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No Water For Over A Month!

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By Diana Lucio Reporter

M50o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr No Water For Over A Month!

Published: Wed, July 09, 2008 - 6:34 pm
Last Updated: Thursday, July 10, 2008 - 2:36 pm

Diana Lucio

78-year-old Nathan Graham says not a single drop of water has come through their house in almost five weeks.
"We have to haul it in jugs and buckets and whatever we can get it in and we have to go somewhere where we can get it," Said Graham.
Graham's daughter Deborah says after their well dried up, they paid South Alabama Utilities $630.00 thinking the company would run pipes to their home and install a water meter."When we first found out we couldn't get the well we couldn't get no water we went straight to them paid the money and they was supposed to come out run the pipe set the meter," Said Deborah Black.
The Graham's say they put a stake at the end of their property hoping they could place their water meter there, but South Alabama Utilities says the closest is almost two-tenths of a mile away from their property. In order to get water flowing, South Alabama Utilities says the Graham's will have to run pipes themselves, something the Graham's say they can't afford or physicaly do on their own. "I just have to get somebody that is nice enough to help me and I can't even do that,"Said Graham. South Alabama Utilities says they are willing to give the Grahams a full refund. But the Graham's say at this point they just want water and fast. The Semmes family is also looking into reinstalling a well. Graham says it will cost them around $1,200.00, but at this rate he says it may be the less expensive way to go.

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Mercy!! $15000 for water! I bet you really seriously considered a deep well. I would have been in shock and walking around in a daze for days. The last well I had was a shallow well about 20 feet deep,single stage pump, a really cheap outfit but lasted for about ten or more years. The only real expense was the pump and tank and a little pipe. The well pipe was done by hand, I didn’t have more than $400 in the whole thing. This was about five years ago.You have to get that water checked though to make sure it’s good, especially if there are cattle and horses near. I think Nitrates from their droppings can filter into the system by ground water and cause all kinds of bad things to kidneys and liver. $15000 would put a well high on my list of possibles.

Posted by carl on 07/11/08 - 6:36 am • Report Abuse

WOW@carl, that’s pretty cheap. LMAO, I got a price of hooking up to the city water here in Owen Sound, guess what $15,000 connection fee. I said WTF, are you kidding me? They replied “NOPE”. So basically, unless you building a new home, they don’t want you building. Crazy Eh’ !!

Posted by DEW26M on 07/11/08 - 5:33 am • Report Abuse

The last meter I had put in on a place I used to have in Washington county was $400 for the meter and connecting the meter to their line. The trencher( one of those lawn mower types)cost $50 for the day. About 200 feet of pvc tubing and fittings too,it all came in close to $600. With their extra footage and a little larger pipe it could well hit $700 to $800 or more. I’ve had both ,system water and a well, I’ve always had better luck with the city systems.

Posted by carl on 07/10/08 - 5:05 pm • Report Abuse

My house sits 1/4 mile off the road, and SAU did recommend a larger pipe so we would have adequate water pressure. With the larger pipe, I pay a little more each month (they can tell you the minimum payment), but it is worth it to me to have adequate pressure. I think you can pay extra and SAU will run the lines-but I think they charge so much a foot-which is why we did it ourselves years ago. Why was it 630 to begin with? What did that include?

Posted by rmseek1234 on 07/10/08 - 2:56 pm • Report Abuse

I would think if they had a well already, they could just dig deeper until they hit the water table and use their existing pump and pipe that’s there. I think the $1200 was for a new well, so the option I stated may be substantially cheaper.Unfortunately, with the drought we have been having for years, many people have lost their wells, because the water table has dropped-and these are people who’s wells were over 100-200 feet down. Would be worth a try to call them anyway, an estimate shouldn’t cost anything. It may still be a good idea to rent a trencher (about $50/day) and lay the pipe for South Al. Utilities (beyond what they provide), so then you have both. The pump on a well won’t work if you don’t have power, and during Katrina, I offered my shower to some of my neighbors, since I still had water with SAU. Another thing they need to consider, if they do get their water with SAU-you will need a bigger pipe being that far back-cont…

Posted by rmseek1234 on 07/10/08 - 2:50 pm • Report Abuse

If the well dried up, have they spoke to anyone at one of the well companies about placing the money they can get back from South Alabama Utilities as a down payment and making an installment plan on the remaining balance for a new well? I thought the news stated last night a new well run around $1200.00, if that be the case maybe one of the well companies would work with them on the balance if they applied the $630.00 as the down payment. At least thats what my grandmother did when she had her new well put in.

Posted by chip68 on 07/10/08 - 2:20 pm • Report Abuse

Isn’t this a matter of health and safety too? I mean if you don’t have running water, can the health department or a social services agency not step in and help some way? Maybe the family should call Volunteers of America or Catholic Social Services? If the gentleman is VA, perhaps the VA could help?

Posted by rmseek1234 on 07/10/08 - 12:45 pm • Report Abuse

I am so sorry that my ignorance made you feel you needed to correct me. I am a college graduate with more than one degree but if it makes you feel more of a person to point out such petty things as to whether or not a word is a word then so be it. (I am sure you can find some real problems with my grammar in that sentence.) The point is, these people are in need and we as the “American Public” should be outraged that the utility company has done them this away. As I previously posted, utility companies have maps that show them their service area, they know at the time they take your deposit if they can provide you service or if there will be special circumstances to provide the service. Someone dropped the ball on this and South Alabama Utilities needs to step up and provide these people with water, whatever the cost. In the end the bad publicity from this is far more damaging than a few pieces of pipe........

Posted by mustuknow on 07/10/08 - 12:27 pm • Report Abuse

I couldn’t get the streaming video to work, it just says media not found when I click on it so I’m going by the short article above.

Posted by carl on 07/10/08 - 10:55 am • Report Abuse

This was a sad story, but I noticed the daughter (?) looked like she still had her health. Couldn’t the extended family kick in and help these people dig a ditch?

Posted by BamaBob on 07/10/08 - 9:56 am • Report Abuse