| Buying

It’s no secret that water is a scarce resource in this part of the world. Whether purchasing a house or land, there is one thing we must keep in mind: our water resource is not replenishing. We must be proactive in our decisions to utilize and sustain water in the Texas Panhandle, as land owners, home owners, and stewards of this developing society. As 2015 turns the corner, well reports and inspections are becoming more important than ever.

We can do our part to maintain this thriving community in one simple step:

RESEARCH!  Hip, hip, hooray! We all love a good study session once in awhile, don’t we?  Don’t worry, Triangle Realty has got it covered.

When considering purchasing a property, we must first ask ourselves these questions:

1.     Is there water availabie on this property?
2.     What is the volume of the water?
3.     What is the quality of the water? Is it salty or pure?
4.     Am I going to water livestock on this property? How many head?
5.     How much will it cost to install a water well and pump, if there is not already a system in place?
6.     If there is an operating well, how much maintenance is required & how can I test the water availability?

We got a little ahead of the game on this one & found the answers for you!  (Hey, that’s just one less thing to worry about when purchasing, right?)  Let us do the dirty work.

First Item on the To-Do List:

Location, location, location.  Where do you want to homestead?  Inside city limits, outside city limits, rural or urban?  These factors play a huge role in how much water is available.  If you know where you want to be, you can use the selected county to determine how much water is available in that area.  Visit the Texas Groundwater Conservation District, Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District, and High Plains Underground Water Conservation District to view maps about water availability.

Second on the Agenda:

Determine whether or not the location has access to water. “When customers come to us, they want to know if the property they are about to purchase even has water. In this area, it’s no secret that water is a scarce resource,” says Bruce Currie of Currie Drilling in Amarillo, TX.

Understand that if you are going to homestead in this area, your home must have a resourceful water well.  Most drillers in the Texas Panhandle are very knowledgable about water availaibility, quality & conditions of existing wells and pumps.  Consult with your REALTOR & consider contacting one of these drillers in the area to get a quote and inspection:

  • Currie Drilling – Canyon, TX
  • K-Ran Drilling Service – Amarillo, TX
  • Biggers Waterwell Services – Amarillo, TX
  • Larry L Gregory Water Well Services – Amarillo, TX

The inspections will tell you:

  1. Volume of water
  2. Condition of well and pump
  3. Quality of water

These are important to know because to replace a pump costs around $1,500 to $2,000, and to replace a well is usually around $10,000 to $18,000! If you are planning on drilling a well, it will probably take around 1 week (3 days for drilling and 1 day for pump installation). The cost for a new well is around $20 per foot. With the Ogallala, drillers usually have to drill around 250 to 300 feet.  The Santa Rosa is below the Ogallala thus it costs more money to drill that deep, but the reward is a larger quantity of water.

 

Third on the list:

Know your stuff. Accept that water is not replensishing in this part of the world. The Ogallala Aquifer and Santa Rosa are our main resources for water, but since the Ogallala got so low, it is now feeding to the Pecos River and Canadian River. We must do our due diligence and conserve the water before it is too late.

 

Step Four:

Buy your property and ENJOY!

Consult your REALTOR & utilize these resources before diving into a property purchase:

 

 

For more information about water facts and how to conserve it, visit the United States Environmental Protection Agency.  For more information about well reports & inspections, please contact Triangle Realty at 806-367-8334.