These are one of the little "death by a thousand cuts" annoyances that have cropped up in recent years, by the "nanny state" that seeks to protect us from ourselves.

I have here in mind those devilish little flow restrictors that are mandated to be put in shower heads, both on-wall and handheld, for water conservation.  I'm as much for saving money, and reducing water demand, as anyone else, but darn it, the flow of water is almost always so scanty, that you end up having to spend twice as much time in the shower, because the soap won't come off any other way.  Those who are more hirsute, have even greater problems with this.  It's especially annoying in hotels --- more than once, I have simply said to myself "it's not worth it, I don't have all day to get in there and let that insipid little stream of water trickle over me, I'll simply run a basin of water and give myself a cat-bath (there is a stronger term for that)".  That's not what I'm paying $100+ a night to stay in a Holiday Inn Express for.  I have even taken along my own "old-fashioned" shower head, or once even used duct tape to retrofit the hotel's shower head and increase flow (dilapidated old Super 8 that was our vacation home for a week in the mountains, I can't afford deluxe lodging), when I was going to be staying somewhere longer than overnight.

Anyway, I have removed all the flow restictors from the shower heads in both of our houses, and have done likewise with the handheld units, and this restores flow to an acceptable level.  I had to get a new Peerless handheld yesterday for the master bath, and I found that unlike with Waterpik, I could not simply slip out the flow restrictor --- I had to take needle-nose pliers and destroy it.  (So much for staying within warranty!)   There was also an aerator washer, and I had to ream out the unexpectedly thick mesh screen embedded into the washer.  Results were not perfect, but were acceptable for a $24 shower head from Walmart.

I suppose if I ever sell either of these houses, I'll have to find some way to replace these, lest it come up in the property inspection.  (And, no, I'm not in California.)

Has anybody else had similar experiences?  Better ways than this to increase water flow?

And I shouldn't even get started on low-flow toilets.  Same thing, that little amount of water doesn't get the job done, you just end up flushing more, depending upon circuмstances.  I don't know what they were using for brains, when they came up with that idea.

I have never understood the "environmentalists" who have such a passion for "conserving" the one thing that literally falls from the sky.

And one thing that is touted about the flow restrictors, is that you not only save water, but you save money from using less water.

No thank you, Mother Nanny State.  You let me worry about my water bill, eh?

And besides, it's all the same difference.  Less vigorous flow, you just end up having to run it longer, and I count my time (and convenience as well as avoidance of aggravation) as having a value as well.  Same thing for water-saver toilets.  There have been times that I've had to take a small garbage can, go to the bathtub and fill it with water, and then use that to flush properly.  I hope that's not TMI but it's the truth.

I know there is concern about water usage in areas where it's scarce (such as Las Vegas), but as a longer-term solution, people might consider settling in areas that don't have to be as aggressively "terraformed" (or whatever the word would be).  One positive effect of this pan/scam/plan/whatever-demic is that places hitherto dismissed as "flyover country" may finally get their place in the sun as attractive places to live and visit.  And the places where all the "cool people" live (as if...) are becoming too expensive even to consider living in.  If you can telecommute from anywhere, well, then, you can live anywhere.  We landed in a dirt-cheap part of the US, and have two homes fully paid for, homes you couldn't even begin to touch in NYC, DC, or San Francisco (again, as if... the Bay Area has unparalleled natural beauty, but having to dodge turds on the street and so many sodomites you can't stir 'em with a stick, I think I'll pass).

FYI, There was an entire Seinfeld episode on this when NYC required landlords to put in water saving toilets and shower heads in the 1990s.  The old toilet worked just fine.  The new one was tiny and low to the floor like a child-sized toilet for a primary school.  It wasted a tremendous amount of water.  Ms. Yellow required 2-3 flushes, Mr. Brown took 3-4, sometimes more.  It required plunging at least once a week.  Before that, I didn’t even own a toilet plunger.  The toilets caused the sewer to back up in the whole building and made a disgusting mess in the basement, a real landlord’s nightmare.  As for the shower head, I borrowed a plumbers’ wrench from work, removed the crummy one, and replaced it with a nice, illegal, high pressure shower head purchased in New Jersey.  The old shower head got thrown in the medicine chest where it remained when I moved away.  More PC bs!

Good for you!  The toilets in the home my son and I have recently moved into, has low-flow toilets, and they are very irritating.  Our other home across the street (where my parents are now living) was one of the first ones built in our development, and it has the older type.  You cannot retrofit a toilet the way you can retrofit a shower head.

I haven't had this problem (with showers or toilets) myself. I guess I'm used to the low flow?

As for toilets, mine are all 1+ gallon per flush, such that I can put a couple bricks in the tank (to reduce water usage per flush) and still have PLENTY of water to trigger a good flush.

So I can't relate to you on this.

I guess it's all in what you get used to.  I just like a lot of water, and in the shower, I want it strong, abundant, and vigorous.  And as noted, the hotel showers are the worst of the lot. 

It all comes from government regulation.  Aside from more widespread freedoms regarding the Second Amendment (a steady rise in CWPs, open carry, and constitutional carry) --- for now, anyway --- it's hard to come up with changes in laws and regulations that have made us more free, I'll just put it that way.

My question is:  Why did the previous owner feel the need to lower the flow of the shower when the water source for the house is a well?  That just didn't make sense to me.

I've always been a city dweller and never used a well, but I'd imagine it might be to conserve a finite (or at least very slowly refreshed) supply of water from an aquifer or other underground water source.

My rural extended family, in the Southern Highlands of the US, always had issues with well water, and what well water I've drunk, had a heavy, metallic taste, something I wasn't used to.  My aunt was very happy when they finally got "city water" lines extended out in the boonies where she lived.

I think it is about how deep the well is to have good tasting water.  Rust is a problem In our area.

The best mountain vacation is Gatlinburg - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  Very large family friendly too.  Best to rent a cabin. Great shower pressure.  Better than home.  Diocesan Latin Mass at diocesan Knoxville which is about 30 minutes.