We waited for 8 months. Every other week we would buy a tank’s worth of water. They deliver it and pour it into the empty tank. We have been not watering much, not washing clothes much, not washing dishes much… no horses getting baths. No dogs getting baths. No humans getting baths. Showers. We took showers. Army showers.
I had been taking our ability to have water at our disposal for granted. That was a mistake. Water is the new gold out here in the West. People with deep pockets are buying large properties out here, just to gain water rights. With so many more people, crops and vineyards, water has become quite the commodity.
Yikes.
Anyway, they started drilling yesterday. Yay!
It is a big deal. After 8 months of waiting, it is even a bigger deal.
The trucks they brought – 6 of them – are larger than the horse shelter out there in that pasture. There is the drilling rig, the cement rig, the water rig, the equipment rig, the drilling rig stabilizer rig and the all the other stuff rig.
For an example of size (besides every truck being taller and larger than the horse shelter out there), I can get my truck and trailer all the way around our property with no issues. For these trucks, they could only go one way around – and we had to trim back several trees to make it passable.
These trucks are B I G.
Last week, before this big drilling started, they came when we weren’t here and dug a pool-sized hole in the top pasture. Literally, fill the hole with water (if we had water) and we’d have a real-sized swimming pool… They use this big hole to put the mud they draw up from the drilling. After they are done drilling, they just cover up the hole they dug.
Since the new well will be at 875 feet, there will be a lot of mud. So, they made a huge hole.
I don’t know how long the well drilling will take (maybe 2 weeks?); I only know the estimated cost – and you don’t want to know that (eye roll/gasp).
In the long run, we are grateful to have a new well now, instead of trying to sell the house and then discovering that the well was drying. So, we are lucky there.
PHOTO JOURNAL.
This is our water tank. Usually, that float is at the bottom so we know we have a full tank… now, with the well not functioning, the float goes up and tells us how much water is left. Here you can see it has just under a half of a tank.
This is the huge hole they dug. It is swimming pool sized.
I know it is difficult to understand perspective here… but this is a large pasture…
Here, this helps. The horse shelter is shorter than all the trucks. (Yes, the wind took down one side of the shelter. No horses are in there so I didn’t notice.)
I took this photo this morning. The guys weren’t here yet. That is the drilling rig.
They man this thing all day, shooting water into the hole to push dirt out.
I am 5’4″. My head hits just above the red panel on this truck to the right. That’s the water truck ahead of me on the left.
This is me, under the drilling rig about an hour ago.
