level up to the state. Engineers, environmentalists, architects you name it.

The water is supposed to be drinkable as it exits into the distribution portion.

We had an outhouse still on the property until I took it down about ten years ago.

When we moved here, I figured that the aquifer had to be small as this is basically the top of a hill, so I looked into putting a system like that in.

At the time, the county health department which covers septic systems was in the Stone Age as far as septic systems went, and no dice. They had our ranch by its long discontinued mail route address, not parcel number, not street address. A decade later, they unbent a little and finally formalized their regulations, but not to any type of system that required power, which rules out all the secondary and tertiary septic systems that I have seen. I understand their reasoning, but it seems to me like a missed opportunity for the replacement of older septic systems.

All the best,

Peter

 

[steve tym]

Check for leaks. Toilets are the biggest culprits.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Been there - done that, with regards to loss/care for parents.

Rain takes quite a long time, to filter down to that level for your well. The well would normally pull from buried aquifers, that come from miles away, but yes - rain may (hopefully) help. Have you asked neighbors if their wells are okay?

Nearest well is about 1/4 mile from ours. He hasn't run dry yet but they use way less water than we do. They're out of town a lot.

The well recovered to about 2 ft. overnight. I'm having 1500 gallons hauled in today. Water hauler said they were busy filling wells so I'm not the only one.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Check for leaks. Toilets are the biggest culprits.

I wish that were the case, I can hear my pressure switch come on and it hasn't been running when water isn't being used. I've been listening for that since we moved the switch and pressure tank indoors maybe 15 years ago.

 

[riptides]

Nearest well is about 1/4 mile from ours. He hasn't run dry yet but they use way less water than we do. They're out of town a lot.

The well recovered to about 2 ft. overnight. I'm having 1500 gallons hauled in today. Water hauler said they were busy filling wells so I'm not the only one.

Sorry to hear that it is the water level. Hope the rains will help. Hope it recovers as before.

 

[Highlandr]

I have a engineer friend that drilled a well, and then put his septic field over it. He calls it his loop system.

He takes the water out of the ground, and then he puts the septic waste water right back on top of where he is depleting it. He lives in a rain shadow of a mountain that gets pretty dry. He has filters in his house, but he says the 100 feet it takes for the water to get back down to the pump, it's pretty clean. He monitors the filters to see how the loop system is doing.

I thought that was pretty ingenious.

In NC a septic drain field must be at least 100' from any well, so that would have been an under the table, DIY operation because no licensed installer is going to do it. And, if it's new construction it would prevent you from getting your final CO.

 

[Snobdds]

In NC a septic drain field must be at least 100' from any well, so that would have been an under the table, DIY operation because no licensed installer is going to do it. And, if it's new construction it would prevent you from getting your final CO.

WY>NC

 

[Highlandr]

WY>NC

Same in WY.

Key Setbacks for Septic Systems in Wyoming:

• Septic Tank to Well: 50 feet.
• Leachfield to Well: 100 feet.
• Septic Tank to Property Line: Typically 50 feet.
• Leachfield to Property Lines: 10 feet.
• Leachfield to Waterways: 100 feet.
• Leachfield to Foundation: 10 to 25 feet depending on drains.

Always check with your specific county planning and zoning office, as local regulations may be stricter than state minimums.

 

[Snobdds]

Same in WY.

Key Setbacks for Septic Systems in Wyoming:

• Septic Tank to Well: 50 feet.
• Leachfield to Well: 100 feet.
• Septic Tank to Property Line: Typically 50 feet.
• Leachfield to Property Lines: 10 feet.
• Leachfield to Waterways: 100 feet.
• Leachfield to Foundation: 10 to 25 feet depending on drains.

Always check with your specific county planning and zoning office, as local regulations may be stricter than state minimums.

Ah...the old google AI copy and paste.

Why didn't you also copy and paste this?

Prior to 1997​

For properties originating before 1997, the setback requirement was 10 feet.

 

[Highlandr]

Didn't see it.