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I’ve posted before about how we live like kings nowadays — actually, better than kings. Since we are out in a rural area, we have a water well instead of being connected to a municipal water system (the picture is of our main water storage tank). Now, our system is quite complicated. An underground pump fills the tank as required. The water feeds into a pump house where it’s boosted to household pressure and then connects to the house with a pressure tank in line. Various lines run underground for power and controls. We have added some extra sensors to keep the pumps from running dry (a great way to burn up a pump).
This week one of the sensors notified us that the well pump wasn’t filling the tank all the way. Our service guys came out Friday afternoon and had to replace a relay in one of the control boxes. We are now back in business. This is where I was headed with my title: that relay is easily 20 years old and has functioned as designed for all that time. It probably activates at least once a day that we are here, and it takes no maintenance and isn’t particularly expensive. The same goes for the boost pump controls and pressure tank. We live in an age of marvels that we ignore and forget about because we are used to them.
When we moved in, we had a copper phone line providing service to the house with a dial-up modem. Now we can choose between two fiber options via the power company and phone company. It’s so inexpensive that I suspect it may be government-subsidized.
So just remember that we live in an age of miracles that we can no longer see.
Discussion (16)
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I have sometimes considered, "What is the last modern convenience I would relinquish, if forced?" Usually I conclude, "running water." More important than electricity, communication technology, HVAC (though in the current Texas heat wave, that might be a debatable conclusion). I'd probably even prefer HOT running water over electricity.
[We intentionally chose to buy a house within city limits and thus on municipal water and electric systems, as I have never dealt with wells, and had no intention of learning how to deal with a water well.]
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Someone famously said modern dentistry. Which really got started before many people had running water.
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We grew up with a well and water pump in the basement like this one:
It was always breaking down, and I remember my dad griping about it a lot. We also had one of these on the back porch in case of a breakdown:
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When we bought the house in 96 (built in 53) the pumphouse (since rebuilt) had an old well in it with a pump with a big flywheel on it like in your picture. I took it to the scrapyard. That well still has water in it so I’m not sure why they drilled the newer one. We have a windmill on an adjacent property we bought that I hope to one day tie into the system. Right now it just feeds a tank and water trough.
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P.J. O'Rourke, I think.
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