Water in the Desert - Well is Done!

Today we're giving you an update on our water well install on the new property.

[@stevenjames7667]

I dug my own well here in Chandler and I'm perfectly happy with it I'm not going to tell anyone because what the state doesn't know won't hurt them.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

I like that approach Steven!

[@miketlane]

how deep did you have to go? have issue busting thru the hard cement like crust? thinking of hammering in one in casa grande

[@genawatkins6636]

Can you say how far you had to go for the water?

[@EastMesaUrbanHomestead]

Congrats on this milestone 😎

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks William!

[@JesusFreakJene]

Very exciting for you 😊

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Jen, thanks!

[@Melissa54321]

Thanks for sharing!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Gardener in MI, thanks!

[@danielfisch655]

Very interesting and congrats.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks Daniel, we were excited to see it producing as well...ha, well....

[@danielfisch655]

Edge of Nowhere Farm well, well, well, it looks like your well is doing well. Sorry, I just had to text that, lol.

[@Impractical_Engineer]

Well, that was a deep subject

[@saltyseatv5904]

ba dum tssss!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Ha!

[@InglesAlaMexicana]

You know it well.

[@CrankyBubushka]

Very interesting! Thank you.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

How deep are the wells up your way?

[@CrankyBubushka]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I have no idea. I know that we have a lot of water here not like the desert. I think it varies depending on where the property is. A recent problem here with wells is the possibility of run-off and agricultural pollution in rural wells.I am glad you are taking care of that with yours right away.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@CrankyBubushka Hmm, that makes sense with runoff being a problem, especially if the well is more shallow than what we typically see here.

[@dh4923]

great video

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks D H.

[@fredlui3900]

Excellent presentation

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

[@junaidfaiz]

This is terrific.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Amazing what it takes to get to water in the desert!

[@junaidfaiz]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm oh yes indeed. But the casing you've installed should had been 8" instead of 6". I hope you are using submersible motor & dragging water from almost 600ft means lots of electricity is consumed. So, in future you can try solar pannels as well cz i see sun is very bright at ur side. Including another option of hand pump is also good for any case of emergency or mega electricity loadsheding. Moreover you have got a great water source of ur own & im very happy for you. Water is a big thing in dry lands. Best wishes.

[@jimmyfischbeck9872]

Nice sludge pit, bro!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Jimmy, I know right!

[@barolympicsaz]

Did Way's Drilling do the work? Would you recommend them or someone else in Arizona?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Yes, Way's Drilling is who we used, but they went out of business at the outset of Covid. I don't have another solid option that I can suggest from experience.

[@alexandriar5143]

I am curious, is drilling for this well any different from developing or drilling for a hot spring ? I am in arizona, my dream is to have a hotspting.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Alexandria! Boy, I'm really not too sure about that. If you mean a natural hot spring, I assume it would be a matter of finding a water source that delivers naturally heated water. I'm not aware of anything like that in and around the valley. We used Way's Drilling for this well, so it might be worth reaching out to Robert to see what he says.

[@comingtofull-ageinchrist6736]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I'm wanting to say I've seen people showing themselves at hots springs in Utah, like Moab, maybe? That would be very therapeutic to have around! Great for sore muscles and bones for sure! I think that would be something that would be more shallow and different type of ground maybe.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@comingtofull-ageinchrist6736 a spring of any kind would be really cool to have.

[@comingtofull-ageinchrist6736]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm yeah, for sure!

[@geanitsucuneli4791]

Nice and Cool!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one Geani. We don't get a chance to watch some of these older videos, so it's great when folks comment on them and we get to reminisce! Thank you!

[@geanitsucuneli4791]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I did one in Casa Grande Az (in 2015)on my property of 14 Acres.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@geanitsucuneli4791 so you know just how this goes!

[@geanitsucuneli4791]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Yes It cost me $25K wit everything Pressure thank 86 Gall.,Storage tank 4K gall, solar pump.So mine is free energy.It pump day time, in to the large storage tank and my dripping system work in the night time.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@geanitsucuneli4791 wow, that's great. How deep is your well?

[@mohamedyussuf7519]

I come from Africa a semi desert area in the horn of Africa & would like to help my people drill wells...there are droughts every year

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Mohamed. That is a very good plan to get those wells in place. We can do everything possible to conserve water, but when drought hits it's essential to have access to clean water!

[@TheRussianMercenary]

What was the cost?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

This portion was $17k total.

[@TBrownRecords]

Nice post

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one!

[@rudygtrz]

water well drilling in Bastrop, Texas costs $10.00 per foot plus extra if they have to drill through rock.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Rudolph. That's a good deal on the drilling costs. Since we had this put in the costs have actually gone up again as our neighbor is putting one in shortly and was quoted about $1,000 more for the same depth. Fortunately we didn't have to go through rock, can only imagine how much that would have been!

[@gm2407]

Is this well where all your irrigation comes from?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Yes, that is our only water source for now. The plan is to have some additional water catchment and a water tank or two that can store rain water when we get it.

[@gm2407]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I like that idea for extra catchment, the arizona well regulations make me worry as ground water doesn't replenish from deep areas and the west coast has depleted ground water since the 80's so glad you have micro swales around the property and catchment from the roof.

[@elviraramos312]

Can you give me the info of the well drilling company? I will be needing one drilled on .66 of an acre. Casa Grande West? do they come this way?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Elvira! The company we used is Way's Drilling. They are a small family owned business in Morristown, so I'm not sure he heads that far South, but I'm sure he can suggest somebody for you if you reach out to him. They're great to work with. Here's a link to their website with contact info; www.waysdrilling.com/

[@cliffjamerson3107]

Did you get your well dug ?

[@c.singleton2696]

What was the cost of the completed well?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

The well was $17k and the equipment to pull and store water (pump, tank, pressure tanks, etc) was another $17k. I believe it's a bit more expensive now.

[@comingtofull-ageinchrist6736]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm oh yeah, everything everywhere has went way up. I know the cost of lumber was up 4x normal for a couple of years, and is finally dropped a little bit now, but everything is still way up, even a year after this comment was posted. 36 eggs, which used to cost under 5 Sam's Club, is now double that, and 4 lbs. of bacon has gone from 16 dollars up to 23 dollars. Everything is going up. Ships sitting off of the coast unable to get unloaded is causing a shortage in supply. We went from energy independent to depending on Russia for fuel, and gas at the pump has went from being under 2 dollars a gallon in Oklahoma where I am to 4 dollars and 25 cents a gallon. It isn't good right now for sure!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@comingtofull-ageinchrist6736 yeah, we're seeing the same here and housing costs are just out of control. Something's going to give and it's going to be painful.

[@comingtofull-ageinchrist6736]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I agree! There is definitely a change being integrated into our way of life in the states!

[@allanturpin2023]

Does the water taste good?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Haven't had it at this property yet, but we're on the same aquafir now and it's pretty good. Very hard, but good.

[@slamboy66]

Does your county limit water amounts you can use ? Where I am at (Southern Nevada) we are at two acre-feet (about 650,000 gal) of water per year. Which is nowhere close to my 120,500.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great question. They don't limit based on usage, but they do limit the pump size so you are not able to do traditional row crop type irrigation. There have been some discussions about having meters installed, so we're thinking that may happen some time in the future. The goal now is to get the trees established, capture water as best we can and limit evaporation so we don't have as much need for irrigation in the future. Just in case....

[@slamboy66]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm That is why I have a Stocking pond(Channel cat and Tilapia) to water with then refill. A 80,000/1,000 gallon water change. My plants love the pond water.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@slamboy66 We're considering something similar once we decide on location. Would prefer something higher in elevation to the trees if possible. I can imagine your trees are very happy with the pond water!

[@sissy1339]

Hi, I just spotted a photo of you (had to take a double look, "is that Duane" lol) because I was looking for "how to make water in the desert before thinking about buying a book! I'm not buying the book.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there "Sissy". I can imagine it's strange to see somebody you know so well when you're least expecting it! I wouldn't buy the book either!

[@baderh7880]

Any chance you know what the TDS/salinity of the water is?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

No, I don't have numbers for those, but historically our alkaline water is also very "hard" with high TDS. We have had a water softener for that very purpose from day 1.

[@baderh7880]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thank you your reply. Just for clarification, you use softened water for irrigation

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@baderh7880 no, we have softened water for the house. The irrigation water is not filtered.

[@baderh7880]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Makes sense. Im on the other side of the globe (Kuwait) with probably a hotter climate than your area. A friend wants to replicate some ideas from your lovely farm however everyone says it cannot be done due to water quality. Groundwater has high TDS but I think calcium/magnesium probably contributes to most of the TDS in you area whereas ours is sodium chloride aka salt so the water is more saline. He'll give it a try regardless. Best wishes

[@MrRizzo1961]

How much does it cost to have a well drilled in Arizona?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Dennis. For this well, going down 600 feet, the cost was $17k to drill and cap it. The pump, tank and pressure tanks brought the total cost up to $35k.

[@susiegee76]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thank you for providing this info. I'm leaving Ca and looking to buy land in the coconino county of Arizona. Love your videos.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@susiegee76 I (Duane) know just how you're feeling with getting out of CA. Lori is a Phoenix native, but I'm originally from LA. All it took to convince me to make the move was housing costs, but after being here for going on 23 years I can't imagine living anywhere else!

[@susiegee76]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I work in LA but live Riverside county. My goal is to make the move in 5 years. Want to buy land now and slowly build. Love your videos. You make gardening look so easy. I can't even keep potted jalapeños alive but I have been getting tips for future use. Blessings to you both. 🇺🇸

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@susiegee76 ah, ok I'm very familiar with Riverside. You guys get some high temps that are similar to ours, but the major difference is that it actually cools off there at night. Here we get 120 degree days (average is closer to 110ish) and usually don't get below 90-95 degrees at night in July, August and into September. As for those Jalapenos, we haven't mastered those here either!

[@buyerofsorts]

May I ask what you do for a living?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey buyerofsorts, I (Duane) work for a construction supply company. We farm to help stay/eat healthy and also as a "Side Hussle", at least for now.

[@buyerofsorts]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Thanks for the reply!

[@mikedoingmikethings702]

How much did you end up paying for 600 feet deep well?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Keep in mind this was back in 2019, but we paid $17k for the drill and about the same for everything above ground (holding and pressure tanks, etc).

[@MrLoweMenard]

Whats the GPM restriction from the County/City? You mentioned it but didn't give the answer. Thanks.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Mike. From what I understand it can't be more than 35 gallons per minute and our permit has a pump design capacity of 15 gallons per minute. We won't know our actual output until the pump and tank systems are installed later this spring, but it sounds like we should be around 10-13 gallons per minute of actual draw.

[@moisesaldersflugel2879]

I'm getting charged $26,000 for just 200ft. I live in Southern California.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Oh my goodness! Does that include the pump, tank, etc?

[@moisesaldersflugel2879]

It includes everything except the tank. I was told that around 10k go to permits. The rest is labor and equipment charge. I still think its expensive after paying the permits .

[@pacman5511]

@@moisesaldersflugel2879 what part of socal?

[@homertalk]

Did you know it would be 600 feet in advance?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great question and yes, we did. Well, mostly. Wells in Wittmann are VERY consistent and with very few exceptions, new wells are drilled to 600 feet round here. At least, that's what our driller told us and he has been drilling here for a very long time.

[@Gmoney_clothing]

$$How much does it cost??$$

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great question. It's gone up a bit since then, but it was $17k to drill/cap the well and about the same to install the pumps, tank, etc. So total was just under $35k, all of which is included in our mortgage as part of the home build.

[@rudygtrz]

why 600 ft when the water is at 300 ft

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

The static water level is what they watch for. Our static water level is actually at about 420 feet and that still gives us a buffer if the water level declines for some reason. It's been a standard depth for wells in this area since the mid 1980's, so I'm sure there's more to it than that.

[@hariprasadradhakrishnan8967]

Hello. It is a Borewell. Not a well.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Had to look up borewell. I guess here in AZ everyone just refers to it as a well. Too lazy to add that first syllable I suppose!

[@miketlane]

what is a borewell "a deep, narrow well for water"........its a well