lightening struck my well ... i have no water

[abbott]

on August 5th I spent a good part of the evening watching the lightening storm. Woke up on the 6th and I had no water.

i live just outside the city limits and have a well. The well is almost 3 years old but should work fine for years.

anyway, the well company said they could not pull the motor up to service it because they believed the motor was fused to the side of the casing. Then I was told I need a new well with a price of $31,000.

last Thursday I spent 3 hours with a forensic engineer and he determined lightening struck my well. I have water coming to my house via a water hose from the neighbor and seems I will be with out my personal water supply for up to 3 months before a new well can be complete and connected to my home. permitting and scheduling the driller are the bulk of the time.

good news is insurance is paying for the well, but I went 2 weeks not knowing how I was going to pay the bill.

[checkyourprez]

well thats some shit you dont hear everyday.

[abcdefz]

Wow - I'm really glad your insurance will cover that. That's a big chunk of change to come up with out of pocket with no notice.

Sounds like you have good neighbors, too. (y)

[jabumbo]

how big is the well that it was able to be struck? is the motor at the bottom of the well then? w
tf is a forensic engineer?


I HAVE TOO MANY QUESTIONS

[mikizee]

how big is the well that it was able to be struck? is the motor at the bottom of the well then? w
tf is a forensic engineer?


I HAVE TOO MANY QUESTIONS

A forensic engineer is someone who engineers forensics. DUH

[Fern]

where the fuck do you live?

[TAL]

I have 27 months experience of repairing electrical motors.

[abbott]

i live in Albuquerque NM and my well is 980 feet deep and the motor and pump are at the bottom of the well.

Originally I was told they would pull the motor and pump and service the well for $2500. sucked but I need water.

They called and said the motor was stuck and they could not pull it up. They said either the well had collapsed or that lightning had fused the motor to the casing at the bottom.

If the well collapsed I was on my own. If it was lightening, State Farm would cover it.

Seems they estimate the lightning struck several feet away, but the well became a ground for the lightning and the motor got fried.

The inspector ruled in my favor after inspecting the wire going to the motor was like fried and the lightning strike report both pointed in my favor.

the well only sticks up a few feet.

Should have water to my house in the next few months

[jabumbo]

is it too deep to be able to put the motor on top? seems like it would be a lot easier/cheaper to fix that way....


good to know you've got coverage though. that would be a hard bill to swallow.