Water is a necessity, no matter who you are, you need it to survive and live a healthy life. We typically think of water as an expendable resource and don’t think about where our water is coming from. You can either get city water or well water, but what is the difference between them?
What is the Difference Between City Water and Well Water?
City water is commonly used among residents because it’s less of a responsibility. This is exactly what it sounds like: water that’s provided by the city.
Sediment filtration, iron filtration, and chlorine disinfection are all used by the city to ensure that the water coming into the resident’s home is safe to use. Once the water comes to the home, however, it’s up to the resident to further improve the quality of their water through whole house filters, de-chlorination, water softeners, etc.
However, city water usually requires a monthly fee that you’ll need to pay, just like electricity or garbage.
Well water or private water supplies, comes from a well that is drilled on the homeowner’s property.
This way of getting water puts much more responsibility on the homeowner because it’s on them to address water treatment requirements. Things like sediment and iron filtration, water softening, odor reduction, and drinking water filtration are all things people with a private water supply need to worry about. Most well water systems bring water in, but many well water homes are still connected to the city’s sewer system for removal of waste.
However, well water doesn’t require an extra monthly fee since it’s coming from the homeowner’s property and not the city.
The difference between city water and well water is simple.
You’ll pay for water if it comes from the city because you’re paying for them to regulate the water with the use of city filtration systems and chlorine disinfectants. City water is safe and secure, but you’ll be paying for it.
Well water is essentially free to use since it’s your water supply. But you’ll have that extra responsibility of regulating the water, so you’ll have to pay to regularly check on the filtration systems and pay for the initial build of the well. But these costs are typically less than what you’d pay overall with your monthly water bills using city water.
It all depends on you and what you want with your water. You’ll typically see an increase in property value, cost savings, and health safety when using water from your well. But city water is nice and easy to manage since you’re paying for it through monthly bills. You can always reach out to your local plumber to see what works best for you.
Reach out to us to see how you can have clean, fresh water, no matter the source.
NHR plumbing is a family-owned and operated residential and commercial plumbing contractor based in Ramsey, MN. We provide 24/7 emergency plumbing services, mainline cleaning, as well as planned installation including: water heaters, water softeners, water conditioners, and plumbing fixtures.
Photo by Manki Kim on Unsplash