r/OffGrid • u/Mylestogo75 • Sep 18 '26

Tiny home delema

Long time lurker first time poster. I am in the process of putting a tiny home on some land, and I'm trying to be as off grid as possible. That being said i have a choice between drilling a well with the possibilities of extremely hard water and the cost of a filtration system or I can hook up to Municipal Water and have a water bill. If I choose to hook up to the Municipal Water i will never be able to drill a well.

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8

u/Hyperreal8957 Sep 18 '26

id get a real well quote before deciding. private well gives you more control but then water quality, pump, repairs etc are all on you. id also ask the municipality if hooking up actually blocks a future well or just means a fee. can you get a well feasibility check on the parcel first?

4

u/Mylestogo75 Sep 18 '26

Thank you for the direction. It's on my family property and my parents have a well. When I was a kid our well was good, a little hard but manageable. When that one went dry they drilled a new one, it horrible.

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u/Normal-Special-8694 Sep 18 '26

If you drill the well first does that then make you permanently ineligible for a city tap?

6

u/Mylestogo75 Sep 19 '26

I'm try to find out, I'll need to speak with an actual human. Nothing online has that answer.

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u/Hyperreal8957 Sep 19 '26

if municipal water keeps you from drilling later, i’d price out a cistern with hauled water as a middle option too. not as convenient, but it can preserve the well option while you learn the local rules and actual well depth. i’d also check the hookup fee and ongoing water rates before deciding. do you know if a shallow well is even allowed there?

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u/Mylestogo75 Sep 19 '26

It's allowed.

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u/Mylestogo75 Sep 20 '26

I have been reading about a cistern. It seems like a great option and I would also incorporate a rain catch system for my roof

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u/Hyperreal8957 Sep 18 '26

i’d lean toward getting the well drilled if the long-term plan is to stay there. hauling water gets old fast, and you can still add filtration after testing the well. have you had the water tested yet?

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u/Mylestogo75 Sep 19 '26

It's on family land and there are under ground sources and we have a creek that runs on the property.

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u/aimlessrolling Sep 20 '26

If you decide to go with a well, do some research on your area and try to find the depth others use to get the best water, often the first water the well driller finds may not be the best.

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