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Sharing well and pump--how much should we charge? JohnnieMarr 02-26-2008
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Posted by on February 26, 2008, 12:49 am
I share a well with my neighbor. For both of us, the well and pump
were supplied by the developer who old us the land on which we built
last year. Both houses use the well and pump, but only one house
supplies the electricity--and that's our house! We agreed that we
would pay for the electricity along with the rest of our electricity,
but our neighbor should pay us half the cost of the electricity
required to run the pump. Problem is, I don't know how to charge for
that. I don't even know how much electricity the pump uses. It's on
a circuit connected to our house's electrical service--there's no
separate meter. What would be a fair amount to charge?

In case it helps, both families have two adults and two children with
typical water usage--no hot tubs, swimming pools, etc.

Here's another thing I'm wondering about... Ours was the first house
built, and ours was the first plumbing connected to the pump, so I'm
wondering if we paid for some initial set-up that our neighbors didn't
have to pay for. For example, besides the electricity each month,
wouldn't there be a cost to initially run the circuit out to the
pump? What other initial costs might there be that should be shared
with the neighbor?

Finally, when our house was built, we installed a pressure tank. The
purpose of the pressure tank is to improve the overall pressure of the
plumbing in the house and to provide a sort of pressure reserve so
that the pump doesn't have to turn on so frequently. I'm not sure the
cost of this tank and it's related controls, but I know it was over
$1,000. I also know that our neighbor did *NOT* install one of
these. My question is this... Is our neighbor benefiting from our
pressure tank? Besides lessening wear and tire on the pump, is it
also improving the pressure for our neighbor's house, too? (The tank
is located in our house's mechanical room.) Is this something that
our neighbor should be compensating us for?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

- Johnnie

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Posted by Smitty Two on February 26, 2008, 1:36 am
In article
JohnnieMarr@gmail.com wrote:

> I share a well with my neighbor. For both of us, the well and pump
> were supplied by the developer who old us the land on which we built
> last year. Both houses use the well and pump, but only one house
> supplies the electricity--and that's our house! We agreed that we
> would pay for the electricity along with the rest of our electricity,
> but our neighbor should pay us half the cost of the electricity
> required to run the pump. Problem is, I don't know how to charge for
> that. I don't even know how much electricity the pump uses. It's on
> a circuit connected to our house's electrical service--there's no
> separate meter. What would be a fair amount to charge?
>
> In case it helps, both families have two adults and two children with
> typical water usage--no hot tubs, swimming pools, etc.
>
> Here's another thing I'm wondering about... Ours was the first house
> built, and ours was the first plumbing connected to the pump, so I'm
> wondering if we paid for some initial set-up that our neighbors didn't
> have to pay for. For example, besides the electricity each month,
> wouldn't there be a cost to initially run the circuit out to the
> pump? What other initial costs might there be that should be shared
> with the neighbor?
>
> Finally, when our house was built, we installed a pressure tank. The
> purpose of the pressure tank is to improve the overall pressure of the
> plumbing in the house and to provide a sort of pressure reserve so
> that the pump doesn't have to turn on so frequently. I'm not sure the
> cost of this tank and it's related controls, but I know it was over
> $1,000. I also know that our neighbor did *NOT* install one of
> these. My question is this... Is our neighbor benefiting from our
> pressure tank? Besides lessening wear and tire on the pump, is it
> also improving the pressure for our neighbor's house, too? (The tank
> is located in our house's mechanical room.) Is this something that
> our neighbor should be compensating us for?
>
> Any advice is greatly appreciated.
>
> - Johnnie

It's hard to put a dollar value on that stuff. Your neighbor should let
you sleep with his wife once a month, in lieu of any cash compensation.

Posted by on February 26, 2008, 10:00 am
> It's hard to put a dollar value on that stuff. Your neighbor should let
> you sleep with his wife once a month, in lieu of any cash compensation.

Ugh. Not interested. At all.

Posted by Oren on February 26, 2008, 5:18 pm
On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 07:00:37 -0800 (PST), JohnnieMarr@gmail.com wrote:

>> It's hard to put a dollar value on that stuff. Your neighbor should let
>> you sleep with his wife once a month, in lieu of any cash compensation.
>
>Ugh. Not interested. At all.

So that rules out the 'ole man?!
--
Oren

Posted by RBM on February 26, 2008, 7:02 am

>I share a well with my neighbor. For both of us, the well and pump
> were supplied by the developer who old us the land on which we built
> last year. Both houses use the well and pump, but only one house
> supplies the electricity--and that's our house! We agreed that we
> would pay for the electricity along with the rest of our electricity,
> but our neighbor should pay us half the cost of the electricity
> required to run the pump. Problem is, I don't know how to charge for
> that. I don't even know how much electricity the pump uses. It's on
> a circuit connected to our house's electrical service--there's no
> separate meter. What would be a fair amount to charge?
>
> In case it helps, both families have two adults and two children with
> typical water usage--no hot tubs, swimming pools, etc.
>
> Here's another thing I'm wondering about... Ours was the first house
> built, and ours was the first plumbing connected to the pump, so I'm
> wondering if we paid for some initial set-up that our neighbors didn't
> have to pay for. For example, besides the electricity each month,
> wouldn't there be a cost to initially run the circuit out to the
> pump? What other initial costs might there be that should be shared
> with the neighbor?
>
> Finally, when our house was built, we installed a pressure tank. The
> purpose of the pressure tank is to improve the overall pressure of the
> plumbing in the house and to provide a sort of pressure reserve so
> that the pump doesn't have to turn on so frequently. I'm not sure the
> cost of this tank and it's related controls, but I know it was over
> $1,000. I also know that our neighbor did *NOT* install one of
> these. My question is this... Is our neighbor benefiting from our
> pressure tank? Besides lessening wear and tire on the pump, is it
> also improving the pressure for our neighbor's house, too? (The tank
> is located in our house's mechanical room.) Is this something that
> our neighbor should be compensating us for?
>
> Any advice is greatly appreciated.
>
> - Johnnie

That's a crummy situation. Essentially you've paid for the well, plumbing
and wiring as well as support equipment, and the neighbor gets a tap off of
it. It's hard to believe the building codes would even allow that. His use
is causing wear and tear on your equipment. The electric is only a small
part of the cost, eventually the pump and other expensive parts will go.
Will he agree to share those costs? What if he moves, and the pump fails
right after a new owner moves in? I think you should get paid as though you
were selling water to the neighbor, assuming you are the legal owner of this
equipment. I would also expect your and his deeds to spell out this
situation and clarify how to handle it



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