Spring Fed Well

[sparksjr]

Morning. I have just come across my first loan with a spring fed well. Being a national lender, I am not in the position to visit the site and see the well myself. Can someone tell me what exactly a spring fed well is?

I am imagining a spring coming to a head and creating a "watering hole" of sorts. Someone digging it out, building a small well house, and having some sort of pump that sends the water to the house. Basically making it an above ground well.

Am I anywhere in the ball park on this? It is an FHA deal so it isnt going to fly. At this point I am doing nothing more than fulfilling my curiosity as to the difference between a spring fed well and a "normal" well.

Any insight or links/photos is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Ray Miller]

Spring fed well, most wells are spring fed. this can be a hand dug well with a surface pump, it can be a case well. It might be a spring that was developed and gravity fed to the home.

I once lived in Glacier Park for 10 years where our water system was a 2 inch pipe laid in Wilber Creek about two miles above our cabin, cook shack and bunk house. Gravity fed down the mountain. Had great water pressure and every so often you would get a few pebbles blasting out while taking a shower.

 

[Ted Martin]

Why not call the appraiser and ask them for more clarification about the specifics of this water source?

If an underwriter called me on this I wouldn't bite their head off. Although I might be a little embarrassed that I failed to adequately comment in the original report.

 

[Karl]

Why not call the appraiser and ask them for more clarification about the specifics of this water source?

If an underwriter called me on this I wouldn't bite their head off. Although I might be a little embarrassed that I failed to adequately comment in the original report.

BINGO!!!!!!!!

 

[Mike Boyd]

Spring fed well, most wells are spring fed. this can be a hand dug well with a surface pump, it can be a case well. It might be a spring that was developed and gravity fed to the home.

I once lived in Glacier Park for 10 years where our water system was a 2 inch pipe laid in Wilber Creek about two miles above our cabin, cook shack and bunk house. Gravity fed down the mountain. Had great water pressure and every so often you would get a few pebbles blasting out while taking a shower.

BUT.....like the OP indicated, it would not be eligible for an FHA loan

 

[Metamorphic]

"Spring fed well". Three words that do not describe any kind of commonly encountered potable water system for a residence. Those words should not be put together without a relatively exhaustive explanation of the details.

If I had to guess, I'd think maybe somebody was trying to describe a well that flows naturally because the potentiometric surface (aka "water table") is higher than the lip of the well casing/ground surface. This is also sometimes called an "artesian" well. An artesian well can be a quality source of water provided, as with any well, the water bearing member that is tapped is a quality, protected source.

I don't see how you can go forward with any type of lending decision if that inadequately described water source is the only water source; you just don't have any assurance that what's there is sufficient to call the place habitable.

 

[Restrain]

Not necessarily. Call for a public health inspection of the well