The drought has gotten to our well. Dried up tonight.

[DCP]

Many Christians ask God for help, but then expect God to do everything Himself. They excuse this by pointing to the fact that God will provide according to His will and in His timing. However, this is not a reason for inactivity. As a specific example, if you are in need of a job, ask the Lord to help you find a job - but then be active in actually looking for a job. While it is in His power to do so, it is highly unlikely that God will cause employers to come looking for you!

That (might) mean getting a new toilet

[NavyVet1959]

Many Christians ask God for help, but then expect God to do everything Himself. They excuse this by pointing to the fact that God will provide according to His will and in His timing. However, this is not a reason for inactivity. As a specific example, if you are in need of a job, ask the Lord to help you find a job - but then be active in actually looking for a job. While it is in His power to do so, it is highly unlikely that God will cause employers to come looking for you!

That (might) mean getting a new toilet

Or it might mean getting off your ***, grabbing a shovel, and going down in the well to dig it out a bit deeper.

[country gent]

Alot of the old timers here hauled water for dug wells in the summer when they dried up or got to low. Alot of these dug wells were used for barns and livestock not the houses Houses were on drilled wells or sand points. They claimed if the dug wells dried out to long they werent as good as before. While its "dry now is the time to possibly deepen it. Alot of the dug wells were concrete culverts or bricks. dug underneath the culverts letting them slide down as the well was dug. If brick they were dug so deep and layed up to the last layers. Some put a tractor rim or tire down and dug under it then layed each layer of bricks in as they went. Deepening the well will be alot of hard work hand digging and removing dirt a bucket at a time. And if you get lucky and get to water then its wet work going deep enough to get a fair supply. If the well is deepened then the pick up pipe will need to be lowered also. Knowing the dia of the well you can figure how many gallons per inch of water there is. But On the other hand Im praying you get rain to bring it back.

[Wise Owl]

We have a new toilet. 2 years old when the landlady redid the toilet, shower and water heater. It uses about 2 gals max.

As to digging the well deeper. Landlady who OWNS the cabin and property is not in a place to dig the well deeper at this point. It's only been dry since Sat night. Not long enough to qualify as bone dry.

I am 66. Have arthritis in both shoulders, my neck, right hip and both knees. I also had a stroke 3 years ago. Digging is out for me. Sam is 75 with severe arthritis in his neck and lower back. No go there either.

I went to the spring which is slowed down to just a small stream that used to gush in previous times of visiting. The whole state is in a drought. We need some good rain up here.

We can't afford to move even if there was a place to move to. We have a very old SUV that is slated for junker status the end of January. I pray to God each time I get it in it just to go 3 miles to the PO and home again.

Maybe some of you are serious in your replies, others, maybe not. But believe me, we are just a couple old folks trying to do the best we can on our Social Security.

Thanks and God bless to all. We appreciate the advice and the prayers.

[Ickisrulz]

If I wanted to stay and work with the property owner to make things livable, I would ask for a couple 55 gallon drums and routine filling of those drums until the well is serviceable. It's too much to expect people to fetch their own water from a creek. For what it is worth, it is probably illegal and potentially unsafe. The property owner is being paid and should be providing something in return.

[Boaz]

Insane recommendations such as digging the well deeper or any labor intensive work when Sam and Julie have health problems is crazy . Hauling water is a chore , lived two places here in Texas in the country , due to oilfield salt water injection wells ground water was useless . We had to haul water . It's a dang job !

Their transportation is about gone to haul it with , they are living on SS . Talk of suing the landlord when your broke and the landlord doesn't have the money is stupid . They need practical solutions and quick .
I had an ankle fusion 6 years ago , used this to bath for 6 months ......Not perfect but works .



We are in the country , water goes down periodically , septic tank has problems we have a potty chair , bag and chuck it . Again not ideal but a stop gap till a better way . They need transportation !!! If they have to haul water there must be a way to do it . This is a challenge .....What can they do within their limits to make it .

[Wise Owl]

If I wanted to stay and work with the property owner to make things livable, I would ask for a couple 55 gallon drums and routine filling of those drums until the well is serviceable. It's too much to expect people to fetch their own water from a creek. For what it is worth, it is probably illegal and potentially unsafe. The property owner is being paid and should be providing something in return.

Not a creek. It's a spring that has a pipe stuck way down into it. So the water comes out the pipe. It is tested regularly by the health dept cause many, many people use it for drinking water because they have dug wells for flushing, and bathing, etc. It has been ok for us (the dug well) because we bought a Berkey water filtration system years ago when we first moved up here. We get new filters when needed. It's approved by most states for drinking water and they use them in Africa for years and years for safe drinking water. The filters are ceramic with silver and charcoal imbedded in them.

As to a couple 55 gal drums? Well, that will work till we get a hard freeze then it will be hard to get ice out of those drums. The spring runs year round. It's just with the old truck which HAS to be replaced soon and our old bodies, it's a job getting water here. I took a small wagon with me on Sunday and will do so again tomorrow as we are getting low on bottled water again. I am NOT going to go get 20 gals like Sun. Probably more like 10 this time. Still a lot of bending down and lifting it after it's full.

You all live in warmer places. This is Maine. Think more like the early 1900's up here for some things. And in a place that gets downright freezing in the winter.

And, all I asked for was prayers for rain. We already know all the other stuff. BTDT for a very long time.......

[Ickisrulz]

And, all I asked for was prayers for rain. We already know all the other stuff. BTDT for a very long time.......

As I am sure you are well aware, this website is made up predominately of men. It is our nature to try and figure things out, offer suggestions and solve problems. It is our way of helping.

(Couldn't you fit a 55 gallon drum in the corner somewhere?)

[Boaz]

How do they move a 55 gal drum ? would need a transfer pump . Could be done but she is right the cold sets in and problems triple with freezing . Their vehicle is bout done in , will not pass inspection if it lasts till new year . Transportation needed . Stop gap measures till that goal is met then a more permanent solution could be approached . Now is the problem .

[country gent]

While it dosnt help alot now. Are the roofs gutters ran into the well. Or ran close to it so the area left between acts as a filter bed into the well. Alot of the cisterns and dug wells around here had the gutters tied into them to help fill them. The roof will help collect alot of water and it can be directed to the well. But until rains come it dosnt help alot. Hauling water is a pain. Fire depts and some others will haul water to fill the well and most also charge for this. A decent garden cart makes moving jugs full of water easier than carrying them depending on terain.

[Ickisrulz]

How do they move a 55 gal drum ? would need a transfer pump . Could be done but she is right the cold sets in and problems triple with freezing . Their vehicle is bout done in , will not pass inspection if it lasts till new year . Transportation needed . Stop gap measures till that goal is met then a more permanent solution could be approached . Now is the problem .

I realize the tenant is trying to make things work. But since you stepped in to ask questions I will answer you and tell you what I would do. I would remind the landlord that providing water is mandatory and she needs to do something. This isn't optional. The lack of running water most likely makes this house uninhabitable by any local housing standards. Maybe being outside of a city it doesn't violate a law, but it certainly isn't ethical. I bet the property owner has running water.

This is the way you do it. You put a 55 gallon drum in the house and the PROPERTY OWNER uses another drum with a pump to bring water and fill it. It is the PROPERTY OWNER'S responsibility not the tenant. It doesn't matter how much it costs. If my parents were living in such a situation, I'd have a fit.

And by the way, there are heaters to keep water from freezing outside if a drum will not fit in the house. They are stock tank heaters.

[Boaz]

I'll honor your request for only prayer .

[Wise Owl]

I'll honor your request for only prayer .

Thank you Boaz.

Thank you all for all your suggestions.
And this being the chapel and the place for prayers, we treasure all of those.

God bless.

[WILCO]

What can they do within their limits to make it .

http://www.downtownme.com/maine_soci...zations_34.htm

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/elderly.shtml

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?...ership/seniors

http://www.mainehousing.org/programs...idized-housing

http://www.callhomesupport.com/resou...maine-seniors/

[WILCO]

The answers are out there. In today's day and age of social programs, it's insane not to tap into them when they've been paid for.

Best wishes.

[Suo Gan]

I'm not trying to come off as a know it all here. Do what you like. You could buy a tank and have a truck fill it. Or as some of my neighbors did, have a truck fill the old well. Hope your situation improves.

[Suo Gan]

I realize the tenant is trying to make things work. But since you stepped in to ask questions I will answer you and tell you what I would do. I would remind the landlord that providing water is mandatory and she needs to do something. This isn't optional. The lack of running water most likely makes this house uninhabitable by any local housing standards. Maybe being outside of a city it doesn't violate a law, but it certainly isn't ethical. I bet the property owner has running water.

This is the way you do it. You put a 55 gallon drum in the house and the PROPERTY OWNER uses another drum with a pump to bring water and fill it. It is the PROPERTY OWNER'S responsibility not the tenant. It doesn't matter how much it costs. If my parents were living in such a situation, I'd have a fit.

And by the way, there are heaters to keep water from freezing outside if a drum will not fit in the house. They are stock tank heaters.

i doubt that every landlord has the capital to fix every bad situation.

Water is a necessity. If it was my peppery and I didn't want to drill a well I'd compensate the tenant by lowering the rent. Or folks could move I guess.

[NavyVet1959]

Depending upon what the cost might be for drilling a deep well, it's possible that the property owner figures that even if the current tenant leaves and the property remains vacant until the water level is back up, that's less money lost than what it would cost to drill a deep well.

[MaryB]

If the bottom of the well is soft enough maybe you can get the young guys back to drive a sand point down 20' or so. It might be enough to get the well itself to refill on its own otherwise you can connect to the pickup pipe and pump from it...

Another option is a trailer mounted IBC tank, I have found them on Craigslist that were used for cooking oil or some other food product and they are about $125 average cost. Mounted on a small trailer would let you haul 250 gallons at a time... a hay bail garage for the winter to keep it warm...

[Wise Owl]

It's supposed to rain for the next 3 days. "Maybe" 2 or more inches. That will help a lot. Hope the system stalls out over us and just rains and rains.

While all your suggestions might work out for you folks where you live but won't work up here. We live in a tiny 15x29 ft cabin and with two large dogs and furniture it's tight in here now. No way to put a barrel in here. And with all the rocks (big rocks as in boulders, no way to just put down a sand point. I tried to bury our cat a few years ago and it took the better part of a day to just find a spot where I didn't run into either a huge rock or big tree root. (we live in the woods)

Unless a drilling company came in and found an ideal spot to drill, we are stuck with the dug well and I am sure they had to remove a lot of huge rocks to do that. Everything is a chore to do and lot's of money for it to be done. In the 14 years we have lived here, we have not lost water. Usually it's almost too wet to do even the lawn mowing. So, this is a bad year. Period. Everyone's wells are going dry. The spring is going dry. I found out this morning that we might be able to get water at the plantation office but it's not drinking water. Not sure what is up with that. Need to call tomorrow when it's open. It's actually closer than the spring and it's an outside spigot that I can fill jugs up with. Sounds like it might work if the water doesn't have arsenic in it like a lot of the water wells up here. Rather not get that stuff if we can avoid it.

Going out to drail the dog's pool so the rain can fill that back up. It's full of leaves and dirt and even if it's just for flushing, it's pretty disgusting at this point.

God bless.......

Oh and Mary. We don't have a barn, let alone a hay barn. Or animals that require hay. We live in a small cabin on a smallish lot. OR even a trailer to haul water with. Just the back of the Expedition which is on it's last legs.