View Full Version : wealthy people putting water wells in their back yards
There was an article in our local paper about some wealthy residents near my neighborhood that are paying many thousands to have water wells drilled in their backyards. They want to skirt the mandatory water conservation rules and be able to keep their massive lawns emerald green and have thier own water supply in case other sources dry up. In Texas, we have rule of capture meaning one has the right to capture water for personal/business use from their property. Something about this seems so wrong to me, especially during this historical drought. I understand having a well when you live out in the country but in the middle of the city? I think I am just fed up with rich people doing whatever they want because they can. Grrr...
Hmmm......We have our own well out here in the country, and if someone puts a well in to water their crops or their livestock, the neighbors worry about them using up all the water in the aquafir. I wonder if that's going to be a problem in Texas, where there are drought conditions already.
Its probably not been done before, so the local government might have to make some new rules.
Years ago when we were in the midst of a massive drought, there was a very wealthy person in town who just used as much water as he wanted to keep his massive lawns green. And paid the massive fines. He didn't care about anyone else as long as he could see green when he looked out his window.
Too many of the rich have forgotten that they are no better than anyone else, and have obligations to the society in which they live like the rest of us. Too many apparently think us ordinary citrizens should just 'eat cake'...
In our county, in order to drill a new well you need a minimum lot size of 35 acres. There have been times when I grumbled about that, but it is basically smart to do so. Seems to me that water regulations all over the country - or at least all over the west -- need a major overhaul.
In the case of your neighbors, the rule of capture wouldn't seem to apply (to my thinking, anyway). A well is dug to tap into a water table shared by many, hardly belonging to them alone. What a shame that's being allowed.
I guess I didn't realize until I saw a segment on the news last night, of the drought in the south. Its pretty scary. And to think some arrogant rich jerk could use water to water his lawn, when farmer's crops are dead is outrageous. I would approach the local government about changing a few rules in this drought.
i've long thought that lawns were rather ridiculous things.
it's one thing if the grass just grows and one tosses some sheep on there. it's another thing to keep a large lawn for ostentation.
better to put some planter boxes in, drill yoru well, and grow veggies and fruits and nuts for you and your neighbors. seed saving. chickens. make it alive.
Our county used to allow wells to be put in by anyone. We live in a rural county. But as wells began go dry they adopted new regulations. You must test the size of the aquifer and the amount of water it can produce before you can build on the property. As said above the water under your property came from somewhere else and was probably going to property down hill from you.
Zoebird......I agree with you. Mowed, meticulous lawns seem so barren and sterile to me. I wonder where that notion of a "beautiful lawn" ever got started? Its really good for nothing.
OK, I'll be the pervert that likes a good lawn. In Central Texas that usually means St. Augustine grass. Yes, it does take little more water than bermuda but I am just not into the "dead yard" look. I live in the country and our yard has expanded probably beyond our desires but it is so nice on these 100+_ days in the summer. It's like our own little oasis.
Peace
It's funny but I have two elderly neighbors on either side of me that are both adamant about keeping their lawns green. They have sprinkler systems that go off at 5 am every morniing. To me, their yards look like cemeteries. I often fantasize about placing tombstones in their backyards. I'm sorry but I don't get the logic of keeping your lawn green in this horrible drought. I am doing good to keep my trees alive right now so a lawn seems like something from another era.
"I often fantasize about placing tombstones in their backyards." LOL! That is hysterical pinkytoe!
i like grasses and meadows -- so you could actually plant indigenous grasses of many kinds, and even keep parts of them nicely mowed for walking, strolling, playing and enjoying, while still supporting the local ecosystem.
and st augustine is seriously intense grass. it's a runner, and it's scratchy. not my favorite. and, as you say, not to so water friendly.
iris lily
7-16-11, 12:48am
Zoebird......I agree with you. Mowed, meticulous lawns seem so barren and sterile to me. I wonder where that notion of a "beautiful lawn" ever got started? Its really good for nothing.
It got started by Anglophiles who aspire to everything English, including those classic green lawns produced effortlessly by English gardeners because they've got that wonderful daily mist of rain.
Those of us here on the prairie who chase the classic herbaceous border--same thing. Like how many times WILL I buy a towering "perennial" delphinium to emulate those fabulous gardens, how stupid AM I? haha. Being pretty stupid, I'll buy that delphinium 5 or 6 times before I get it, that St. Louis is NOT Willtshire.
true true
i mean, lawns are pretty green here all the time. but it's also always wet.
I have no problem with these wells. I'd feel better about it if someone was growing vegetables or running a car wash or factory with these wells, but I've long thought that urban groundwater was an underused resource.
People are less likely to get away with contaminating the ground with chemicals if they show up quickly in somebody's well.
It got started by Anglophiles who aspire to everything English, including those classic green lawns produced effortlessly by English gardeners because they've got that wonderful daily mist of rain.
Those of us here on the prairie who chase the classic herbaceous border--same thing. Like how many times WILL I buy a towering "perennial" delphinium to emulate those fabulous gardens, how stupid AM I? haha. Being pretty stupid, I'll buy that delphinium 5 or 6 times before I get it, that St. Louis is NOT Willtshire.
I may be wrong, but I believe that even in England, lawns got started as a way for rich people to show that they were so wealthy that they could afford to waste land and resources on something as decorative and useless as a lawn. As more and more people began to emulate them in the US, it went from a luxury to an expectation.
It is interesting how ingrained in our culture it is to have a green lawn. It my neighborhood though, it is mostly those over a certain age who seem obsessed with a perfect lawn. Some are trying more creative things like growing food or putting in rock, cacti or perennial gardens which are really more appropriate for hot, dry climates like this one. I imagine things will have to change though as resources become limited. If people just start putting wells in their inner-city backyards, isn't that eventually going to effect the water table?
I see homes (not necessarily huge ones) with acres of lawn that they have to mow. I often wonder why they keep it that way. Do they plan on selling it off someday and don't want trees to grow? I see "weeds" as very important to many other organisms. I'm on a Butterfly forum, and one person was really upset because her neighborhood association told her she'd have to cut her milkweed down because they were weeds. She was growing it to attract monarch butterflies.
Many years ago when I was living in a condo, DH and I grew cucumbers in a barrel up a trellis, tomatoes and beans up a trellis. Our neighborhood association told us that was unacceptable. Humans can be so silly.
It is interesting how ingrained in our culture it is to have a green lawn. It my neighborhood though, it is mostly those over a certain age who seem obsessed with a perfect lawn. Some are trying more creative things like growing food or putting in rock, cacti or perennial gardens which are really more appropriate for hot, dry climates like this one. I imagine things will have to change though as resources become limited. If people just start putting wells in their inner-city backyards, isn't that eventually going to effect the water table?
One man's meat is another man's poison! I do agree that conservation of water is very important in Central Texas or any other semi-arid climate but it really comes down to the issue that you mentioned in your OP. What are the rules that we must follow in order to make sure that water is available for everyone not just a select few for lawns, or golf courses, or development, or recreational use or even agriculture.
In my neck of the woods, it is very common for people to dig a well just to keep their pond (or stock tank) full for their "fishes". Also there are increasingly larger and larger development in areas that simply cannot provide the natural resources (water being a major one) to support that growth. That is exactly what is happening in the Austin area. I will agree that waste is waste but how many times have you seen sprinklers from commercial development running down the street for days while we are on water restriction?
I think our Texas "Rule of Capture" law needs to be addressed by our political heroes with the word "Conservation" in mind and not "Development". That is not the situation we finds ourselves these days. So I don't begrudge any individual for their habits while we ignore the real issues. The problem will take care of itself at some point but in the meantime how about growth restrictions, real water legislation, and maybe some desalination plants along the Texas gulf - those things, while not politically popular seem to be much more progressive than simply the idea that those with the most influence get the most favorable treatment.
Peace
Not to mention Las Vegas................
HOAs are a real PITA.
i lived in a condo with one that was nutso. There were rules like "no trash cans on front porch" -- with which I agreed -- and then that we could plant all kinds of lovely plants and such. Well, a friend of mine container gardens in *any* container (including old shoes -- which, btw, is an *adorable* way to reuse baby shoes that are too worn out to pass along as well as too small), and she started dividing some of her plants for me. I wanted to grow something to attract both bees and butterflies, and so we set to work.
we went through my house and found a number of containers that we could use -- basically anything I had -- and I'd already had some pots around. We went through people's recycling bins and found several things we could use as well, and set to work. Within about 2-3 days, it looked awesome. I had normal pots, and then vignettes of odd objects with plants in them. It looked AWESOME. it attracted a lot of butterflies and bees, and was just a lovely, humming little garden.
i also had a chimney pot (terracotta) that was great for composting in, and it looked nice, too! I had one of those shiny metal balls on top, so that it would look even more decorative. it was just veggie scraps, so nothing too hot. and the soil it made was nice.
anyway, end of the day, I got a citation for my 'unruly garden.'
here's what gets ironic. there were *several* condo porches that had *junk* on them. THe rules said you could have a table and "garden items such as plants in containers." but, you could not have trash cans and recycle bins, bicycles, children's play toys (balls, slides, sandboxes, etc), or any furnishings not designated as normal outdoor furnishings.
The porch next to us, which NEVER got a citation, had one of those nordic track things, a very rusty bicycle, a trash can, a recycle bin, and some folding chairs. The porch directly across from us never got a citation, and they had a playground's worth of plastic children's toys. Nearly every porch (except ours) had a trash can and recycle bin (since we are both avid recyclers and attempt to produce very little waste, we would often have about 6-7 gals of trash per week which included chicken bones and the like since we couldn't hot compost, so about the size of a plastic grocery bag. I recycled far beyond our community's recycling system by dropping recyclable items off at the recycle center near our place.
our lovely little garden spot got cited for having "too much junk." Now, i had used all kinds of things as containers. An old, rusty muffin tin grew succulents. Some old cake tins (my MIL liked to pass on a lot of junk) had become little circles of "lawn" -- i grew wheatgrass and cress (and juiced/ate them too, and fed them to our pet rabbit). I had several old pairs of shoes that I hadn't worn, and those were planted with herbs and then put on an old shoe rack with several of my potted herbs! It looked really cute. I had several large, old mixing bowls (metal) that I wasn't using (who needs so many) and a lot of broken (and colorful!) tupperware -- all of which grew all kinds of little flowers for butterflies. I had a huge butterfly bush in a large pot, and then these mixing bowls and such arranged around it on rocks, on little old tables that my ILs had gifted us (which were really broken down, and basically their only use was as a plant stand (i think they were "wine tables?"). And, we were gifted a little table-and-chairs set (metal) that I put out there and put an old wash tub full of herbs and flowers on it. It was a *cute* little garden.
But no, I got cited. I went to the association meeting to contest my citation, and pointed out each porch and house in the neighborhood that had violated the different rules related to the gardens, porches, and yards. I had photographs. I had written letters from the various home owners that they were not cited. And, I saved the most extreme offenders for last.
Wouldn't you know that the top 3 offenders, whom I hadn't managed to contact before the meeting, were on the association board?
So, here I was, cited for using old shoes and kitchenware or "trash" as planters, when those folks had literally junked up the place. Go figure.
I won, btw. The citation was rescinded.
I may be wrong, but I believe that even in England, lawns got started as a way for rich people to show that they were so wealthy that they could afford to waste land and resources on something as decorative and useless as a lawn. As more and more people began to emulate them in the US, it went from a luxury to an expectation.
You're not wrong. That's exactly why they got started.
People in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta were putting in wells a few years back to be able to water their expensive landscaping. I thought then - and still think - it was an awful waste of water.
poetry_writer
7-16-11, 9:57pm
There was an article in our local paper about some wealthy residents near my neighborhood that are paying many thousands to have water wells drilled in their backyards. They want to skirt the mandatory water conservation rules and be able to keep their massive lawns emerald green and have thier own water supply in case other sources dry up. In Texas, we have rule of capture meaning one has the right to capture water for personal/business use from their property. Something about this seems so wrong to me, especially during this historical drought. I understand having a well when you live out in the country but in the middle of the city? I think I am just fed up with rich people doing whatever they want because they can. Grrr...
Please no offence, but I giggled at your post. When I was younger most everyone in the country had water wells. In fact I looked at a piece of property that has a deep water well on it. They are very very expensive to dig now days, but in the past it was very common.
and people who move to country have to dig a well if they want water unless a water line is nearby. It is used to cooking , washing and watering whatever. I think people in the city may be digging them (didnt really know you could in the city) because they are planning ahead. Times are going to get rougher than they are now.
The population density in most cities does not support everyone having their own well. Times are going to get MUCH rougher, you're right. Which is why regulations need to be in place to keep the few (the wealthiest and the most powerful) from hogging the resources that belong to many -- to stroke their egos by watering their emerald green lawns. Lawns are ludicrous.
I thought of the thread when I saw this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-enGOMQgdvg
Peace
It would seem to me, as a couple of others have mentioned, that if lots of city people dig wells they'll be too close together and soon be useless as everyone is competing for a limited quantity of water. I suppose in that case the person who spent the most to dig the deepest well will be the winner... And if my grandparents' experience (on a very rural farm, not close to anyone) is anything to go by, once the water table starts to be depleted the water from their wells will be so foul that even putting it on the lawn will seem questionable. (grandpa's water, shortly before they joined the county system, got so bad that it was literally bright orange and about as clear as a cup of weak tea from so much iron in it.) By that visit they had started buying gallons of bottled water to drink and cook with, but showers were quite an experience, leaving us all feeling like we needed another one as soon as the first was finished. I can't even imagine what they were doing about laundry.
We, as a society, are used to living in the land of plenty where anyone with money can buy whatever they want, no matter how wasteful, because there's plenty of everything. But that hasn't always been the case and it won't likely always remain the case. I'm reminded of an article I read about the serious water shortage a couple of years ago in Atlanta, back when Lake Lanier was in danger of running out of water. They interviewed a car wash owner. I can understand why he was upset since his income was in jeopardy if they forced car washes to close, but his comment "I hope they reconsider this idea. People gotta live" or something to that effect, showed that he had no comprehension of the severity of the water shortage. Where exactly did he think the water, for his car wash or anything else, would come from if that lake had gone dry?
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