We have thirty-five acres in southern Colorado, which we bought a couple of years ago. Some of the photos we have posted here on the site are from that land. It is absolutely beautiful and is where we plan to spend free time once we have finished building the homestead in southeastern NM.
The acreage in Colorado has a trout stream running through one corner of the property, so water was available already. However, when we bought the land, the previous owner had already applied for and been granted a homestead well permit for the property. We decided to go ahead and make use of the permit and get a well dug and capped for future building.
Obviously, we are not currently in urgent need of the well, so we told the well-digger to put us on his schedule when it worked best for him and sort of put it to the back of our minds.
This morning he called and told us the great news: We have a well!
Originally, when we talked to him about the job, he told us that other wells in the general area were drilled from 100-180 feet in depth to get a good supply of water, so we had prepared ourselves for that cost (hoping it wouldn’t go much more than 100 feet). At $36/foot for the drilling cost (not including a pump or any accessories — just the digging and capping) in the area, we were expecting a hefty bill to be due.
We got a wonderful surprise… the well only needed to be drilled to 40 feet in depth. He said the water level is only 8-10 feet below the surface, so we are very happy. Instead of a potential cost of $6480, we think the cost will be about $1440.
(with all the bulldozer purchases, we need all the savings we can get!)
With only 40 feet in depth, we have a lot more options available to us on the type of pump we use. Even a hand pump (like the photo) would work for this well. We have a wide range of choices… manual pump ($99 – $1000, depending on quality and features — the Bison pumps are pricey), solar pump and tank (investigation still needed). We don’t plan to have the pump left on-site when we aren’t there for the time being. Too much temptation for a would-be pump thief.
Colorado Trout StreamA homestead without water is not worth much. Without your own source of water you are reliant on someone else, your savings/income or yet another government entity to provide you life’s most precious commodity. Checked the price of bottled water lately? A trip into the gas station food mart reveals that water costs 3-5 times more than gas. Granted you can find it cheaper in the food store by the case, but why do we pay such outlandish prices for bottled water? Do we not pay taxes to have clean and healthy water piped into our homes? What are you going to do if the water is contaminated, a pipe breaks, and water taxes go up? If you are totally reliant on the city water supply, you are not in control of the most precious commodity.
In other nations there are wars over water. The continent of Africa and elsewhere is seeing an increasing demand on potable water and water for irrigation. I will not leave my family at the mercies of a government system, municipal worker, or on 75 year old pipes. Do your own research and check it out for yourself. Simply type in Global Water Wars or words to that effect and read the data/news/speculation/hype/scaremongering or however you want to categorize it. As the world’s population grows so too does its demand on water. If you think it does not affect you here in the US you might want to do further research. The demand on the breadbasket of the world (the US) is growing. Our use of water nation wide for irrigation, landscaping and entertainment is growing. Many states have already imposed limitations that impact families and businesses. Check out the news on California, or how about Arizona’s need to secure water for Phoenix and Tucson, how about sink holes in the Southwest, what about the NM/TX water dispute over the flow of the Rio Grande into TX? All of these factors and many others put increased pressure on government agencies to create more restrictions and raise taxes on use of water. NM Capped Well
I have taken matters into my own hands by finding land where drilling a well is permissible. In most cases you cannot do that in the city, and many residential areas of the suburbs do not permit it either. There are cities and other municipalities that ration water usage by law. Each city, county and state has different laws and restrictions. Start by doing some research into where you want to build your homestead. Get the facts; find out which regions are hurting for water, which ones suffer from contaminants and which ones are pushing for more restrictions and taxation. Here is a good start: http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2005/1279/pdf/circ1279.pdf
We have land in New Mexico. We are in a rural area and we are permitted to drill a domestic well. Our well was drilled to a depth of 320’ to secure a consistent supply of fresh water from the aquifer. In NM you can service one acre from a domestic well. That should be enough to grow enough crops and tend a few animals, and if you are inclines, have some productive landscaping. From the enclosed photo, where the stand pipe from the capped off well can be seen, it may not look like a great place to start a homestead, but basic concepts such as hugelkultur, constructions of swales to capture rain water and use of a cistern to collect runoff will turn this into a lush environment within a few years. You can also purchase additional water rights. The cost can be a little as $1,500 per acre up to several thousand depending on quality of water right and source.
We also purchased some land in Colorado. The land has a small year-round stream and we are waiting for our well to be drilled. With any luck it will be complete before the end of January, weather permitting.. We were told it should be between 100’ and 180’ to get consistent, good water. CO requires that you have at least 35 acres before you can drill a well for domestic use. That explains why most parcels of land are at least 35 acres. That is one of Colorado’s measures to restrict water use and keep the aquifers replenished. Each state and regions uses different measures. NM had at one time threatened to put a water meter on every private well. That measure has not passed, but depending on future usage and shortages that could change also.
Wherever you decide to homestead, I urge you to secure a suitable supply of water; one that is controlled by you, with only the minimum of restrictions imposed by others.
The first place to begin is the web. Most every locale has an official government web site which should contain most of the information you need to start your planning. For this article, I selected a town in Arizona, far away from where we are building to use as an example. I selected Yuma, Arizona. I simply entered the following search and started to explore; “Residential building permit Yuma, AZ”. The first hit took me directly to the government site which answered the basic questions for obtaining a residential building permit. I focused my search on information on the page relating to a permit for an Owner/Builder. After a bit of reading on the first page I found the following:
“For more information about building permits and fees, contact the City of Yuma Department of Community Development.”
A few additional clicks looking for Yuma Department of Community Development I was at the Building Safety Division, where several more questions were answered regarding required documentation, fees, and time required for obtaining a building permit. Within a few more minutes I found this quote,
“The department recommends that an Arizona licensed contractor be hired to coordinate all phases and types of construction for your project; in fact, most commercial construction requires a contractor.”
This led me to believe I could act as an owner builder, although it was not 100% clear. A quick call to the Community Development Office (928-373-5175) will confirm I was correct.
Establish a working relationship with the Clerks
The first call to the city or county offices is where you establish your first relationship with the workers. I always ask for a complete name and phone number so I can readily speak with the same person each time. In big city offices, this is not always possible, but it does save both parties a lot of time explaining who you are and what you are trying to do each and every time you call. After a few short conversations over the course of a few days you get to know your government contact and it will become easier each time to get your answers. I always collect several questions and call fewer times rather than calling several times with every single question. After a while you will be on a first name basis and get nearly all of your questions answered. A few general rules are:
Treat them in the same manner as you want to be treated. Don’t treat them like drones. You might be the 24th caller of the day asking the same, seemingly stupid, question.
Always be respectful and patient. You’ll get more with a kind word than a sharp condescending tongue. You reap what you sow.
Write everything down so you can remember the answers to questions. I sometimes find myself asking the same question twice because I could not remember the answer from the call 2 weeks ago.
Conduct the basic research before you call. You can many times get the answer you need by going to the city/county site for information. Don’t forget to look for the state building codes. Most of your answers about what is required are in the state codes. It will save you several phone calls.
Always remember, the person you peeve off may be the person performing your building inspection. You don’t have to bow and grovel, just treat them kindly.
Get most of the documentation right the first time
You will be required to submit what seems like a mountain of documentation. Make sure you have the correct forms, you have it all filled out correctly, and your details are legible and conform to the state codes. The more work you do up front, the easier it will be to get your permit. In doing so you will begin to build rapport with your city contact and they will probably be the person doing your inspection.
Again, I found a wealth of information on the web. I was able to copy and paste specifications, drawings, sectional drawings and reproduce much of what I needed from things I found on the web as shown below in the foundation sectional diagram.
The use of a computer floor plan program will be a big help as well. I found the Punch! Program to be very useful. I was able to submit about 80% of what the city needed directly from my home computer. None of my drawings were ¼” = 1’. I simply used the “print to fit page” function, made sure the detail was legible, and made annotated notes in the margins using the text mode of the program. I was surprised how easy the process really was.
Framing details from Punch! Software program
Be humble
Most of the folks in the government offices have been doing their work for many years and they are true professionals. In some cases they have over 25 years of experience. Yes, there are the consummate drones working in the office, but that is not the rule. Most know their work very well and have much of the information about codes, requirements, zoning and variances memorized. They will invariably make mistakes, so don’t stick it in their face. When I found discrepancies between what I was told and what was on the site I humbly directed a question to the person with whom I had established a relationship and asked for clarification. It worked every time. I did not care who was right, and I was not concerned about telling the clerk, “I told you so!” I simply wanted my documentation to be correct so I could start the construction project. In my case, the person with whom I worked answered every question I had. I did all of this over the phone while living in a different state 1300 miles from the construction project.
After all my preparations were complete, my father-in-law submitted my plans on my behalf. I was not even there. They were approved within 2 days without question. The foundation and plumbing inspector showed up at the site on separate visits and spent a total of 3 minutes on site. They knew me by name, they had high confidence based on the documentation I had submitted, and there was a greater level of trust based on the work I had done before I even called the office.
A short time after I had submitted my documentation, I got a phone call asking if I wanted to be on the city planning and zoning committee. I ascribe the reason they asked me to be on the board to the fact that I established a good working relationship with the clerks, I got most of my documentation right the first time, and I acted out of humility.
We have thirty-five acres in southern Colorado, which we bought a couple of years ago. Some of the photos we have posted here on the site are from that land. It is absolutely beautiful and is where we plan to spend free time once we have finished building the homestead in southeastern NM. 
