I have written extensively about off grid water systems because they are so important to setting up a homestead. It is one of the most critical systems on your property! If you don't have a viable water source or reasonable plan to haul in water, then your property is not viable.
When we purchased property here in Arizona, we knew the water system would be challenging. A lot of off gridders in our area catch rainwater, but there has been an extensive drought for the past several years, so this has not been a viable option. Luckily, we finally had a good rainfall last monsoon season, but that only lasts for a few months out of the year.
We are fortunate enough to have a good water table under our acreage. This is something we studied quite extensively before purchasing our property. We wanted to make sure that we had a plan for our water.
We started off by hauling water from a local water depot. We were fortunate enough that we have one only located about 10 miles from us. We hauled our water for six months before we acquired our well. It was inconvenient, but it made it possible for us to live on this property before we got our well in.
We acquired an existing well with equipment when we purchased the property next to ours.
The first thing when going off grid is to designate where your water will be coming from. The main sources of water to consider are:
- Water from a stream, creek, river, pond, or lake
- Well water
- Rain water
- Hauling in water from a depot or reservoir
Typically, the most popular form of water source on off grid properties is drilling a well. However, this isn't such a great option when you consider all that goes into a well system.
Wells are expensive to install. Between the drilling costs, permitting, and well equipment, a well in America can cost from $10k all the way up to $50k!
Wells dry up. Water tables change, especially as the drought in the west worsens. Wells can also silt in and even cave in.
Well equipment requires power and can break down. A well pump takes a lot of power and you have to buy a specialized pump to run it on solar power. Well pumps break down inevitably and will need to be replaced, that's a given.
You can look into using water that already exists on your property, like a creek or a stream. I recommend pumping the water from the water source into a holding tank, which is hooked up to a pressure tank. A downside to natural water sources is if they shift over time, or if they are not year round. If the water source does dry up seasonally, you can haul in water for a backup during that period of time.
Note that no matter what your water source is, you will need to filter and purify your water, unless you are getting water from an artisan spring. Even that can be iffy and should be tested before consuming.
Water borne illnesses are brutal and can be life threatening. Bacteria and viruses can exist in any body of water, including well water. Take the extra precaution and make sure to have a water purification system installed before drinking water from your property.
If you want to learn more, visit my article about off grid water systems.
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If you want to learn more about off grid living, visit my website, www.MaximumOffGrid.com.
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely, Regina Cal.