Water, water, water!!!
There is nothing more important than a great water supply on your farm or ranch. I say great because a good water supply will not work. Maybe in town where you might rely on the local water company to supply this liquid gold. Most rural properties are supplied a water well. That means that water must be pumped from the underground aquifer, into a storage tank and then pumped or gravity fed to your home, barn or growing fields.
Lets imagine that you are driving out in the country and decide you want to live “out here”. You might find a property with an existing home and farm setup. SCORE!!! Lets say you are more adventurous. You are looking for raw land to build your dream home on. The location is perfect, the view is great, the land is buildable with minimal grading (more about that later) and affordable. You have a floorplan in mind, you’ve hired an architect, its PERFECT!!!
STOP!!!!!
Do not make an offer, do not sign paperwork or anything else binding without consulting a well expert. He will be your hero now and forever. He will find out if you have water underground, how deep ($$$) it is and how much is available.
Side note: A group of investors bought raw land not too far from our ranch with the idea of subdividing and building a small group of upper priced custom homes on one-acre lots. No one bothered to check if there was water available. Upon selling the first lot it was discovered that the water table was poor or at least marginal. To make a long story short, there are daily water deliveries to that area ($$$$$). And…there are many unsold lots.
In almost all cases the local building department will require a water report, as will lenders. The following is a list of considerations when planning a water system for your property:
How much will you need?
- Drinking, bath, kitchen and laundry.
- Firefighting, an amount determined by the local fire protection agency based on dwelling square footage (fireload)
- Agriculture
- Livestock
Other considerations: well digging, pump, storage, pipes, and distribution. I will explain all of these in detail.