The drought has gotten to our well. Dried up tonight.

[Wise Owl]

Say a prayer for us, please. Our well is offically dry now. We will have to start hauling water from the spring 10 miles away. Been buying drinking water but it's gotten to the point that if we don't get some really good, drenching rains for more than an hour, we may be hauling all winter. Once the ground freezes up, the water won't be moving underground at all.
Our well is a dug well. NOT drilled. The ground water is below the bottom of the 16 ft well bed now.

Thanks and God bless.

Juile

[Brasso]

My dug well dried up years ago so I had one drilled. No trouble since. What part of Maine are you in?

[Wise Owl]

Western Maine and we rent our place. Pretty sure our landlady is not going to cough up $14,000 to drill a well for us. 90% of the people who have camps or homes up here have dug wells. We are surrounded by lakes, and springs here and there. We have had no measurable rain in months. Not much snow last winter either. Been using as little water as possible all summer.

We needed Mathew to come for a visit but he chickened out and headed out to sea.

[Brasso]

I'm south/central by Augusta. Yes, we sure could use a couple days of soaking rain.

[Wise Owl]

How bout a week of it? I sure wouldn't complain. Even the rivers up here are going dry.

[NavyVet1959]

Blame it on Canada...

They're always blaming it on us, we might as well return the favor, eh? :)

[bruce drake]

Friends in Dover-Foxcroft are about to go into water rationing since the town draws their water from the Piscataquis River.

[shoot-n-lead]

I grew up on a well that would dry up...it was aggravating and VERY inconvenient.

Prayer sent for your situation.

[jonp]

Western Maine and we rent our place. Pretty sure our landlady is not going to cough up $14,000 to drill a well for us. 90% of the people who have camps or homes up here have dug wells. We are surrounded by lakes, and springs here and there. We have had no measurable rain in months. Not much snow last winter either. Been using as little water as possible all summer.

We needed Mathew to come for a visit but he chickened out and headed out to sea.

A rental must remain habitable and that includes running water or the landlord must make it so. If you really love that place your at and are on good terms with the landlady then you will just have to suck it up and pray some rain comes within the next month. If your not on great terms or only ok with the place then you may not have to pay rent until the well is dug and she can't throw you out for it if you file a complaint. She definitely can't throw you out in the winter no matter what.

I wish Matthew had went up the coast not for the loss of life of course but it dumped 15in of rain on a bunch of our state and it's still flooding. I had 3 roads closed behind me, one had the road collapsed over a culvert after I crossed it in my truck and you still can't get to a bunch of places. My buddy in North East Vermont hasn't said anything or my wifes parents. I hope it rains for you

[USMC87]

Prayers for you and all affected as well.

[ricksplace]

Blame it on Canada...

They're always blaming it on us, we might as well return the favor, eh? :)

Bwaaaahhhahahahah. sorry...

[richhodg66]

Wife and I moved out to a place in the sticks that's on a well. I've worried about this possibility as I've known folks who've had it happened, but it has been real wet this year for Kansas, rained and rained and rained this year it seems after several years of below average rainfall. I'm scared it means we'll have more snow than usual this Winter.

I wish you the best. Running water is one of those things we all take for grated, but you can't do without it.

[fast ronnie]

We've had drought here in central California for several years, now. Our well is 300 feet, and has concerned me. We have vineyards in the area that cover hundreds of acres each, and most of them have wells 700 to a thousand feet deep. They are depleting the ground water at a tremendous rate. To add to the problem, a sizeable portion of our available water is being diverted to Los Angeles and to San Francisco. It's not just the drought, but too many people building in areas that are not long-term viable, then expecting others to cater to them.

There are several people in the area that have had to have their wells deepened or new ones drilled.

Friday was the first rain we have had since spring and we've gotten about an inch so far. It sure is welcome. I hope we have a wet winter this year to get things back up to where the water table it should be, but this is going to take several years even under very wet years. I don't have an answer, and don't really know if there is one.

The Lord knows what we have need of, and he will supply us in the midst of whatever happens. We serve a big God, and HE knows what we need before we can even ask. He supplies His faithful, and provides for even those who are against Him. We need to be thankful for His blessings even when we don't feel like it.

[Petrol & Powder]

$14,000 to drill a well?

Wow, that's steep.

The last time I checked the prices were running about $10/ft. plus materials.
Don't know what it costs in Maine and there's probably a high demand right not due to the drought.

It would seem to me that the landlord is responsible for providing a water source. I bet you could come to some agreement, like "I'll stay but I'm not paying rent until there's water?", Or if you install a reliable well I'll pay more rent (allows the landlord to recoup their cost of drilling the well and spreads out the expense to you over a longer period of time). The landlord is going to have a hard time renting a property with no water so there's an incentive for the landlord to improve the property and if you like the place there's incentive for you to pay more for a reliable water source.

[OS OK]

Water tables generally drop gradually...good water there might be only 10 to 30 feet deeper. You should call some local well driller and query him about the water table in your exact part of the county...I wouldn't panic yet as $500 might solve your problem.
Here in California the tables are dropping all over, even in the valley...having never lived on a ridge before I had my well sunk from 300 to 700 feet when I bought and negotiated the cost out of the selling price...glad I did!

[Garyshome]

I wish we could send the 8" we got from Matthew last week, We didn't need it[NC]

[Wise Owl]

Talked to the landlady this morning. She is going to ask the Fire Chief if they could bring a pumper out and fill our well for us. It's not just us, lot's of these dug wells are dry now. So, maybe, maybe not on filling it.
In any case, I am going to spend my birthday today going to the spring and refilling all our water jugs up. Found out our toilet takes 3 gals to flush. Another 3 to refill it. Almost makes me want an outhouse out back....

Supposed to get rain this week. Probably not enough to do much but any would be great at this point. I will give thanks to God for every drop He brings.

[Wise Owl]

I wish we could send the 8" we got from Matthew last week, We didn't need it[NC]

Oh, how I wish Matthew had come all the way north. Prayed over that. Didn't happen.

[Reg]

No big deal. Do some research and find out about a "sand bucket". Easy to make your self and they work great providing you do not have large chunks of solid rock in the hole itself.
Our old wind mill well ( 90 feet ) had gone dry years ago. On a whim I made up a sand bucket and drilled it to the 118 foot level and now we are back in usable water. We would go deeper but there is something very hard and solid down there and it is either too big or something that the bucket will not pull up.
You say your well is only 16 foot deep ? That is really not very far. How was it dug in the first place. Surely there must be a way to get it a few feet lower and often only a few feet will make all the difference.

[Wise Owl]

It's a "dug" well, like the old time wells. They put in big round tiles set down into the ground and that contains the water. There is a pump under the house with pipe going into the side of the well, down about 8 feet so the pipes don't freeze up in the winter. The frost line is around 5 to 6 ft some winters.
Unless the tiles were pulled out and the well deepened your idea wouldn't work. The water would just escape into the surrounding ground. Big job and expensive. Landlady would balk at that.

Off to the spring to refill bottles now.

[RogerDat]

If you decided to insist that the property be kept for use there are some issues. Do you have a lease? With month to month the owner of the property can fairly easily say you need to move so repairs can be made. Their rights to the property are greater than yours, you have greater rights to your rent money. On a lease it tips toward you as there is an agreement giving you rights to the property.

If you withhold rent it better be place in an account because first thing a landlords lawyer will request is that the entire owed rent and future rent be held in escrow account by the court while any issues are decided. Not having all back rent owed ready to deposit can kill your case.

At a 16 foot dug well it makes me wonder how rocky is the soil? Because a shallow stab well is much less expensive than a drilled well. It might be something for the landlord to consider. I have hand pounded a 15 ft. used for summer garden watering from ground level and for the house wells were in a pit down about 5 ft. if outside or 3 ft. if inside with the stab well and pump in the pit. Folks would run a heat tape or incandescent light in the pit to keep it from getting cold enough to freeze.

[dave524]

Talked to the landlady this morning. She is going to ask the Fire Chief if they could bring a pumper out and fill our well for us. It's not just us, lot's of these dug wells are dry now. So, maybe, maybe not on filling it.
In any case, I am going to spend my birthday today going to the spring and refilling all our water jugs up. Found out our toilet takes 3 gals to flush. Another 3 to refill it. Almost makes me want an outhouse out back....

Supposed to get rain this week. Probably not enough to do much but any would be great at this point. I will give thanks to God for every drop He brings.

Not much use having water dumped into a dry well, you need a water tight cistern for that, the water will just soak into the dry ground and be gone .

[Wise Owl]

Only the bottom of the well is not encased in the cement tiles. Pretty sure that is still wet down there so it may stay in there. The pipe from the well never was in the very bottom due to sediment that builds up over time. We do not drink water from there directly. It is filtered thru a Berkefeld water filtration system.

So, the water "may" stay for a time and it would definitely be better than what I had to do by myself today at the spring which by the way is going dry also. It usually gushes out of the rubber pipe. Now it's more like a slow stream. Scary that a spring would dry up that always was full tilt.

Anyway, we have around 20 gals of potable water at hand and our dog's pool is full which we can use to flush with. Probably about 40 gals in that pool.

[Petrol & Powder]

I wouldn't just flat out withhold rent, I would come to an agreement with the landlord.

[jonp]

If you decided to insist that the property be kept for use there are some issues. Do you have a lease? With month to month the owner of the property can fairly easily say you need to move so repairs can be made. Their rights to the property are greater than yours, you have greater rights to your rent money. On a lease it tips toward you as there is an agreement giving you rights to the property.

If you withhold rent it better be place in an account because first thing a landlords lawyer will request is that the entire owed rent and future rent be held in escrow account by the court while any issues are decided. Not having all back rent owed ready to deposit can kill your case.

At a 16 foot dug well it makes me wonder how rocky is the soil? Because a shallow stab well is much less expensive than a drilled well. It might be something for the landlord to consider. I have hand pounded a 15 ft. used for summer garden watering from ground level and for the house wells were in a pit down about 5 ft. if outside or 3 ft. if inside with the stab well and pump in the pit. Folks would run a heat tape or incandescent light in the pit to keep it from getting cold enough to freeze.
Northern Maine, NH and Vt can be solid granite or so full of glacial till to make digging almost impossible. Picking rock in the hayfield and throwing into a rockboat used to keep us in good shape each spring. My last house up there was on the shore of a 120ft deep spring fed lake. I could throw a rock into the lake from my well and the digger went down 2ft then struck granite and went another 275ft to get 6gal/min. Guy at the end of the lake also could throw a rock into it underhand and the driller went down 800ft then hydrofracked to get enough water. Farmer I know has a well 1,000ft deep

[Wise Owl]

Northern Maine, NH and Vt can be solid granite or so full of glacial till to make digging almost impossible. Picking rock in the hayfield and throwing into a rockboat used to keep us in good shape each spring. My last house up there was on the shore of a 120ft deep spring fed lake. I could throw a rock into the lake from my well and the digger went down 2ft then struck granite and went another 275ft to get 6gal/min. Guy at the end of the lake also could throw a rock into it underhand and the driller went down 800ft then hydrofracked to get enough water. Farmer I know has a well 1,000ft deep

Our neighbor that has his property about 300 ft from our yard has a 75 ft artesian well. It was pure, clean water. So there is an aquafer under us somewhere which doesn't surprise me as we are surrounded by spring fed lakes. The local town gets it's water from the aquafer. A water bottling company trucks water out by the semi mulitple times a day.

All that said. Our landlady is not going to drill a well. We are not in a position to move or would feel right about withholding rent money from her. She has always been pretty good about fixing things if they break and splits the cost of things that we probably should pay all of.
And there are not many other places around that rent by the year. Mostly vacation rentals that are sky high in cost. She rents this as it's steady income for her all year. She's a teacher at the local school, a volunteer fireman. Works hard.
If she can get the well filled, it might just hold due to all the rock beneath us. We just don't know. I do know that is happening further south of us. I think it might be the water bottling plant doing it for those who have dry, dug wells. Some places it solid bedrock up here. It might or might not work but I would sure like to give it a try.

Been a long day here and I want a do over of today. It was my birthday and really stunk. What a way to turn 66. Hope the rest of the year is better than this one.

[leeggen]

It has been extremely dry here where I live in Tn. Our well is 100 ft deep and so far has never went dry. Many around us have had wells dry up, ours is still 25 ft from the top of the well case. Normally it is around 10 to 15. I had to start pumping water out of the spring down at our pastures to irregate the pasture so we will have green grass for the animals. We are fortunate to be supplied with water. It has been 5 weeks sense last rain , a whole 1 inch, 8 weeks before that we had 2 in. of rain and 6 weeks before that only 1 in. You can stick your fingers into the cracks in the ground up to the palm of your hand. I feel for you haveinf to haul water. A thought for you is to catch one of those water haulers and see what they do with the water from the spring that does not pass the water test they do on it and see if they would dump into the well. Just don't tell them it is for your drinking water.
CD

[Hueyville]

$14,000 to drill a well?

Wow, that's steep.

The last time I checked the prices were running about $10/ft. plus materials.
Don't know what it costs in Maine and there's probably a high demand right not due to the drought.

It would seem to me that the landlord is responsible for providing a water source. I bet you could come to some agreement, like "I'll stay but I'm not paying rent until there's water?", Or if you install a reliable well I'll pay more rent (allows the landlord to recoup their cost of drilling the well and spreads out the expense to you over a longer period of time). The landlord is going to have a hard time renting a property with no water so there's an incentive for the landlord to improve the property and if you like the place there's incentive for you to pay more for a reliable water source.

A friend recently sunk over $20,000 into a well that only produces about 15 gallons per minute. A multi-thousand acre orchard near their home drilled a half dozen big wells to guarantee the ability to keep their peach trees watered and many of the Wells in the community either dropped production significantly or completely dried up. One person in the area was able to find a crew that sat up and drilled their existing well another 400 feet but that is normally a very difficult task and not tried.

I purchased my house at the very end of our local municipal water supply so have the simplicity of a meter and water bill. That said, there are no guarantees as seen water rationing in past and have an old bored well on the property that had been abandoned when municipal lin came down our road an had filled with leaves and trash along with cave ins over a couple decades. Had a well company come out an clean it out, increase depth what could afford and it's a 5 gallon per minute well in dry season and 20 when plenty of rain.

We also have 39,000 acre water reservoir (lake) in back yard that holds 637 billion gallons of water. If life got serious have two gas and electric water pumps to bring water from the lake though technically illegal. If water system fails assume local government folk will have bigger issues than looking for a small camouflaged water line. Everything about long term survival was considered when purchased our house. It's small but has full basement to hide from tornados, three water supplies, two hospitals within 10 miles and doctors office plus pharmacy walking or electric scooter distance from front porch. In my 20's when purchased remodeled in manner widening all doors for wheelchair access, three entrances can come in with wheelchair, complete ADA compliant handicap bathrooms with grab bars and such. Now that wife is in wheelchair and I use a cane almost 30 years later glad I did all that when I was young. If you in 30's or 40's looking to buy a house think about how easy to get in and around if we're to suddenly find yourself in a wheelchair.

As to forcing a landlord... Good way to find yourself homeless. All they have to do is say they can't afford to bring it up to code, government condemns it as safe place to live and residents have to move. Some are unable physically, financially or both. Some landlords are poor too, some are mean, some are just cheap. If the landlord wanted to fix the issue my guess is it would already be done and trying to force them could result in a worst case scenario. No matter what you think, can't make anyone do much of anything. All he has to do is sell to brother or cousin for ten bucks and new owner can escape lease claiming have to evict tenants so can bring in contractors to repair or say tearing down. Try pushing a hard headed landlord and see all the legal loopholes they can find if they choose.

I am putting our friends on my daily prayer list. Sent what I could, do home healthcare for my wife so understand some of their issues, have a broken back and brain cancer to boot but God keeps blessing us a day at a time. I wanted to move out west or up north most of my life but the issues with surviving old age on limited budget somewhere remote and cold kept me where I was and worked hard to slowly improve my home. So rather than tell folks what to do if not walked a mile in their shoes, show some support of some kind. Sent what I could and now will pray God will lay on hearts of others to do the same and anyone local to help if possible. God bless you and pray you get water before the hard freeze of winter.

[shooterg]

Get a new toilet ! The newer ones work just fine with one gallon and that'll save you a lot. Maybe the landlord will replace ?

[BK7saum]

Putting bricks in the tank of the toilet to displace water can help with amount used, but the toilet may not flush as efficiently. Won't know until you try.

[gray wolf]

Get a new toilet ! The newer ones work just fine with one gallon and that'll save you a lot. Maybe the landlord will replace ?

We already have one of the newer ones that use less water. Nice thought tho.

[DCP]

We already have one of the newer ones that use less water. Nice thought tho.

"Found out our toilet takes 3 gals to flush. Another 3 to refill it. Almost makes me want an outhouse out back...."

New ones use 1.6 gal

[NavyVet1959]

"Found out our toilet takes 3 gals to flush. Another 3 to refill it. Almost makes me want an outhouse out back...."

New ones use 1.6 gal

Which means it uses 3.2 gallons since it probably takes 2 flushes. :)

[Sweetpea]

The toilets they are selling these days are far more efficient, and flush far better, than the old ones!

[NavyVet1959]

Which means it uses 3.2 gallons since it probably takes 2 flushes. :)

Oh, it might flush better, but the water level is low, so you will probably need to flush, brush out the bowl, and then flush again.

Well, unless you like having skid marks on the bowl...

[shoot-n-lead]

Well, unless you like having skid marks on the bowl...

Nothing wrong with skid marks...just a little "patina"...to add character.

[Wise Owl]

Pretty sure this was a prayer request thread.

Thank you.

And yes, the well is still dry. No appreciable rain so far. 1/10th of an inch a day or so ago. Storms going to the south and to the north of us again.

[Handloader109]

Some of the original low flush toilets were double flush to get clean. I'm somewhat of a contrarian also, but I've put in two in the past few years and they work as well as the 3gal do. So that would be an option that isn't that expensive. If you c an do yourself, $100 can do it.

[Boaz]

Lord please provide a way to give Sam and Julie relief in their situation of a dry well and needing a a vehicle . Please lend them your help Lord they could really use it right now . Thank you Lord . Amen

[Pine Baron]

^^Amen^^

[DCP]

Many Christians ask God for help, but then expect God to do everything Himself. They excuse this by pointing to the fact that God will provide according to His will and in His timing. However, this is not a reason for inactivity. As a specific example, if you are in need of a job, ask the Lord to help you find a job - but then be active in actually looking for a job. While it is in His power to do so, it is highly unlikely that God will cause employers to come looking for you!

That (might) mean getting a new toilet

[NavyVet1959]

Many Christians ask God for help, but then expect God to do everything Himself. They excuse this by pointing to the fact that God will provide according to His will and in His timing. However, this is not a reason for inactivity. As a specific example, if you are in need of a job, ask the Lord to help you find a job - but then be active in actually looking for a job. While it is in His power to do so, it is highly unlikely that God will cause employers to come looking for you!

That (might) mean getting a new toilet

Or it might mean getting off your ***, grabbing a shovel, and going down in the well to dig it out a bit deeper. :)

[country gent]

Alot of the old timers here hauled water for dug wells in the summer when they dried up or got to low. Alot of these dug wells were used for barns and livestock not the houses Houses were on drilled wells or sand points. They claimed if the dug wells dried out to long they werent as good as before. While its "dry now is the time to possibly deepen it. Alot of the dug wells were concrete culverts or bricks. dug underneath the culverts letting them slide down as the well was dug. If brick they were dug so deep and layed up to the last layers. Some put a tractor rim or tire down and dug under it then layed each layer of bricks in as they went. Deepening the well will be alot of hard work hand digging and removing dirt a bucket at a time. And if you get lucky and get to water then its wet work going deep enough to get a fair supply. If the well is deepened then the pick up pipe will need to be lowered also. Knowing the dia of the well you can figure how many gallons per inch of water there is. But On the other hand Im praying you get rain to bring it back.

[Wise Owl]

We have a new toilet. 2 years old when the landlady redid the toilet, shower and water heater. It uses about 2 gals max.

As to digging the well deeper. Landlady who OWNS the cabin and property is not in a place to dig the well deeper at this point. It's only been dry since Sat night. Not long enough to qualify as bone dry.

I am 66. Have arthritis in both shoulders, my neck, right hip and both knees. I also had a stroke 3 years ago. Digging is out for me. Sam is 75 with severe arthritis in his neck and lower back. No go there either.

I went to the spring which is slowed down to just a small stream that used to gush in previous times of visiting. The whole state is in a drought. We need some good rain up here.

We can't afford to move even if there was a place to move to. We have a very old SUV that is slated for junker status the end of January. I pray to God each time I get it in it just to go 3 miles to the PO and home again.

Maybe some of you are serious in your replies, others, maybe not. But believe me, we are just a couple old folks trying to do the best we can on our Social Security.

Thanks and God bless to all. We appreciate the advice and the prayers.

[Ickisrulz]

If I wanted to stay and work with the property owner to make things livable, I would ask for a couple 55 gallon drums and routine filling of those drums until the well is serviceable. It's too much to expect people to fetch their own water from a creek. For what it is worth, it is probably illegal and potentially unsafe. The property owner is being paid and should be providing something in return.

[Boaz]

Insane recommendations such as digging the well deeper or any labor intensive work when Sam and Julie have health problems is crazy . Hauling water is a chore , lived two places here in Texas in the country , due to oilfield salt water injection wells ground water was useless . We had to haul water . It's a dang job !

Their transportation is about gone to haul it with , they are living on SS . Talk of suing the landlord when your broke and the landlord doesn't have the money is stupid . They need practical solutions and quick .
I had an ankle fusion 6 years ago , used this to bath for 6 months ......Not perfect but works .

http://i.imgur.com/ZRbe7pS.jpg

We are in the country , water goes down periodically , septic tank has problems we have a potty chair , bag and chuck it . Again not ideal but a stop gap till a better way . They need transportation !!! If they have to haul water there must be a way to do it . This is a challenge .....What can they do within their limits to make it .

[Wise Owl]

If I wanted to stay and work with the property owner to make things livable, I would ask for a couple 55 gallon drums and routine filling of those drums until the well is serviceable. It's too much to expect people to fetch their own water from a creek. For what it is worth, it is probably illegal and potentially unsafe. The property owner is being paid and should be providing something in return.

Not a creek. It's a spring that has a pipe stuck way down into it. So the water comes out the pipe. It is tested regularly by the health dept cause many, many people use it for drinking water because they have dug wells for flushing, and bathing, etc. It has been ok for us (the dug well) because we bought a Berkey water filtration system years ago when we first moved up here. We get new filters when needed. It's approved by most states for drinking water and they use them in Africa for years and years for safe drinking water. The filters are ceramic with silver and charcoal imbedded in them.

As to a couple 55 gal drums? Well, that will work till we get a hard freeze then it will be hard to get ice out of those drums. The spring runs year round. It's just with the old truck which HAS to be replaced soon and our old bodies, it's a job getting water here. I took a small wagon with me on Sunday and will do so again tomorrow as we are getting low on bottled water again. I am NOT going to go get 20 gals like Sun. Probably more like 10 this time. Still a lot of bending down and lifting it after it's full.

You all live in warmer places. This is Maine. Think more like the early 1900's up here for some things. And in a place that gets downright freezing in the winter.

And, all I asked for was prayers for rain. We already know all the other stuff. BTDT for a very long time.......

[Ickisrulz]

And, all I asked for was prayers for rain. We already know all the other stuff. BTDT for a very long time.......

As I am sure you are well aware, this website is made up predominately of men. It is our nature to try and figure things out, offer suggestions and solve problems. It is our way of helping.

(Couldn't you fit a 55 gallon drum in the corner somewhere?)

[Boaz]

How do they move a 55 gal drum ? would need a transfer pump . Could be done but she is right the cold sets in and problems triple with freezing . Their vehicle is bout done in , will not pass inspection if it lasts till new year . Transportation needed . Stop gap measures till that goal is met then a more permanent solution could be approached . Now is the problem .

[country gent]

While it dosnt help alot now. Are the roofs gutters ran into the well. Or ran close to it so the area left between acts as a filter bed into the well. Alot of the cisterns and dug wells around here had the gutters tied into them to help fill them. The roof will help collect alot of water and it can be directed to the well. But until rains come it dosnt help alot. Hauling water is a pain. Fire depts and some others will haul water to fill the well and most also charge for this. A decent garden cart makes moving jugs full of water easier than carrying them depending on terain.

[Ickisrulz]

How do they move a 55 gal drum ? would need a transfer pump . Could be done but she is right the cold sets in and problems triple with freezing . Their vehicle is bout done in , will not pass inspection if it lasts till new year . Transportation needed . Stop gap measures till that goal is met then a more permanent solution could be approached . Now is the problem .


I realize the tenant is trying to make things work. But since you stepped in to ask questions I will answer you and tell you what I would do. I would remind the landlord that providing water is mandatory and she needs to do something. This isn't optional. The lack of running water most likely makes this house uninhabitable by any local housing standards. Maybe being outside of a city it doesn't violate a law, but it certainly isn't ethical. I bet the property owner has running water.

This is the way you do it. You put a 55 gallon drum in the house and the PROPERTY OWNER uses another drum with a pump to bring water and fill it. It is the PROPERTY OWNER'S responsibility not the tenant. It doesn't matter how much it costs. If my parents were living in such a situation, I'd have a fit.

And by the way, there are heaters to keep water from freezing outside if a drum will not fit in the house. They are stock tank heaters.

[Boaz]

I'll honor your request for only prayer .

[Wise Owl]

I'll honor your request for only prayer .

Thank you Boaz.

Thank you all for all your suggestions.
And this being the chapel and the place for prayers, we treasure all of those.

God bless.

[WILCO]

What can they do within their limits to make it .

http://www.downtownme.com/maine_social_services_&_welfare_organizations_34.htm

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/elderly.shtml

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/states/maine/homeownership/seniors

http://www.mainehousing.org/programs-services/rental/subsidized-housing

http://www.callhomesupport.com/resources-for-maine-seniors/

[WILCO]

The answers are out there. In today's day and age of social programs, it's insane not to tap into them when they've been paid for.

Best wishes.

[Suo Gan]

I'm not trying to come off as a know it all here. Do what you like. You could buy a tank and have a truck fill it. Or as some of my neighbors did, have a truck fill the old well. Hope your situation improves.

[Suo Gan]

I realize the tenant is trying to make things work. But since you stepped in to ask questions I will answer you and tell you what I would do. I would remind the landlord that providing water is mandatory and she needs to do something. This isn't optional. The lack of running water most likely makes this house uninhabitable by any local housing standards. Maybe being outside of a city it doesn't violate a law, but it certainly isn't ethical. I bet the property owner has running water.

This is the way you do it. You put a 55 gallon drum in the house and the PROPERTY OWNER uses another drum with a pump to bring water and fill it. It is the PROPERTY OWNER'S responsibility not the tenant. It doesn't matter how much it costs. If my parents were living in such a situation, I'd have a fit.

And by the way, there are heaters to keep water from freezing outside if a drum will not fit in the house. They are stock tank heaters.

i doubt that every landlord has the capital to fix every bad situation.

Water is a necessity. If it was my peppery and I didn't want to drill a well I'd compensate the tenant by lowering the rent. Or folks could move I guess.

[NavyVet1959]

Depending upon what the cost might be for drilling a deep well, it's possible that the property owner figures that even if the current tenant leaves and the property remains vacant until the water level is back up, that's less money lost than what it would cost to drill a deep well.

[MaryB]

If the bottom of the well is soft enough maybe you can get the young guys back to drive a sand point down 20' or so. It might be enough to get the well itself to refill on its own otherwise you can connect to the pickup pipe and pump from it...

Another option is a trailer mounted IBC tank, I have found them on Craigslist that were used for cooking oil or some other food product and they are about $125 average cost. Mounted on a small trailer would let you haul 250 gallons at a time... a hay bail garage for the winter to keep it warm...

[Wise Owl]

It's supposed to rain for the next 3 days. "Maybe" 2 or more inches. That will help a lot. Hope the system stalls out over us and just rains and rains.

While all your suggestions might work out for you folks where you live but won't work up here. We live in a tiny 15x29 ft cabin and with two large dogs and furniture it's tight in here now. No way to put a barrel in here. And with all the rocks (big rocks as in boulders, no way to just put down a sand point. I tried to bury our cat a few years ago and it took the better part of a day to just find a spot where I didn't run into either a huge rock or big tree root. (we live in the woods)

Unless a drilling company came in and found an ideal spot to drill, we are stuck with the dug well and I am sure they had to remove a lot of huge rocks to do that. Everything is a chore to do and lot's of money for it to be done. In the 14 years we have lived here, we have not lost water. Usually it's almost too wet to do even the lawn mowing. So, this is a bad year. Period. Everyone's wells are going dry. The spring is going dry. I found out this morning that we might be able to get water at the plantation office but it's not drinking water. Not sure what is up with that. Need to call tomorrow when it's open. It's actually closer than the spring and it's an outside spigot that I can fill jugs up with. Sounds like it might work if the water doesn't have arsenic in it like a lot of the water wells up here. Rather not get that stuff if we can avoid it.

Going out to drail the dog's pool so the rain can fill that back up. It's full of leaves and dirt and even if it's just for flushing, it's pretty disgusting at this point.

God bless.......

Oh and Mary. We don't have a barn, let alone a hay barn. Or animals that require hay. We live in a small cabin on a smallish lot. OR even a trailer to haul water with. Just the back of the Expedition which is on it's last legs.

[Pine Baron]

My prayers continue for relief from this drought and a resolution to your vehicle problem. Wish I could do more.

[Wise Owl]

Weather report for heavy rain tonight. (praying hard that this is true.) Well is in a low spot so a good 12 hour soaking would go a long way to get the level up again. Plus it's supposed to rain thru till Tues.

Please Lord. Let it rain, and rain and rain. People are suffering up here. Please bring us lot's of rain.

[Wise Owl]

My prayers continue for relief from this drought and a resolution to your vehicle problem. Wish I could do more.

Your prayers are MOST welcome. Thank you sir.

[MaryB]

Prayers for rain. Winter weather patterns are showing so it should help. Straw or hay bales can be bought cheap, look for someone offering water damaged bales. I used to use them to cover my farm site I rented shallow well pit to keep the pump from freezing up. Trailers are harder to come by and I know the struggles with the truck :( I think you said you had a Berkey water filter, don't they remove arsenic?

[JimB..]

Weather report for heavy rain tonight. (praying hard that this is true.) Well is in a low spot so a good 12 hour soaking would go a long way to get the level up again. Plus it's supposed to rain thru till Tues.

Please Lord. Let it rain, and rain and rain. People are suffering up here. Please bring us lot's of rain.

I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you, but I'm happy to pray that you will be provided for.

Now, being a man I also feel the need to throw out a suggestion. Forget legal action, but ask your landlady for help. You mentioned that she is a volunteer firefighter. She will have access to water and a vehicle for moving it. It will not be potable, but if the well isn't either then maybe it doesn't matter, just drop 15 or 20 thousand gallons down the well and keep your fingers crossed. If it doesn't work ask her to fill a few 55 gal plastic drums or a few kiddie pools once a week. I'm pretty sure she can make this happen and it'll cost nothing for either of you unless you need heaters for the storage tanks.

[MaryB]

If Sam likes to tinker and you have some scrap lumber I can point you to plans for solar water heaters(and hot air, I use one to partially heat my living room during the day). http://www.builditsolar.com/ has them. Lots of ways to cut bills...

I use this design http://www.builditsolar.com/Experimental/AirColTesting/ScreenCollector/Building.htm. Very simple, Only needs a fan instead of a blower to move air. Very quiet when running over the tubing design I built first.

[dverna]

One of my neighbors is a 69 year old Veteran who has no well or septic tank. He uses an out house. We get a lot of snow and cold winters. He has a tough life but has been living it like this for over 20 years. He has no vehicle. His "home" is a small one room shack. There is a small creek 1/2 mile from his home. That is his water supply for washing. He uses bottled water for drinking.

He is my closest neighbor...lives 3/4 miles from me. There are a handful of us who look out for him. It is how rural people are....at least here in northern Michigan. We help each other. And most here are very poor.

I urge you you to reach out to your neighbors for immediate help. They will do it. Some may have stuff they will lend or give to you to get you by.

You do not need a vehicle. Your neighbors will take you into town for supplies. It is what we do for our Vet. You should offer to pay for gas....but you will be surprised that some will not even take it. My answer is, "Buddy, I needed to get into town too...no problem". At times I will take a few bucks so I do not offend his pride or let him buy my a donut and coffee. BTW, the closest store for us is 10 miles and town is 25 miles.

There are a lot of good people out there. I hope you find a few near you.

Don Verna