Finding Water: Our First Step Toward Self-Sufficiency

Hopefully there is water somewhere on this land.

Water! It’s become the word of the week around here, and with good reason. Our tank is sitting at less than half full, and with summer fast approaching and no rain in sight, we need a plan. It’s pretty simple: either we catch more rainwater or we tap into some underground sources.

The first option means building more roof space, maybe a shed to help catch more water. But, even if we do, if it doesn’t rain, we still have no water. The other option is drilling a bore, and that’s where things get complicated. Bores can be an expensive gamble. If they drill and find nothing, you still pay. And we’re talking big bucks here, anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000, or more, depending on how deep they go and how long it takes.

To get a sense of where we stand, we called in a water diviner. Yep, you read that right. He came out with his trusty metal rods and wandered around the property, claiming he could “feel” where the water was. Now, I’ll admit, I was pretty skeptical about the whole thing, but he seemed like he knew his stuff.

Turns out, he found three potential spots where water could be lurking about 40-45 metres down. But then he noticed a strange patch of lush green grass among all the dry, brown paddocks. Curious, he walked over it with the rods and declared that there was water just 3 metres down. His take? There might not be a ton of water there, but there could be enough to form a little dam.

So, naturally, after he left, we decided to give it a go and dig there ourselves. Less than half a metre down, we hit water! We kept digging, and sure enough, a small puddle started to form. We covered the hole with a plastic barrel and left it for a few hours. When we came back, it had filled with more water! And the next day, even more.

We found water!

This was all pretty exciting, as it made us a bit more confident that we do have some kind of water source below. But how much? Well, we’re still in the dark about that.

Now we’re planning to get a second opinion from another water diviner, just to be on the safe side before we take the plunge with a full-scale bore. Fingers crossed this could be our answer to the water problem, or at least a step in the right direction.