The Gun Counter

I've had a well (as a kid) but I've never owned a well (as an adult).

Looking at a property with well and trying to read the well drillers report from 2008 intelligently.

Not sure what to make of this bit "1.5gpm with -- ft. drawdown after 1/4"

It's 8" to 525',
naturally poor quality groundwater 235'
Fresh: depth of strata 455'

Can't really decipher the report, but based on how much I was told it might cost to have a well drilled when I owned remote property, buying a property that comes with a well already drilled is a distinct plus.

Not sure if we're going to do this (it would be a 2nd place for some time until they cut the golden handcuffs loose). Got ties here in SoCal and I've been pretty fierce about not jumping ship and running to another free state. But family may be making the choice for us. What with a critical masss congregating in that area. we're thinking maybe should tie down some land now with rates low and with property values on the rise in that area. Open an option up for us.

This place has a 600 sq ft 1 br log cabin built in 2009 and a polebarn shop on 5 acres. Has a stock tank sized pond. Backs up on state land on one side and a game/club or hunting lease on another side. Only has a neighbor on one side.

Old boy that is selling it spends majority of his time in the workshop ( it has an office room with full kitchen and bathroom ) & literally only sleeps in the cabin.

I had a well drilled a few years ago. If you look at the anatomy of a well here in Texas (DFW area), the bottom 40-60 feet of well pipe has tiny slits cut in it. This is what draws the water in from the water bearing sand around here.

The well pipe draws in water and “stores” it in the pipe. The pump is positioned 40-60 foot above the bottom of the well, at the top of the well pipe. 1.5gpm is likely the sustained production rate of the well. Drawdown figure is probably how fast you’ll empty the pipe.

For reference, 10gpm is about minimum to run a house directly off of a well. Any lower than that and you start looking at 1000 gallon tanks and jet pumps with the well used to refill the tank.

So, what’s the climate like? 5 acres sounds like it’s not that remote. Would a cistern work?

BDK wrote: ↑Tue Feb 02, 2021 2:55 pm So, what’s the climate like? 5 acres sounds like it’s not that remote. Would a cistern work?

Yeah, TX hill country. WNW of San Antonio. 2 miles outside small town.

I'm already imagining a cistern or water tower. Also improving on rainwater collection to cisterns off the existing structures and from the open space to that pond.

It's a mostly flat lot, so some *tiling of open area directed to that pond might increase the season for it. Looking forward to walking that property in a couple weeks when we're out visiting family and scouting the area and property.


*I'm dating myself with that reference. More properly french drains with 3" PVC these days for a small scale project like that.Must be my Iowa farmer genes and a granddad who hand dug fields to lay tile for cash money in the wet down time months.

blackeagle603 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 02, 2021 6:14 pm Must be my Iowa farmer genes and a granddad who hand dug fields to lay tile for cash money in the wet down time months.

What part of Iowa?

Oskaloosa from mid-1840's. Across the river, property right down to the river just up from what used to the Eveland bridge.

Oh my. Just started looking in more detail at maps and sat maps. The nextdoor "game club" the realtor mentioned is (edit) a gun club across the road. Wonder how active it is (and how loud as a next door neighbor).

"Is this heaven?"

"No it's *Texas."


Might partly explain why it's been on the market 150 days.



*actuall not even 3rd on my list of alternate states. Too liberal for me.

blackeagle603 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:30 pm Oskaloosa from mid-1840's. Across the river, property right down to the river just up from what used to the Eveland bridge.

Not too far from my old stomping grounds in Fairfield. Mother's side since just before the turn of the 20th Century. Grandfather had gotten out of farming and started at a factory before I was born. Passed through there whenever we had to be up in Des Moines. Lot of canoe time on both the Skunk and Des Moines rivers.