Irene Smith commentary: What? No cable TV, no gas, no sewer?

In my previous "Country Living" column, I discussed availability of water in rural areas. This column will discuss other services and utilities you'll need if moving from urban to rural areas. Here's an overview of what you can expect: Natural gas: In cities, we take for granted things like natural gas delivery through underground pipes provided by our local energy company. Many rural areas have not developed to the point that it makes economic sense to build a gas distribution network. Instead, another form of gas, propane, is a widely available alternative for gas-powered devices such as furnaces, ranges, dryers and water heaters. You will have to have a tank which can be leased or you can purchase your own. And, you'll have to adapt your appliances for propane gas. This is a service your provider can help with. Owning a tank allows for changing companies if you are unhappy with the service or find a better price per gallon. Electricity: Electric power is provided by large regional providers such as PG&E, which owns a network of power poles throughout rural areas. Today, infrastructure sharing agreements have come to some areas that allow new smaller companies to enter the large, once-monopolized electric energy providers territory and offer competitive rates. It's also common for power companies to share equipment with other utility providers such as telephone and cable/internet companies who place their wires on the same poles. Solar energy is an increasingly popular alternative to supplement power needs. Some rural property owners chose to go "off grid" and depend entirely on renewable energy sources. Generators are an emergency option for use during times when electric power is shut down. Remember your well pumps depend upon electricity for domestic water consumption. For non-domestic water to supply our livestock and crops, we discovered that even those of us who don't depend upon pumps (because we have "gravity-flow" ditch water), power is still necessary to deliver water from the pump station in the American River, all the way up the canyon to fill the ditch network! Septics: Septic systems, not public sewers, are common in rural areas. A privately owned septic tank collects liquid and solid waste and distributes it through a leach field, which is an underground network of pipes that allow the effluent to soak into the ground. Septic systems are sized for the number of bedrooms in a dwelling. Septic tanks are usually pumped out periodically. It's important to understand how they function to keep your system healthy. Frequency of pump-outs will depend upon this. County environmental health can provide information. It can be expensive and disruptive to have your underground tank dug out and pumped, especially if it requires heavy equipment, which can tear up your landscape in order to access it. If you are buying raw land and plan to build on it, you will be required by the county to have a "perc test" that determines if the soil at the site percolates properly. Some soils are not suited for septics so you'll need professional advice and testing for this. In some cases, owners will be required to have a back-up leach field in the event the first one fails. Phone & internet service: In recent years, many homeowners have given up their landline phones in favor of cell phones. Landline phone service is still available through AT&T. Cell phone service works well in areas where cell service is available. More and more small cell service providers are reaching rural areas, so service should be available but not guaranteed. Be sure to test for reception before subscribing to a cell service. Television reception from satellite providers depends upon a "line of sight" connection. Being near a metropolitan area like Sacramento, you may be able to use a roof antenna or "rabbit ears" for TV reception. Cable services are usually only available in newer developments. When my husband and I moved into an older home in the country, the tall, old antenna was still on the roof. It was our intention to remove the gangly thing, however, we soon discovered we could receive high-definition "broadcast" television (over the airwaves) by connecting a simple set of "rabbit ears" to our TV. This provided excellent high-resolution reception from our local and network broadcast stations which included, to our delight, three sub-channels from our local PBS station and – the price was right! When it comes to internet service, there are two forms in our neighborhood – AT&T, which offers a "bundled" package of services, including internet, phone and television, via satellite. There are also several local wireless broadband companies which require a small receiver to be mounted on our property. Again, "line of sight" to their transmitters is required for good reception and all companies can perform a reception test. If you work from home, this will be critical to establish. Do your homework when considering a country purchase and you will be delighted you made the decision, IF you can access the appropriate services to fit your needs. Irene Smith has enjoyed rural living for more than 30 years and wants to share experiences and lessons learned from this lifestyle for the benefit of others. You can share your comments and experiences with Irene at n8rlvr2009@gmail.com.