Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Linda on August 22, 2008 at 22:34

Debbie, I agree with the majority on here with the statements about checking into seeing if the company will fix this problem. What I dont understand is why did it cost so much for a new pump and 75 ft. of wire and pipe in the first place. Whoever done this for her I think got some cash to for labor, which in turn also took her for granted. Cost of supplies shouldnt have been over 600.00 from your local Lowe's or Home Depot store. Also a few years ago I was doing some research for my mother who is also a widow woman and come across this site from the usda. Hopefully this will help if you could search for her. Its, www.rurdev.usda.gov, i would search under the self help site they have listed there. This site is for the elderly and the rural. Hope this helps, and if by chance you cant find anything I will continue to search myself for this matter. I hate to see people taken for granted and getting abused that way, especially the children and the elderly. And especially this with the O & G companies, cuz we all know they had info on this shale years ago. And then came in like a pack of wolves and ate everybody up. Good Luck!!

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Permalink Reply by Debbie on August 23, 2008 at 5:51

Thank you very much for your kindness, we need more people trying to help abuses of this kind to any of us. It is to easy for some to just blame her for not being "informed"..... I would not have even thought of this happening as it is just now coming out and being talked about, so I guess we are all supposed to be experts on everything and all that can go wrong. I wonder how many others have checked the depth of their well pump to see if they may have a problem like this when they start using tons of water to frac the well that is being drilled or waiting to be drilled in their section??? That was one of the purposes of posting this, not only to maybe find answers to help her but to warn others this could happen. I too questioned the amount of the bill and she showed me ther itemized bill. It was a local well service who done the work so I will not say who until we research the charges to see if they took advantage of her. They charged quite a lot to pull her old pump, replace it and add enough pipe ect, to drop it another 75 feet from where it was set orginaly. We are checking into all of this for her. We all have lived out here for over 25 years and feel like a big family and try to help each other anyway we can. My father was going to try to fix her well for free but could not when it was discovered what had happened. Thank you again as you seem to be a very kind person and I bet you are someones good neighbor and they are lucky!

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Permalink Reply by P.G. on August 23, 2008 at 8:12

Just a thought!
Maybe the woman can contact the driller and ask for the name of their insurance company who they have their liability insurance with.
Then file a claim with their insurance company.
Perhaps too, even contact her own home owner's insurance company. If she was damaged by someone's negligence, maybe she has some kind of coverage.

One time my mother in-law used one of those drive through car washes and it damaged her wheel covers. She told the operator about it and they said tough, there is a sign saying to use the wash at your own risk. My wife is in the insurance business and said that's no defense and told her mother to just go direct to the businesses insurance company. When my mom in-law called the operator to get the name of the insurance company, they agreed to pay for her damage. They didn't want any claims filed.
Don't know if any of this will work but all they can say is no!

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Permalink Reply by Debbie on August 23, 2008 at 8:58

Thank you for that idea! I know that can and does work sometimes. She does have a meeting with the drilling company to discuss the problem. Not sure what will come of it but like you said all they can do is say no. I personaly do not think they would want this to go public (if they refused to even discuss it with her) and make them look bad at this time with them trying to lease property now everywhere and making promos to make them look good to the public. We will see and thanks again for that idea. We need more people helping others like this with good ideas.

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Permalink Reply by sesport on August 23, 2008 at 13:13

Debbie - urge her to take someone ... anyone with her to that meeting. See if you can find someone with legal background from a church, place of employment, anywhere. Or else just send anyone with her so she's not alone. Maybe someone who can take informal notes. Conversation can take on it's own "spin", ends up being "That's not what we told her."

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Permalink Reply by Debbie on August 23, 2008 at 18:58

Great idea! We will make sure someone will be with her to witness the conversation. Thanks. Is there a way for people to check the depth of their well pump as I know hers was drilled to 200 feet and the pump was set at 75 ft originaly, it is now set at 150 ft which she was told that depth should keep it from happening again. Ours was drilled to 210 ft and is set at 150 ft now so, if there is a way to check the depth to insure it is down deep enough, it might help to prevent it happening in advance. They are through with the frac on the well for now and she was told her water level should improve but who knows for sure. Just an idea to maybe help prevent this since we now know it can and does happen. Now, if there is a way to check it, maybe someone knows how to do this and can advise others. Someone smarter than me may can estimate from how much the water went down after they started the frac until the frac was completed???

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Permalink Reply by P.G. on August 23, 2008 at 9:01

Well then they better start investing in trucking companies, huh?
Looks like they are going to be needing a lot of them.

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Permalink Reply by Linda on August 23, 2008 at 22:20

Hi Debbie, me again, I cant exactly tell you how to check for the proper footage of the pump, but if there is a way that maybe a few of the good men around there on your street could pull her pump out of the ground again and check to see what it looks like now. Look for signs of sand settling in on the pump. Usually a good sign that it may be to deep also which in turn would cause her pump to burn up again. Also just for good measure, if possibly any more of your neighbors should have this problem, (just an idea if this starts happening due to the lack of water), its a lot cheaper just buying the pump and pulling your well yourself, just have someone who knows how to rewire the new pump up and drop it and its good to go. Just dont forget to cut the power when doing things like this, lol. Safety first. Any ways, I will be checking into some info like I said to see if there is anything else out there to help her. One more thing, you and your neighbors need to keep an eye on your water pressure just to make sure there is no problems with yours before this happens to you. Go out to your well location and listen for your pressure switch to see if you are hearing it click a lot, (like every other couple of minutes or so). These are sure signs of some kind of problem with your pump.

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Permalink Reply by P.G. on August 24, 2008 at 4:38

Can one even legally pull their own pump and work on it anymore with the new statewide building codes?
It might be wise to check into that before publicly declaring that's what you did!
Might be opening a different can of worms!

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Permalink Reply by JP on August 25, 2008 at 4:49

Pulling your own pump is a BAD idea. Fishing a pump out of a well is costly, if you happen to drop the pump in the well. Sometimes the pump cannot be retireved and a new well has to be drilled. Laying the pipe out in a field where the cows, well you know, then put that pipe back into the well with p00p on it is a bad idea. VERY UNHEALTHY. Hire a qualified professional. They are not that expensive and more than justify the cost. Just because you can does not translate into I should do it myself.

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Permalink Reply by P.G. on August 25, 2008 at 4:54

I have a jet pump! I'm not going to be lowering the aquifer anytime soon with it but if it bites the dust, I can easily replace it!

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Permalink Reply by Kassi on August 24, 2008 at 23:16

For those who are not yet leased the O&G Companies typically do not want to go to the expense to adequately test water wells for chemicls and levels prior to drilling.
I have been successfull in getting them to stipulate the land owners groundwater quality and flow are satisfactory and that any degredation in water quality or quantity will be attributed to their activities. I have also gotten specifics as to the remidies to be applied should their be issues with land owners water. You have to have a good negotiator and it helps to be a large land owner or be in a coalition but you can protect your water to a degree.

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