water!

At last the pump installers arrived.  We took the cap off the well and peered down it with a flashlight.

The water looked a long way down but Bill dropped a small stone.  After a small wait, there was an echoing, hollow sploosh.  “Fifty feet down,” Bill said.  (The water was found at 120 feet so there is enough pressure to bring it up quite a bit.)

Bill and Al rigged up the device to lower the pump.  (Al is grinding the top of the shaft smooth so it does not snag on any of the ropes and electrical wires needed to lower the pump)

Then Bill got into the hole to drill a hole for the pitless adapter, which is needed to bring the water line into the house.

To our amazement, we found 2 toads in the trench.  They must have thought it a great place to hibernate.  I took them down to the pond.

At last, we were ready to lower the pump (which is that long silver thing)

Standing in the background is Hugo from France, my current volunteer from Workaway.  Here he is feeding in the waterline.

When the waterline and power cables were unreeled, they seemed to stretch an awful long way down the driveway.

There was fear that, because it was such a deep well, the pump and accoutrements would become very heavy.  But of course they were bouyed when they hit water level.  In fact, after a while, it became increasingly difficult to push the pump down the well.  The air in the line was stopping it.  Bill had to hotwire the pump to a power cable attached to a generator so that the pump and waterline filled with water and could be lowered further.

Finally all the wires and lines were in place.

That was the end of the first days’ work.  The following day, Bill returned alone and installed the pressure tank in the basement.

Then he discovered that he did not have the right sized fittings for the rest of the job.  Bill owns the Escott Bay Resort north of Anahim Lake.  He had to finish winterizing his place and also do some emergency plumbing for another person (who had a blocked sewage line.)  So it was several days’ more before he could return to put water into the house.

You will notice a bucket under the pea trap, for at that point I still did not have the drain hooked up. The water is quite muddy and smells of sulphur.  Bill’s wife had been away and on her return, she picked up a water filter on her way through Williams Lake.   Two days later, Bill installed the drain – but found he did not have the right-sized connection for the filter.

I don’t know if I can drink the water yet.  I have sent a sample to an outfit in Surrey that specializes in testing water supplies.  I will not get a bacterial test done (that would involve getting special samples bottles from Williams Lake before I could send off the sample, and with having a well so deep, there is little likelihood of that kind of pollution) so I am just getting the chemistry of the water tested.  The results should be emailed to me in a few days.

It is pretty amazing, however, to be able to turn a tap on and get (cold!!) water – even if it is a bit muddy – and have it drain away without having to carry daily buckets to the outhouse.  And it is almost as much of a relief to have the hole outside my door filled in after 2 months.

The deck will have to wait until the spring.  But at least I can go out in the dark in the morning to do my Qui Gong exercises without having to walk the plank!

6 thoughts on “water!”

  1. I love your blog post about installing a well! I’ve had one drilled but never installed before, so I was really curious to read your experience of it. I was also excited to read that you found 2 toads while installing the pump! I enjoyed reading all your experiences while you were installing the pump and your final conclusions.

  2. Hi Chris do you think you’ll do an inside house tour ? Or at least a couple of images ?
    Just want to know how you like to have things inside compared to your other home.

  3. Chris – yay, water! Makes me realize how much I take for granted the amenities of living in the city – hot running water being one!

  4. Chris,
    Glad to see your have your water setup finished before winter sets in.
    Just finished you latest book. GREAT! Thanks. Looking forward to your next one.

  5. Hi Chris: my experience with drilled wells is that the water quality will change with use. After about a month of continuous use, then you will get a more accurate test of what quality of water the well produces. Good luck.

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