Irrigation: Well? No Well.

(by Jay MacRobert)

With three small gardens to water and a couple of fruit trees we were not concerned too much about using our well for this small demand. It did occur to us that being in a drought increased the risk of issues in this department but it did not feel urgent. That was until the water pressure recently dropped like corporate-scandal-stock prices. We then realized that while we'd get the well fixed eventually the impact to food production could be drastic if it took too long. Luckily for us the outage lasted a little over 24hrs and we had some water on hand that could be used in the interim, the result of strange but fortuitous circumstance.

After the well was back online my gaze drifted towards the year-round creek that boarders the northern end of our land.

The same creek we have water rights and infrastructure to (plumbing and wiring run between an old frozen water pump at the creek, and an old wooden ~1000gal tank at the top of the property). I begin to think that a new pump is all we might need, and while I don't want to drink out of a creek it is more than adequate for irrigation. The climb up from the creek to the tank and house is pretty steep and arduous. With an elevation change of about 300ft (based on topo maps) and wildly overgrown with a plant we call Mountain Misery, blackberries, poison oak among other native flora. Big breath, need to go check that out and see what I'm in for.

So a couple days after the well is fixed the wife and I head down on a hike, we set out to walk the pipe line to make sure it is undamaged. We discover that at a couple of points trees have fallen across it but as the pipe lay flush with very soft earth covered in thick vegetation these small trees have luckily not appeared to have damaged the pipe. More in-depth inspection is still warranted, but we move on.

We reach the creek after one last very steep climb some 35ft. The pump house has long ago rotted away but it was perched atop a rock base that still supports the pump and plumbing. There's some minor damage to the plumbing and the old pump is frozen, but the electrical box checks out. I take some pictures of the pump being certain to capture the numbers printed on the motor housing plate. I am considering removing the pump to see if it is rebuild-able, I know I'm cheap, but these old pumps were built well. I won't know until I remove it and transport it back up to the house. Before I do that I need a clearer path that is a bit easier to hike, I'm guessing this pump weighs 60lbs or more (pictured below).

After spending a few more minutes looking around, it is really quite beautiful down there, we decide to head back up. I notice that off to the east there appears to be an old overgrown, graded road or path, so we decide to see how it looked. Other than being significantly overgrown with brush and even a couple of tall trees the road is in fairly good shape. I few trips down with pruners and goats in tow might make it far more passable. I think that the plan for now is to start doing just that, then maybe drive my little ranch truck down the path with pruners, saw, and other flora-control tools and clear it enough to get a small vehicle within 50ft of the creek to service this pump. Sounds like a plan.

But I think before we do that, we might utilize our roof to collect rain water (way less work).