Water...it is essential for growing vegetables and caring for animals.
Where does your water come from? I have two sources of water; a shallow well and municipal water. The municipal water came with the house. We installed a driven shallow well about two years ago. The picture shows water pouring from an inexpensive cistern pump which is suitable for our shallow well. Our well draws water from about 12 feet (~4 meters) below the surface.
Shallow wells like mine are great for irrigation for the yard and garden or for watering animals. However, they must be tested for contamination if used by humans. Ground water as shallow well water is often called is subject to contamination from animals and septic systems. Your local government should be able to help test your water for contamination. On the plus side my shallow well water is not chlorinated so I don't really need to worry too much about killing my fish when I use my solar water pump to keep my small pond full in the summer.
My well is driven which simply means that a "drive" point is installed on the end of the well pipe and on the other end a drive cap is installed. As Fred Dugan says in his website..."If you can drive a nail, you have the skills to augment your water supply". Visit Mr. Dugan's webpage, An Inexpensive, Do-It-Yourself Water Well, for comprehensive information on driving a water well. Mr. Dugan says you can drive a well for less than $400...I agree...my well was installed for around $250. Installation costs vary based on the depth of the water and how much pipe is needed to reach the water bearing sand or gravel.
Maybe you will need to install a deep well. Deep wells tap into a aquafier and generally deliver purer water. The Peace Corps published a nice little handbook in the early 1980's called Well Construction: Hand Dug and Hand Drilled. This handbook is a another nice reference for research for your water source project... if that is what you need.
You may already be satisfied with your water sources. If so, how would you like to use the sun to pump your water? I put together a simple solar water pump for about $250. The pump can push water up about 15 feet while drawing out of my well from a depth of 12 feet. Not bad for an inexpensive litter 12 volt pump running off of a deep cylce battery. Interested, here is a Adobe Flash slideshow/movie I made about which showscases all the major components (all available at Harbor Freight or Lowes) of my simple solar water pump. I have run this pump for hours on end and have had no problems. Next growing season I plan to use it to pump water to elevated resevoirs for my low tech drip irrigation system for my vegetables. Other people have written me who are going to use a pump like this to keep cattle water tanks full as well as other practical uses.
Water is a precious commodity which should be handled with care. I catch runoff from my yard and roof and divert it to my pond where it can percolate down slowly and help keep my shallow well aquafier replenished. Other people install cisterns, rain barrels or rain gardens. Whatever your fancy just remember that water is essential...it is easy to forget just how important water is until you don't have any for your plants, animals or even yourself.
