el pozo ( The Well)

Having a well was a big concern and major project for us.  On the positive side we knew from digging the hole for the septic that ground water was only 2 metres below the surface.  On the uncertain side, we did not know if the water was going to be brackish (containing salt from the ocean) or sweet (containing water from the river).

JD reviewed all the typical methods of building a well and decided upon a simple and cost effective approach.    His idea was to line the well with plastic barrel drums and allow the ground water to natural seep in through the spaces between each barrels.
Sounded simple.  We had the boys start digging.







We needed the well to be 4 meters deep but as the water was to be found at 2 meters deep we encountered a problem.  So, we went in search of a guy with a pump.  Once that was rigged up, with duct tape and a whole lot of ingenuity, we were back at work.  The pump would pull the water out of the well to allow us enough time to remove some more dirt and drive the barrels deeper to line the well.

Here is Ramon in the well.  After using the pump to remove the water Ramon or Mardon would shimmy down into the well.  They would fill a bucket up with dirt from the bottom and we would haul it up to discard it.  Then we would be able to push the barrels farther into the earth.

Eventually, we managed to get the well four barrels deep.  Here is JD having the first shower on our lot.  The water was sweet and extremely clean.  What a thrill!
Next year we will install a permanent pump, some plumbing and we will have running water and a flushing toilet.

Next order of business...a structure to house all of this potential infrastructure.