Drilling wells and water quality issues

[Lucy]

I am curious about drilling/digging wells in Puna, like HPP and other areas.
I have read that it is hard to do and expensive, because of the volcanic rock, lava etc.
I saw two lots in HPP on 14th st that had a well dug to share between different owners of the two lots and in addition some houses for sale which list they have wells already dug. The one house had a UV system and filtration systems to purify the water.
So is worth it to try to dig a well, ever? Does anyone know where to go to get water quality test results or something of that nature on existing wells? Are they contaminated or bad quality and taste? Is it useful to even try to dig where there are already existing wells, where you know you could get water, knowing that you would still have to do the filtration and you are taking such a big risk with drilling, the costs involved etc.
I am not a real big fan of catchment, as I prefer great quality water without the work of a catchment and just thinking about my water sitting there for a week with gunk in it before filtering it or even with that and it sits in a tank, with lots of germs in it bothers me. Running under a UV sterilizer after filtration just doen't seem a great option. My parrots cannot take the possibility of germs in the water, it is a big health hazard to them. They have a much more sensitive digestive trac to gram neg. bacteria than humans or dogs do. We got lots of gram neg. in our digestive tracs!

I do know about the University catchment tank PDF download that is available for catchment systems. I am not aware of anything written up for well drilling/well water quality for Puna or Hilo areas. I know there are some spigots somewhere beside the highway where you can join the crowd and get your bottles filled up with good clean water for free.
this is a concern for living in these areas...glad that I did not buy there.
http://www.native-net.org/archive/nl/91c/0332.html
On 24 Oct 1991 Writes Bruce Harlow "Residents of the Big Island have reason to be concerned about the
danger of drilling holes into the most active volcano on Earth. Respect for the power of nature has taken a back seat to profit and politics. The fears became reality on midnight, June 12, 1991; as a geothermal well being drilled by Ormat Energy Systems Inc. "blew out." For 31 hours, 180 lbs./hr. of hydrogen sulfide
and 13.6 lbs./hr. of lead were released, along with other heavy metals, in a toxic cloud of suspended steam.

Residents within a one mile State Health Department and Ormat designated "safety zone" were the only ones warned to evacuate.
Yet the cloud, heavier than air, sank down slope in the gentle early morning tradewinds, inundating the communities of Lanipuna, Opi'ikau, Seaview, and Kahena.

The choking, noxious fumes caused severe headaches, nausea and vomiting, respiratory problems, and strange rashes, especially on
children. The exposure seemed to lower people's immunity to disease, and subsqently many illnesses developed in the coming
weeks."

I apreciate any and all answers, thanks in advance!
Lucy

Having another Great day in Paradise, Wherever that Maybe!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLanai

[leilaniguy]

Aloha Lucy, I can't answer all your questions, but when I was building a house on 5th in HPP a driller approched me offering to drill a well for $100 per foot(60'deep) and added I would need a septic system to guarantee purity. Since none of the neighboring houses had septics, (and many more have been built adjacent since, without septics), I figured catchment was actually less risky for water quality, and a whole lot cheaper than a well. Another problem with groundwater quality here is unpermitted housing, where the sewer pipe is usually just run into the closest convenient crack in the ground. That is one of the big beefs of cave explorers here, they say Kazimura and the other big caves are running sewage in places. BTW, geothermal is still drilling those holes into the volcano in the same place, just down the road from me in Pohoiki.

[Lucy]

Thanks Leilani guy, yes that says a lot to me. It seems that the $6000 for the well could turn into quite a bit more and then no quarantee of good water quality with the septic issue thrown in where you cannot control what happens next door unless you own it all and who knows how far that would include. So that indeed in not the best way to go then looking at it from that angle.
Thanks for the great honest answer.
I appreciate it!!
Lucy

Having another Great day in Paradise, Wherever that Maybe!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLanai

Edited by - lucy on 01/31/2006 10:23:19

[David M]

Lucy
I was raised on well water. Always thought of it as a good system, basically get a new well tested and then enjoy. Of course I lived in the country and you couldn't see 2 neighbor houses at same time.

When we first started planning on building our new house, I asked about wells vs catchment. Two areas of concern:
1. In ag areas, especially the former sugarcane properties, there is concern of the chemicals that were used and possible water contamination. In my area, that was enough of a concern.
2. As Leilaniguy mentioned. To me this is an even bigger concern in the more populated areas. Did you know that old of the "older" philosophies involved digging your cesspool until you hit a lava tube. I guess that was meant to ensure good drainage, but without concern for where it was going. I also doubt that because a neigbor has septic vs cesspool that a well is much safer (JMHO).

I've come to believe a good, closed catchment system is actually great alternative. A bit more work than county water, but done right just as safe if not safer. And you can always get it tested periodically.

David

Ninole Resident

[jdirgo]

I'm on catchment and recently put in a fairly sophisticated filtering system and my water is great. It runs through 2 standard sediment filters (of differing micron sizes) then a 20 inch activated charcoal filter and then a 2-foot UV tube. It cost me about $1200 (including installation) and the replacement filters run me about $250 a year. Not bad for really good pure water.

John Dirgo, RA, ABR, e-PRO
RE/MAX Properties
808-987-9243 cell

[Royall]

Hey John, what do you think the cost of electricity is to run the UV filter? The catchment system I'll be installing will have one also.



Royall

[jdirgo]

I can't say for sure, but I didn't notice a significant increase in my electric bill after it was installed. I'm sure that the lady at American Water Purification could give you a better idea, but it didn't seem like much to me.

John Dirgo, RA, ABR, e-PRO
RE/MAX Properties
808-987-9243 cell

[Lucy]

Thanks David and John for all your answers!

I don't mind spending the money for a good UV and filtration system, if the water is of great quality afterwards and tastes good. So that sounds good. Testing is a good way to go. I imagine that the labs for that are on Oahu, so sending the sample over there possibly, not such a hard thing to do for purity sake.

I grew up in Lebanon, Oregon on well water. The water was always in good shape/taste. I remember adding bleach to it I think when it was dug, letting it adjust or something like that and then once or twice again later. Other than the changing to a new pump, it was fine until 45 years later when we sold our Mom's house a year ago. We all had the wells in the front yard off the street and the septics in the back of the House. They were lots of around 12,000sf. Hawaii with the lava though is quite different with it being so porous and lava tubes come into consideration too.
I had forgotten about the cane and chemical issues. There is so much to remember when doing all of this. )
Thanks again!
Lucy

Having another Great day in Paradise, Wherever that Maybe!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLanai

[Lew P]

When ever I show my wife a house for sale that has catchment, she says, YOU are going to be the one taking care of the tank, etc...
I used to have a in-ground pool, and I got to hating the maintenance on it, and I bet A Catchment tank is just as bad. So, I guess that limits my R/E search to just a few subdivisions in Pune...(:

[jdirgo]

Other than adding bleach once a month and planning to have a professional clean it every couple of years, I don't do much maintanence at all. I used to have a pool too, and I do about 1% of the maintanence on the catchment that I used to do on the pool.

John Dirgo, RA, ABR, e-PRO
RE/MAX Properties
808-987-9243 cell