Some Northland wells running dry in drought
December 30, 2012 at 6:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
Cindy Mackay thought her pump was broken when she turned on the tap on Halloween and no water came out.
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Some Northland wells running dry in drought
21 Comments
A very interesting story….but my question is, why should the taxpayers have to pay (or even help pay) for their new well?
Too many people have caught this “disease” of pleading to the government for help when something happens in their life that requires an expenditure.
Just because this family didn’t do their due diligence and determine that they had a shallow, non-reliable well when purchasing the home, now it’s the taxpayer’s problem when that well is found to not function?
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Correct.
Since LBJ the era of “personal responsibility” has been dead. I’ll get you a copy of the memo.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I am not asking for a “tax payers” handout….simply bringing attention to a problem that exists due to the drought. I would rather have my taxes help pay for some needy cause like this than for people who continually abuse the system.
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I have to agree with you Toby. Start this ball rolling, and soon we will have taxpayer funded well drilling for anyone with a need…even new home owners wanting to build.
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Nobody paid for my well but me. I don’t really care to start paying for other people’s wells either. If mine goes dry, that’s for me to deal with.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I agree. IMO a drain on the system is a drain on the system.
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Mackay tried having her old well filled with trucked-in water, but the 3,000 gallons just disappeared.
What? WHAT!?!? I need to talk to her about a bridge I have for sale.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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That was my exact thought as I read that…You can’t fix stupid!.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I’ve fought the shallow well for over 30 years, when you hear the gurggle you know!
Usually in late winter. No Flush, No Go Down !
I haul 65 gallons in a tank from a friend when this suckage happens!
Some of us live in Hard-Rock! My bid, is over $10-40,000 to drill with no gaurentee!
I’ve seen people in N. Mn drill over 500 feet without a drop! I can’t afford that.
I don’t think anyone is asking for a handout, but the State should offer an affordable
loan program.
I have placed over 3000 gallons and seen it disappear, it’s filling the crevices.
sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
I’m not blowing smoke, I actually studied this as a researcher on this fact in N.Mn.
If you got better data then me, bring it on.
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What is the theory behind pouring water down a dry well? What is supposed to happen?
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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GB: If you choose to live in a rural area, as I do, it is incumbent on you to be sure you have water, your septic system will work as designed and your power lines are cleared of dead and potentially dangerous trees. It’s a trade- off to be sure, but if the solice is more important that city living, we have to accept those personal responsibilities. I could even go on and on about who is responsible for road maintenance from the county road to our place. My new generation neighbors seem to think the government has to maintain the road. Well, where I live, my father and I were the “government”. He is dead now and this half of the government is only one half of what he once was. You can’t even pull a 20 spot out of these rich people just for material, not to mention all the labor. The road has always been taken care of by the two of us, now that we can’t do it anymore, the scramble goes on to get some other government to do it…free of charge to them. LBJ, thank you for the society you created.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Like I said, you can dump down a dry-well and hope. In the winter, I’ll dump 65 gallons
@ a time. Enough to do laundry, flush, shower, dishes. Crevices in the well sometimes
are fozen. In the summer it’s usually a waste of time just a sponge.
I’ve done research on mineshafts, pits, wells, etc.
One problem that always arises in N.MN is old wells, mineshafts. Fortunately the DNR
and others have been identifying these hazards. Unfortunatley landowners are
finding more and more. It’s not cheap to cap these off, @ landowners expense.
I’m not asking for a handout, I just can’t afford a new well and the cost of capping the old.
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Sorry, but I don`t want to cover the cost for your well. I paid for mine, but then….I made sure of what I bought up here first, water and a well being of the FIRST concern when looking at land. AND .. THAt was back in the late 70s.
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No problem GB, I can use the extra cash, as you`ll not be getting away for free…like you seem to want. I charge for the service you need. That`s business pal. Well Drillers and well cappers do the same. Try it and stop crying in your soup. It`s your problem, so deal with it, or stop by and pay the usage fee. No sweat on my part.
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Strange, GB wants a freeby right down to “doing his duty” at my place. When a simple fix for “doing his duty” would be to RENT one of those portable outhouses, and get it pumped out when needed. Laundry can be done at a lot of different places, that even have dryers. Buy a couple of those 5 gallon containers, and there is your cooking and coffee water, and with snow you have your dish water. Buy an ice auger, and you can use a lake near by for water…..of course this means putting out a little “green” and a little effort. Don`t wanna do that I guess. Why be resourcful on your own, when you can cry longer and see it it comes for free? Hummmmmmmmm……………..
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Wow….paying $24,000 ($200 x 12 months) on a $10,000 loan over 10 years? That puts the interest rate at 21%….which means this homeowner must have used a credit card for their purchase!
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I just hope that you also agree that only people in Duluth should be paying to replace Duluth’s old water lines. After all, you chose to live there.
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The difference is very simple….. In the city of Duluth the wells, water lines, and holding areas [water towers and the like], sewage lines, and water treatment are used and serviced as a whole by everyone that is hooked to the system. I realize it`s a complicated thought to absorb.
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Yes, it is simple. All i said is I hope you agree state and federal dollars don’t need to be used for Duluth and its 125 year old infrastructure either.
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Simple, living in a conjested city or town, with a population that far outnumbers those per acre, warrent different investments in systems and maintainance. Those like myself who move into the country for reasons of our own desires, sevice only ourselves. It`s a payback that has it`s advantages and disadvantages. I paid for what I have, and will have to pay out of pocket to service it when needed…but the savings are worth it for me. Those who fail to understand that [which you seem to have done] blame everyone else for their decisions, and take no responsability for them. Hence the difference in paying for replacing systems or maintaining them. Live in the city, you get service one way via utilities as a whole, and repaired as a whole…live like I do, and don`t worry about that…has a risk to it to. I`ll take the risk over the city life. BUT…part of my taxes support that city life, for business, pleasure, schools, and other factions of life. Yes…simple to comprehend. Try it.
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