I have a well in my garden - what are my rights
Discussion
The builders have been digging in my garden and found an old borehole. The house dates from 1470 and is the local manor house (so may have the mineral rights?). The borehole is capped with a metal dome with lead pipes sticking out.
Can I run my grey water systems off it (ie fill the cold and hot water systems with it)? I assume that I need to involve the EPA, etc. but is there limit to what I can do?
Can I run my grey water systems off it (ie fill the cold and hot water systems with it)? I assume that I need to involve the EPA, etc. but is there limit to what I can do?
I suspect your local water board may have something to say about that, as any water taken from the water table will affect their ground supply?
I seem to remember some guy running a pub in Wales somewhere was charged for water he collected off his roof by his local board - there argument was that he was taking it from their "source" ie the sky. You couldn't fecking make it up!
Where the above argument leaves water butts, I don't know. Probably best to just ignore my anecdotal evidence anyway
I seem to remember some guy running a pub in Wales somewhere was charged for water he collected off his roof by his local board - there argument was that he was taking it from their "source" ie the sky. You couldn't fecking make it up!
Where the above argument leaves water butts, I don't know. Probably best to just ignore my anecdotal evidence anyway
I checked this out as I have an old well in my garden which provides amazingly clean water. I was advised by local council that for domestic use you can extract 20 cubic metres per day without any sort of licence. I run all our rainwater into soakaways in the garden, and use the well water for garden use and car washing at present.
These people can advise http://www.warrenecological.co.uk/ , or check with local council planning dept.
These people can advise http://www.warrenecological.co.uk/ , or check with local council planning dept.
Be careful, old wells = deep hole filled with water of unknown depth with dodgy old covering eaten away by corrosion/woodlice etc. Go down that head first and it's curtains, go down it feet first and unless you are good at treading water in the freezing cold for hours whilst screaming for help then it's curtains again. Keep the kids away until it's properly capped,checked. Remember the kid down the well in India, lucky to survive. 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/520729...
Use it of course, try putting a pump onto the lead pipes and see if you can get anything out of it.
Wells are a nice feature, especially if you can still extract from it whilst covering it with reinforced glass for viewing with some suspended low voltage led illumination down it. Depending on the depth of the water you may need a special pump located at the bottom of the well itself to push water up, rather than one sucking from the top!
Probably also worth dredging it if you can, with such an old house might have interesting artifacts/bodies down it.
Watch out for gases which may have built up down it, remember Co2 is heavier than air so will collect in the shaft and Marsh Gas is flamable (Will 'O' the Wisp) Don't get suffocated or blown up.
Keep us updated, I am a bit of a well nerd if you hadn't already spotted.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/520729...
Use it of course, try putting a pump onto the lead pipes and see if you can get anything out of it.
Wells are a nice feature, especially if you can still extract from it whilst covering it with reinforced glass for viewing with some suspended low voltage led illumination down it. Depending on the depth of the water you may need a special pump located at the bottom of the well itself to push water up, rather than one sucking from the top!
Probably also worth dredging it if you can, with such an old house might have interesting artifacts/bodies down it.
Watch out for gases which may have built up down it, remember Co2 is heavier than air so will collect in the shaft and Marsh Gas is flamable (Will 'O' the Wisp) Don't get suffocated or blown up.
Keep us updated, I am a bit of a well nerd if you hadn't already spotted.
Edited by peterperkins on Monday 3rd March 17:05
hornetrider said:
I seem to remember some guy running a pub in Wales somewhere was charged for water he collected off his roof by his local board - there argument was that he was taking it from their "source" ie the sky. You couldn't fecking make it up!
I think that particular piece of cheek got sat on recently, one of the few good things the environmental movement has done for us. Or am I thinking of the even grosser piece of cheek, where you get charged for the water you "abstract" to run a waterwheel and then put straight back again?peterperkins said:
Be careful, old wells = deep hole filled with water of unknown depth with dodgy old covering eaten away by corrosion/woodlice etc. Go down that head first and it's curtains, go down it feet first and unless you are good at treading water in the freezing cold for hours whilst screaming for help then it's curtains again. Keep the kids away until it's properly capped,checked. Remember the kid down the well in India, lucky to survive.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/520729...
Use it of course, try putting a pump onto the lead pipes and see if you can get anything out of it.
Wells are a nice feature, especially if you can still extract from it whilst covering it with reinforced glass for viewing with some suspended low voltage led illumination down it. Depending on the depth of the water you may need a special pump located at the bottom of the well itself to push water up, rather than one sucking from the top!
Probably also worth dredging it if you can, with such an old house might have interesting artifacts/bodies down it.
Watch out for gas which may have built up down it, remember Co2 is heavier than air. Don't get suffocated either. Keep us updated, I am a bit of a well nerd if you hadn't already spotted.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/520729...
Use it of course, try putting a pump onto the lead pipes and see if you can get anything out of it.
Wells are a nice feature, especially if you can still extract from it whilst covering it with reinforced glass for viewing with some suspended low voltage led illumination down it. Depending on the depth of the water you may need a special pump located at the bottom of the well itself to push water up, rather than one sucking from the top!
Probably also worth dredging it if you can, with such an old house might have interesting artifacts/bodies down it.
Watch out for gas which may have built up down it, remember Co2 is heavier than air. Don't get suffocated either. Keep us updated, I am a bit of a well nerd if you hadn't already spotted.
Ace
Taita said:
Jesus, all this 'apply to the correct dept, get a licence' s
t gets on my tits.
On your land, do what you like
.
If you had a borehole on the land next door which you relied on for your drinking water and business and yer man here sucked it all up before you got it you'd be bleating about that too.t gets on my tits.On your land, do what you like
.minimoog said:
Taita said:
Jesus, all this 'apply to the correct dept, get a licence' st gets on my tits.
On your land, do what you like.
If you had a borehole on the land next door which you relied on for your drinking water and business and yer man here sucked it all up before you got it you'd be bleating about that too.t gets on my tits.On your land, do what you like
.20 cu metres? who's going to meter it? (sorry for the almost pun)
Edited by tamore on Monday 3rd March 17:23
I have spoken to the Environment Agency and the British Geological Survey. Consensus is that as long as I am not drinking it (in which case I have to get it tested) or taking more than 20 cubic metres per day (that's about a swimming pool, if I am right...) then I can do what I want with it.
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