Not for the Squeamish

I got home about 8:30 last night, dead tired after a long hard day and before I had even put down my briefcase, the phone was ringing. I considered not answering it for fear it was a client wanting information my bedraggled brain might not be able to produce at that moment. Of course, I did answer and it was my daughter who, with my grandchildren, lives in my house in a nearby town. This is the home in which she grew up and when she was divorced, the 4 bedroom house was exactly what she needed so in they moved in and I am elsewhere.

Anyway, the conversation last night started with the words every parent dreads hearing for they do not bode well for a peaceful evening. "Mother, I need help, actually advise, no I need help." My mind raced through the immediate possibilities - she was sick again, the kids were sick, she wrecked the car, she needed money - the list sped through my brain with a speed familiar to all parents.

Apparently, a neighbor was walking through the woods next to the house where our dug well is situated and the neighbor noticed that the fence around the well was collapsed on one side so she when in to investigate. She found that as deer has crashed through the well cover, 3/4" marine plywood in a frame. There in the well is a dead deer.

We don't know how long it has been there but it is bloated and the hair is starting to come off.

I almost screamed into the phone "DON"T USE THE WATER" That was almost laughable since she may never want to drink water from that well again. The first thing I did was go through a long list of what she could not do until we solve this problem. Don't drink it, don't brush teeth with it, don't use it for cooking, don't wash dishes in it, should be okay to bathe unless they have any open wounds but don''t swollow any, etc.

Now I've got to get this dead deer out of the well. huh - this could be a problem.

I've pretty much decided that I'll put a block and tackle over the well and go down, in wadders, and try to get a my old hammock under the deer and hoist it up.

That's about the best solution I can think of. I've gotten dead animals out of that well before but never anything as large as a deer.

After I get it up, I figure I should use some cheesecloth type material to attempt to strain any visable remnants from the water, then add a couple gallons of Clorox and let it sit for a day or two before running the hose until it seems the clorine smell and taste begin to clear.

Final step should be a water test before drinking. Luckily, there is a water lab right in town and I know the guy so he'll run the test for $10.

On my way home tonight though, I got to thinking that first thing tomorrow morning I should call my insurance company to see if there is any possible way they will cover it. If so, I'll hire someone to do the dirty work.

 

Wow. Thats a rough one RH.

Obviously it has been there for at least a week, maybe longer. No one has gottne sick yet so that's good. Clorox will kill anything in there but if other parts have seperated and fallen to the bottom, it could be kindof gross or awhile. Mentally if nothing else.

The Well drillers around here have a video inspection service that might be a good idea to use for a little look around the bottom. Testing is a good idea as well.

 

No overhead trees. I thought about a lasso and grapling hook but I don't know if I"m strong enough to hoist it up without a mechanical assist.

 

Can't get in with a truck - area surrounded with 4 - 5 ft stone walls and densely treed. I thought I would do one of 2 things - either build a tripod type arrangement - pretty simple or drag an old swing set frame over there which might be more stable. What do you think?

 

PLEASE don't use a hook. If the hair is falling off already, the innards are starting to gassify, and you ain't gonna like it over much if you poke a hole in the carcass before you get it out of the well. Trust me on this ---

 

So you agree that the hammock type sling is best.

My daughter was kind enough to remind me that I'm not as young as I used to be and I might need more help - Oh the cutting remarks of a child - now I've got something to prove and that will give me strength. I'd still rather hire the job out but I haven't seen too many ads for "Deer in Well Removal Service" lately

 

I have 2 well drillers as clients and neither one of them had the time. I was a little disappointed as they would have been if I hadn't had time to prepare them for tax filing.

 

Or you could have Seacowboys bring in his 'lifts' and float it out....

 

Or have Sniper66 drop a net during a flyover! We have talent here

 

Bambi is out of the well and properly buried. Thank the good Lord and one of my now favorite clients.

I got to thinking last night that my homeowners insurance might cover some cost so I called them this morning. Imagine my surprise when they said they had never had an inquiry about a deer in a well before. The supervisor thought it might be covered if they looked at the well as an "outbuilding." They gave me a case number and said the CT manager will call me early next week. Heartened by the news, I mentioned my dilemma to the client I happened to be seeing this morning, a multi-faceted contractor - Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC, and construction. He was aghast that I would consider going down into the well myself and immediately sent the head of his plumbing department to check it, After reviewing the situation, the owner of the business (truly a prince of a guy) and his plumber went over with a backhoe, went in with a small bucket and retreived and buried the little fawn. They even added a concrete well cap.

Tomorrow, I'll add a 2, 3, or maybe even 4 gallons of Clorox then on Saturday night or Sunday, start running it through the pipes. I may have to drain the well and get in there and scrub the rocks down but that shouldn't pose too much of a problem. I also have to rebuild the chain link fence around the area so I hope it doesn't rain or snow this weekend.

If the insurance company deems the well too contaminated to recover and will cover the cost of a drilled well, I'll have that done. I should know more next week.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the insurance will come through at least for my cost today.

 

good to hear its out RH

 

I'm not sure that will be possible since my well is on an adjacent property owners land and I have a permanent right of way to "my water source." If it's no longer my primary water source, the right away may be null. I'm hoping to continue with the existing well. OPnly time I have had problems is when we have a drought. I did go dry one summer around August. The only other time was when my daughter was a teenager, I was out of town on a business trip and she left the toilet running - drained the well.