Question:
My house has public water and well water in the basement that's onlyavailable for garden purposes.Does any one know what is the cost of using well + electric pump vspublic water? Let's assume that the water quality is not an issuehere.I live in NJ (northern Jersey) and so far I only got 1 water bill for$0. We have recently moved into the house so I don't know the billslook like. I know I'm getting high electric bill mainly because of theAC but not sure it the well pump is part of it.

Answer: Can only tell you about my case. Live near a small town with a municipalwater supply run by a corporation. I do not have access to that water dueto the distance from that town. The corporation uses a community billingmethod. That is, every resident receives that same identical bill eachmonth. The typical water bill is around $68.00 per month. Have seen itclimb as high as $230.00.

Live in an all-electric home, including the water pump for the water well.My highest electric bill this year was $110.00 last month for this year.Last year, was $148.00. I have no other source of water. I live in centralTX. Am single, 2 year old 3 bedroom home 1260 sq ft., thermostat 80Fsummer/65F winter. Ceiling fans in a 3 bedrooms/living area/dining area.AC compressor is SEER 12. House doesn't receive direct sun until after 9:00a.m. due to tree stand in the east. The pump is a 220VAC version, that'sall I know about that part of it. The water source is 550 feet deep in theearth. In the last year of the drought (last year), the water wasexceptionally high in anaerobic matter. This year, been relatively low.

Water quality is always an issue. The well water here is high in hydrogensulfide, use an aeration/flush system for that. Requires zero maintenance.If it wasn't there my pipes would be corroding as a result, the toilet bowlwould be black, and the house would stink of rotten egg smell. The wateralso contains matter that is similar to moss. I use a sediment filterfollowed by a carbon filter for that. Sediment filter changed once a monthis cheap, carbon filter changed every 3 months is not cheap. All filtersystems are housed in an outbuilding I constructed on a slab. My waterfiltration house, if you will. Further, for drinking water, use a carbonfilter pitcher that I fill daily and put in the refrigerator. The water ishigh in minerals, so I need to install a water softener system as well. Itstains the glasses/pots/pans/tableware with a white substance after dryingnormally or in dishwasher. More so in dishwasher, am not using dryingcycle. Its probably affecting the hot water heater as well. Washing thecar or truck has same problem.

Water usage is probably not in par with most people. I have a small yardthat I irrigate if the weather doesn't cooperate. I do draw a bathe once aweek, shower on other days. Fill a 12" deep X 4' diameter kiddy solidplastic wading pool for the dogs once a month. A small 12"X12' garden plot.Other water usage is typical washer usage for one person, dishwasher, bathand kitchen sink, toilet. The water used on the outside water faucets isnot filtered.

I stopped performing irrigation last year around end of August 2006 on yard.Was unsure of water reserves on my well source. A few people in the areadid run out of water in their wells. Typical water wells in area run from200 to 1100 feet deep. Believe the dry wells were shallow.

For purposes of your specific question I believe you're asking if there is adefinite difference between cost of municipal water supply and electricityfor our water well pump to provide same amount of water. Look at your waterbill, see the billing period. Open the breaker on the pump, use municipalwater one period. The following billing period, use the well water. Beconsistent in garden water usage as you can during both periods. Not realaccurate, but guessing will show a difference. Another way, kill allbreakers except the water well pump. Record the electric meter reading. Gowater the garden normally. Record the electric meter reading. Subtract thelast reading from the first, this is KW usage. Multiply that by your KWcharge by your electric supplier. That is the actual cost in terms ofelectrical usage.