Most of us get our water from a well, or from a local water authority, which is often referred to as city water. Well water and city water each have their own advantages and disadvantages, so today I’ll be shedding some light on the well water vs city water confusion that seems to be prevalent here in Central Florida, where I live and work. Then, towards the end, I’ll be sharing some practical tips for everyday consumers to ensure the safety of the water quality in YOUR home, so be sure to read to the end for that.

Why city water OR well water?

It’s important to understand WHY we would use well water or city water, which usually has everything to do with availability. For instance, many cities in Florida, and across the world for that matter, have infrastructure that provides water for their taxpayers. Most cities and areas closer to town tend to have city water, and they pay for this water via taxpayer dollars.

Wells, on the other hand, tend to be in more rural areas, and are installed by homeowners to extract water from the aquifer below our homes. Homeowners bear the expense of installation of the well to extract the water, but there’s no expense to the local municipality for the use of this water aside from initial permits and fees, at least as of today.

Advantages of well water

Let’s kick off the advantages and disadvantages of these two sources of water with the advantages of well water. The most common advantage of well water is that there is no monthly water bill, so it’s free…well, sort of. I’ll address this “free” thing in a bit.

With well water, the homeowner has control of their water bills. While the well used to pump that water from the ground does count on electricity, the cost of that electricity is usually minimal. It’s part of your monthly electric bill. I believe the greatest advantage of well water is the taste. Well water is much more natural than water processed by a local water authority, and I can taste that crisp, clean, goodness.

Advantages of city water

City water supplies are regularly tested and must meet EPA standards for safety, so they’re checking for contaminants in the public water supply. I once had a friend that inspected city water as part of his job, and he was uncomfortable with the high levels of contamination in our public supply.  Maybe this is one of those times when I’d prefer to just look the other way, or maybe he was just a conspiracy theorist. I’m no expert here, but it DOES make me wonder.

When building a home with city water there is an expense to connect to that water supply, but there’s usually no maintenance moving forward, aside from ensuring you don’t rupture one of those lines. Although it’s not as big of an issue as some of the others, one clear advantage to city water is that you don’t have to contend with water quality inspections for financing purposes if you’re using a government loan like FHA or VA.

If you’re building a new-construction home for resale purposes, city water is usually the preferred option as the builder doesn’t have the expense of the well installation. So, we’ve addressed some of the ADVANTAGES to city water and well water, but there are DISADVANTAGES to each of these, so let’s start once again with well water.

Disadvantages of well water

Well water is drawn directly from the ground, so it’s untreated, which can be good, but this water sometimes comes with undesired contaminants and heavy metals. Of course, contaminants are usually unhealthy, but here in Central Florida, I haven’t dealt with many cases of high levels of contaminants. While contaminants are not a concern of mine, they ARE for others. There are tests out there to ensure the safety of your water supply. I’ll be addressing a few  practical options to address this concern here in a minute.

I spoke earlier of the taste of that crisp, clean goodness, but well water often requires water softeners, which are very common here in Central Florida due to high levels of naturally occurring Iron and Sulphur. Although the taste of the iron isn’t a huge issue, the orange color that it can turn your clothes, IS a big deal to most of us. Water softeners can reduce obnoxious odors, like the smell of Sulphur that sometimes rears its smelly head. A water softener will cost you several hundred to several thousand dollars, but once they’re installed, you can have a great water supply if properly maintained.

Here in Florida, we regularly deal with strong storms and hurricanes, which can knock out the power supply, for several days or weeks in some cases. As such, when the power supply is out, so is the use of your well. Although generators can get you up and running in short order, this is still a disadvantage to well water in my mind. City water tends to keep right on flowing during these times.

The greatest disadvantage of well water just happened at my home…I had to replace my well. I spent over $5,000 and was without water for several days. It was a major expense and headache, that my family wasn’t too happy about. Although this new well may last me for the next 30 or 40 years, my water didn’t feel so “free” as I was writing out that check!

I am not an expert in water supply, I’m just a regular guy, a local Realtor® here in Central Florida for many years, and I’ve sold a ton of homes with city water as well as with well water. If you’ve got real estate needs anywhere at all, send me a message or pick up the phone and give me a call.

Disadvantages of city water

The greatest argument that I hear against city water is that the user is beholden to the water authority for monthly water bills FOREVER, and these water bills don’t usually decrease. I believe the TASTE of city water is the greatest disadvantage of city water. When I drink city water, it often tastes like I’m drinking from a swimming pool. Yes, it’s worse in some areas than others, but that taste usually still present. Perhaps it’s all that treatment against contamination, but it’s too much for me.

City water can be very hard, too. It can be hard on skin and appliances, and everything else. This can be an issue with well water when no water softener is utilized, but it’s almost always an issue with city water.

It is noteworthy that just because you have city water, it doesn’t mean that the local water authority cannot come back years from now wanting more of your dollars to improve or replace old water lines. This isn’t an everyday occurrence, but neither is replacing that water well.

So we’ve addressed some of the advantages and disadvantages in the city water vs well water debate, and I’ve spoken of water contamination multiple times, but we are not helpless to deal with the concern of contaminants in our water supply. Let’s look at how you can take practical steps to protect yourself from potential contaminants.

Ensuring the safety of YOUR water

There are all sorts of whole house filters out there which can make a huge difference when referring to contamination of our water supply. They’ve got filters that use cartridges and those that use a backwashing filtration system. I recently sold a home that used ultraviolet disinfection for their water. They spent, like $9,000, but their water tasted great and was reportedly clean as a whistle, and I believe it was an asset for the new homeowners.

Many homeowners use a simple reverse-osmosis system, which usually has two or three small filters and this little tank that sits under the sink. Of course, you can purchase all sorts of tests to check the water for contaminants if you’re worried about that, or you can even reach out to a company that checks for water contamination and they’ll do it all for you.

Maybe you’ve realized that I’m a well guy, I don’t like monthly bills and I prefer the crisp, clean taste of fresh water, but I DO understand the benefits of city water.

Published on August 26. 2024 / no comments.