# cost/maintenance sinking a well



## cuerna1 (Mar 7, 2015)

What does it cost to sink an average well and how much space do you think you need to dedicate to it ? And height ? We live in an area with a community well but were wondering if we could be more self sufficient. Thanks.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

cuerna1 said:


> What does it cost to sink an average well and how much space do you think you need to dedicate to it ? And height ? We live in an area with a community well but were wondering if we could be more self sufficient. Thanks.


An important consideration is the distance to any potential source of pollution or contamination. Are there any septic tanks near by. Does a community sewer pipe run near by.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

If you are paying a fee for the community well, it is likely that you will continue to be responsible for it. In addition, you will have to deal with SIAPA, the federal governmental agency which owns the water that you may find at the bottom of your well. Oh yeah; then there is the added cost of your bi-monthly contribution to CFE. Have you already gone solar for hot water and electricity. Those would be my first moves and would probably eliminate the desire for a personal well.


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## michmex (Jul 15, 2012)

cuerna1 said:


> What does it cost to sink an average well and how much space do you think you need to dedicate to it ? And height ? We live in an area with a community well but were wondering if we could be more self sufficient. Thanks.



In Mexico, water is an important resource that is the property of the "people", i. e. the government. Private water rights such as found in the USA are not found in Mexico. CONAGUA is the controlling federal entity dealing with water resouces in Mexico.

From a Wikipedia article, "Water Resources in Mexico".

Water resources in Mexico - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The main law governing water resources management in Mexico is the National Water Law of 1992, revised on April 29, 2004.[17] According to the Law key functions in the sector are the responsibility of the federal government, through the National Water Commission (CNA or Conagua). CNA's mission is to "manage and preserve national water resources, with the participation of the society, to reach a sustainable use of the resource." CNA has a staff of 16,000 and an annual budget of 18.6bn Pesos in 2005 (more than US$1.5bn) and is considered to be one of the most powerful federal agencies in Mexico. CNA administrates major federal programs to support investments in water supply and sanitation as well as in irrigation. It also directly manages certain key hydraulic facilities such as the Cutzamala Pipeline that supplies a large share of the water used in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City. CNA also owns and operates most dams in Mexico and operates the country's water monitoring network.

Through the 2004 revision of the National Water Law two new entities were formally created: Basin Councils (Consejos de Cuenca) and Basin Agencies (Organismos de Cuenca). The basin councils consist of representatives of the federal government, state and municipal governments, as well as at least 50% representatives of water users and NGOs. The basin councils are not decision-making bodies, but are consultative bodies. There are 26 basin councils. The basin agencies, on the other hand, are the regional administrative branches of the CNA, which retains the ultimate decision-making power.

Obviously other entities such as the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Congress, State Governments and State Congresses, as well as the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources are important decision-makers in the sector."

Conagua website -TRÁMITES Y SERVICIOS

Trámites y Servicios


Keep in mind that other water users in the area such as your "community well" would be able to comment on your request for a water well since it could affect their water supply.

The time, cost and aggravation of obtaining a permit (if it were even to be granted since you already have access to water) in addition to the actual drilling costs, equipment and maintenance would not seem to be a very worthwhile investment???


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Depth, type of soil to penetrate, machinery needed .... or if it's even legal.

Here we need no permission, only 15 meters +/- and hand dug. Was 1100 pesos and I bought the 6" plastic casing. New submersible pumps are pretty easy on electric but i'd not put it on a pressure system. Pressure off a cistern


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## GARYJ65 (Feb 9, 2013)

In all Mexico it is ilegal to dig Wells, small ones or large ones, without a permit
You may do it, but if you get caught, be prepared.


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## cuerna1 (Mar 7, 2015)

Thank you all for your comments.

Yes - we have already gone solar and for the last 8 months or so are producing more power than we consume. Thanks for the comment about the septic which we have on the one corner of the lot and that would have been where I would have put a well. We have a water meter (and shut off valve) at the street. Without saying why - the community board stopped sending out water bills perhaps last December (2013) or so. 

We have our annual neighborhood meeting this coming Friday. One of the things on the agenda is - The Well (no more details). It is probably another attempt to squeeze more money out of the neighbors.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

If you and your neighbors have septic systems, or worse just fosas, then you would nee acreage to even consider having a safe well, and it would have to be quite deep.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

GARYJ65 said:


> In all Mexico it is ilegal to dig Wells, small ones or large ones, without a permit
> You may do it, but if you get caught, be prepared.


When you ask all your neighbors, the police, the Ejido and the taxi drivers .... and they all say no permission needed .... what are you gonna do.

Maybe because "city water" is a new thing and 15 years ago you either used water from the community well or had your own. We are also on basically a river delta not much above sea level so usually we have water coming out our ears ..... as in too much


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

sparks said:


> When you ask all your neighbors, the police, the Ejido and the taxi drivers .... and they all say no permission needed .... what are you gonna do.
> 
> Maybe because "city water" is a new thing and 15 years ago you either used water from the community well or had your own. We are also on basically a river delta not much above sea level so usually we have water coming out our ears ..... as in too much


This may not be a problem where you are but it is in some places. Where there is a lot of ground water pumping near the sea, there can be a problem with salt water incursion into the water table. Normally the water table slopes down toward the shore but with extensive pumping and drawdown of the water table, the flow can reverse.


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