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> It still makes sense to have a well because it is a waste to water the lawn with drinking water. Watering the lawn is just a waste of water, period. Ground w

> It still makes sense to have a well because it is a waste to water the lawn with drinking water. Watering the lawn is just a waste of water, period. Ground water is commonly used as the primary source of drinking water, so even if the water is being extracted from a well, it is pretty much drinking water.

lost_tourist 3y ago
This is the next environmental movement i'd love to see, the end of lawns and acceptance of native landscapes all over the world, but especially the western world.
OfSanguineFire 3y ago
This very much depends on the place. There are plenty of areas of Europe where groundwater at ordinary well depth is no longer potable and the community relies on a reservoir with a different source. So, if your property has an old well, all it is good for is watering a lawn or orchard, washing your car or bicycle, etc.
- eric-hu 3y ago
  I’m curious: if the water isn’t considered potable, would you want to be watering plants with it? Is the contamination more often bacterial than chemical?
  - OfSanguineFire 3y ago
    People all over the world water plants with water that is not potable itself due to bacterial or viral contamination. This is where the old traveler’s adage “Boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it” comes from. If the groundwater is not potable because of e.g. arsenic or pesticide contamination, I think that homeowners are usually aware of that and therefore are more likely to use the water only for washing purposes.
    - eric-hu 3y ago
      Right, I could have stated more explicitly. Watering possibly edible plants with pathogen polluted water seems okay. Watering them with chemically polluted water seems like maybe a way to ingest toxic stuff. Washing dishes seems dicey too.
    - lost_tourist 3y ago
      Everyone I know with personal wells here in the US does water tests at least once a year, sometimes more often.
  - cj 3y ago
    My friend has a condo in the Virgin Islands where water isn’t in high supply (majority of water is sourced from rain) The HOA where the condo is has an on-site water sanitation facility which recycles toilet, shower, sink water. They don’t consider the recycled water potable, but I guess they consider it safe enough for watering plants, for re-use in toilet water, etc. TLDR: in the above case, it’s bacterial risk or the use of a water sanitization facility that doesn’t provide guarantee around portability.
    - eric-hu 3y ago
      Yeah that seems reasonable enough to me. I’ve seen parks and green spaces in Southern California that have warning signs about not drinking irrigation water. My earlier comment was motivated by a concern that tapping a non-potable water source for one’s own family might bear health risks without more analysis of the state of that water. For all you know, even if you only use that water for plants, maybe you’re growing food with water high in arsenic and it’s accumulating in the food.
JoBrad 3y ago
Lawns reduce the air and ground temperature significantly. Even if you have a shortage of water in your area, finding a way to maintain a natural lawn has benefits. That isn’t the same as maintaining a golf course, but watering a lawn to keep it from dying for a few peak-heat weeks is well worth it, in my opinion.

lost_tourist 3y ago

This is the next environmental movement i'd love to see, the end of lawns and acceptance of native landscapes all over the world, but especially the western world.

OfSanguineFire 3y ago

This very much depends on the place. There are plenty of areas of Europe where groundwater at ordinary well depth is no longer potable and the community relies on a reservoir with a different source. So, if your property has an old well, all it is good for is watering a lawn or orchard, washing your car or bicycle, etc.

eric-hu 3y ago
I’m curious: if the water isn’t considered potable, would you want to be watering plants with it? Is the contamination more often bacterial than chemical?
- OfSanguineFire 3y ago
  People all over the world water plants with water that is not potable itself due to bacterial or viral contamination. This is where the old traveler’s adage “Boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it” comes from. If the groundwater is not potable because of e.g. arsenic or pesticide contamination, I think that homeowners are usually aware of that and therefore are more likely to use the water only for washing purposes.
  - eric-hu 3y ago
    Right, I could have stated more explicitly. Watering possibly edible plants with pathogen polluted water seems okay. Watering them with chemically polluted water seems like maybe a way to ingest toxic stuff. Washing dishes seems dicey too.
  - lost_tourist 3y ago
    Everyone I know with personal wells here in the US does water tests at least once a year, sometimes more often.
- cj 3y ago
  My friend has a condo in the Virgin Islands where water isn’t in high supply (majority of water is sourced from rain) The HOA where the condo is has an on-site water sanitation facility which recycles toilet, shower, sink water. They don’t consider the recycled water potable, but I guess they consider it safe enough for watering plants, for re-use in toilet water, etc. TLDR: in the above case, it’s bacterial risk or the use of a water sanitization facility that doesn’t provide guarantee around portability.
  - eric-hu 3y ago
    Yeah that seems reasonable enough to me. I’ve seen parks and green spaces in Southern California that have warning signs about not drinking irrigation water. My earlier comment was motivated by a concern that tapping a non-potable water source for one’s own family might bear health risks without more analysis of the state of that water. For all you know, even if you only use that water for plants, maybe you’re growing food with water high in arsenic and it’s accumulating in the food.

JoBrad 3y ago

Lawns reduce the air and ground temperature significantly. Even if you have a shortage of water in your area, finding a way to maintain a natural lawn has benefits. That isn’t the same as maintaining a golf course, but watering a lawn to keep it from dying for a few peak-heat weeks is well worth it, in my opinion.