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Supplying a property from scratch

Finding a source, capturing it cleanly, moving it without power, and knowing what is in it.

Water
  1. 01
    A stone-built spring box collecting clear water at the base of a slope
    Water№ 4565 min

    Spring Development: Capturing a Spring Without Ruining It

    A spring is an aquifer surfacing — capture it at the source, protect the recharge area, and never let the collection box become the contamination point.

  2. 02
    A borehole wellhead with pump housing beside a traditional stone-lined dug well
    Water№ 5166 min

    Wells and Boreholes: Taking Water from Underground

    How aquifers actually behave, the difference between a dug well and a drilled borehole, and why the drawdown that matters is your neighbour's.

  3. 03
    Water samples in test bottles beside a field testing kit and record sheet
    Water№ 5136 min

    Water Quality Testing: Knowing What You Actually Have

    What to test for in rainwater, wells, and surface water, how often, and the treatment steps that match each class of contaminant.

  4. 04
    A water tank elevated on a hillside with pipes running downhill through a garden to drip emitters
    Water№ 1974 min

    Gravity-Fed Systems: No Pump, No Power, No Problem

    Use elevation and gravity to move water from tanks to gardens, troughs, and taps with no pump, no power, and no ongoing energy cost.

  5. 05
    A hydraulic ram pump installed beside a stream with drive pipe and delivery line
    Water№ 3855 min

    Ram Pumps: Lifting Water With Nothing but Water

    The hydraulic ram uses the momentum of falling water to push a fraction of it uphill forever, with two moving parts and no power supply.

  6. 06
    Several water tanks of different sizes lined up beside a shed, connected by pipes
    Water№ 4854 min

    Tank Sizing: How Much Storage Do You Need?

    Match roof supply to garden and household demand with a monthly water budget that reveals the real storage volume you need.

  7. 07
    A water tank on a raised platform in the shade of a large tree with gravity-fed pipes running downhill
    Water№ 4844 min

    Water Tank Placement: Shade, Elevation, and Gravity

    Where to put a water tank so shade keeps it cool, elevation gives free pressure, and overflow feeds the landscape instead of eroding it.

  8. 08
    A clear rainwater tank with a fine mesh inlet screen and a copper strip visible inside the manhole
    Water№ 2486 min

    Keeping Stored Water Clean: Tanks, Cisterns, and Ponds

    Why stored water goes bad, why copper and zinc work, how to keep algae and mosquitoes out, and the boring physical fixes that handle 80% of the problem.

  9. 09
    A soil moisture probe inserted in a crop bed beside a drip irrigation line
    Water№ 2336 min

    Irrigation Scheduling: How Much, and When

    Evapotranspiration, soil moisture deficit, and crop-critical stages — replacing guesswork and fixed timers with the two numbers that matter.

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