Off-Grid Water
Wells, rain, cisterns, filters — brands and indicative budgets
Live 24-hour cutaway (24 h = 48 s) — sky, soil and bedrock in one slice: follow every litre from cloud and aquifer to the tap.
Land without water is scenery. The garden wilts in a week, the animals in days, and every "autonomous" plan quietly ends at the nearest tap you don't own. Water autonomy means: when the municipal system fails, when the boil-water advisory comes, when the truck stops delivering — your sanctuary keeps drinking.
This catalogue provides equipment examples and starting budgets. Tables distinguish checked data sheets from references still to confirm, with a date when a price was observed. No affiliate links.
— The water layer of the LAND Fund
Getting started. Estimate your uses, then check the source, treatment and storage you need.
How Much to Be Independent?
Tick and adjust to match your life — the results separate the estimated budget and annual expenses.
Assumptions: peak day; drip ×0.5 on garden and greenhouse, heat ×1.5. These are scenario parameters, not universal requirements. The calculator retains an example reserve of 11 days and pump flow of 23 L/min. “My location and seasons” compares another reserve and annual volume. Cost is interpolated between three examples; testing, installation and unlisted maintenance need separate pricing.
How Much Water?
Compare models · How Much Water?
| Use | Daily need | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Drinking & cooking | 4–8 L / person | The non-negotiable core |
| Full domestic comfort | 60–150 L / person | Shower, dishes, laundry |
| Laundry (machine load) | 50–70 L / load | Three loads a week ≈ 25 L/day |
| Cleaning & misc | 10–20 L / household | Floors, rinsing, hand-washing |
| Chicken | 0.3–0.5 L each | A dozen hens ≈ 6 L |
| Rabbit | 0.15–0.5 L each | A hutch of eight ≈ 3 L |
| Dog & cat | 1–3 L combined | The guardians drink too |
| Goat or sheep | 4–10 L each | More in heat & lactation |
| Pig | 10–20 L each | Doubles in the heat |
| Horse or donkey | 20–40 L each | The biggest drinker in the barn |
| Dairy cow | 60–100 L each | Lactation is thirsty work |
| Vegetable garden 25 m² | 100–160 L on a July day | Drip lines cut it in half |
| Greenhouse 10 m² | 40–80 L | Misting + beds, season-long |
| Beehive | 0.2–0.5 L per hive | A shallow dish the colony shares |
| Mature fruit tree | 40–80 L / week | Deep and rare beats shallow and daily |
| Fire reserve | 1,000 L held apart | Never counted as available |
| Hot climate rule | ×1.5–2 on everything | Heat multiplies thirst — size for August, not April |
Two people, a dozen hens, two goats and the 25 m² garden: ≈ 400 L on a peak summer day. One 4,500 L cistern is eleven days of full autonomy without a drop of rain — and the well refills it in under four hours of sun.
Water Architecture
A drilled well is the honest second source for the dry weeks — a solar pump lifts it into the same cistern, and a hand pump on the same casing still works when every battery is dead. Two sources, one tank, zero monthly bill.
The Four Sources
- Depth30–90 m typical
- Yield10–50 L/min — always flow-test
- QualityQuality to establish through testing
- PowerSolar pump + hand-pump backup
- Rule1 mm on 100 m² = 100 L
- Harvest90,000 L/yr theoretical, before losses (100 m², 900 mm)
- NeedsGutters, leaf screen, first-flush
- UseUse according to testing and suitable treatment
- DeliveryGravity-fed if uphill — zero pump
- CaptureProtected spring box + overflow
- TestFlow in the driest month, not in May
- RuleFilter anyway — potable is never assumed
- ChainIntake + sediment + ceramic + UV
- LegalCheck local withdrawal rules first
- RiskFreezes in winter, drops in drought
- Best forIrrigation & fire reserve
Cisterns & Tanks
Compare models · Cisterns & Tanks
| Brand & Origin | Model / Range | Capacity | Material | Approx. price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸Norwesco St. Bonifacius, Minnesota Reference to confirm | Vertical 1550 | 5,870 L | Poly (NSF 61) | $1,150 USD |
| 🇨🇦Premier Plastics Delta, BC Reference to confirm | Below-ground cistern 1250 | 5,680 L | Poly | $1,450 USD (~C$1,980) |
| 🇨🇦Contain Water Systems Mount Forest, Ontario Reference to confirm | Corrugated steel + liner | 13,000 L and up | Steel / liner | $5,500 USD (~C$7,500) for 30,000 L |
| 🇩🇪GRAF Teningen Reference to confirm | Carat XL underground | 10,000 L | Poly | $4,300 USD (~€4,000) |
| 🇦🇺Pioneer Water Tanks Perth Reference to confirm | GT23 | 23,000 L | Zincalume + liner | $6,000 USD (~A$9,200) |
| 🇺🇸Bushman USA Temecula, California · AU roots Reference to confirm | Slimline rain tank | 2,400 L | Poly | $900 USD |
| 🇺🇸Snyder Industries Lincoln, Nebraska Reference to confirm | Vertical 2500 | 9,460 L | Poly (NSF 61) | $1,800 USD |
| 🇺🇸WaterPrepared Utah · emergency focus Reference to confirm | Stackable emergency tanks | 2× 605 L | Poly | $700 USD for the pair |
Choose a tank suited to its use and check model certification. Burial alone does not prevent freezing: local frost depth, pipes and installation matter. Light protection, screened vents and overflow away from foundations are design choices to verify on site.
Pumps
Compare models · Pumps
| Brand & Origin | Model | Flow / Lift | Type | Approx. price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇩🇰Grundfos Bjerringbro Reference to confirm | SQFlex 11 SQF-2 | Flow and head: use the model pump curve | Solar submersible · the off-grid standard | $2,400 USD (~kr 16,500) |
| 🇺🇸Franklin Electric Fort Wayne, Indiana Reference to confirm | SubDrive SolarPAK | to ~80 m class | Solar submersible kit · pump + controller | $3,000 USD |
| 🇺🇸SHURflo Costa Mesa, California Reference to confirm | 9325 | 6.4 L/min · 70 m | 24 V DC submersible · budget tier | $850 USD |
| 🇨🇳SEAFLO Xiamen Reference to confirm | 24 V DC series | ~8 L/min class | DC diaphragm / submersible · budget tier | $250 USD (~¥1,800) |
| 🇺🇸Simple Pump Gardnerville, Nevada Reference to confirm | Motorizable hand pump | by arm · 100 m static | Manual · shares the casing with the electric | $2,000 USD |
| 🇺🇸Bison Pumps Houlton, Maine Reference to confirm | Standard Deep Well | by arm · deep well | Manual · stainless, frost-proof design | $2,300 USD |
| 🇮🇹DAB Pumps Mestrino Reference to confirm | e.sybox mini³ | 5.5 bar | Pressure booster · quiet constant pressure | $1,100 USD (~€1,020) |
| 🇮🇹Pedrollo San Bonifacio Reference to confirm | JSWm 2AX | shallow source | Surface jet · lake or shallow well | $400 USD (~€370) |
The hand pump row is not optional. It is the one machine that still works after a week of clouds with a dead battery bank. Simple Pump and Bison drop into the same well casing beside the electric pump. And size the solar pump to the well's tested yield, not the catalogue maximum — over-pumping a slow well just pulls mud.
Filtration & Purification
Compare models · Filtration & Purification
| Brand & Origin | Model | Technology | Capacity | Approx. price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸Berkey United States Reference to confirm | Big Berkey | Gravity · Black element pair | 8.5 L body | $390 USD |
| 🇬🇧British Berkefeld / Doulton Stoke-on-Trent Reference to confirm | Stainless gravity system | Ceramic candles | 8.5 L body | $330 USD (~£260) |
| 🇨🇭Katadyn Kemptthal Reference to confirm | 0.2 µm ceramic · field legend | 50,000 L | $400 USD (~CHF 350) | |
| 🇺🇸Sawyer Safety Harbor, Florida Data sheet / manual · 2026-09-12 · indicative price not rechecked | Squeeze | 0.1 µm hollow fibre | Life depends on care | $40 USD |
| 🇨🇦VIQUA Guelph, Ontario Data sheet / manual · 2026-09-12 · indicative price not rechecked | D4 Premium | Whole-house UV | 34 L/min at 40 mJ/cm², 95% UVT · 50 W | $800 USD (~C$1,100) |
| 🇺🇸Aquasana Austin, Texas Reference to confirm | Rhino | Whole-house sediment + carbon | ~3.8 M L | $2,100 USD |
A gravity filter needs no electricity, but its elements need care and replacement. UV targets microbes; it does not remove chemical contaminants. Choose the treatment chain from water testing and model limits. CDC.
Three Sanctuary Sizes
- Source2× 220 L rain barrels + screens
- FilterGravity ceramic on the counter
- Drinking20 L jerry cans as buffer
- WinterDrain everything, every fall
- SourceDrilled well 45 m + SQFlex solar pump
- Storage4,500 L cistern, buried below frost
- RoofCatchment with first-flush into the same cistern
- After testingGravity ceramic in the kitchen + UV line
- BackupHand pump on the same casing
- SourceWell + 10,000 L steel tank, dual feed
- PressureDAB booster set, constant 3–5 bar
- After testingWhole-house sediment + UV
- IrrigationDrip lines off the rain tank
- ReservePond as fire + orchard buffer
Prices reflect equipment and a typical drilling job only, June 2026. US-dollar figures are shown first; for non-US manufacturers, the approximate price in the brand's home currency is shown in parentheses. The drill rig is the wild card: $30–60 USD per foot, and nobody knows the depth until the bit finds water. Budget the worst case; celebrate the surprise.
❄️ The freeze is the real design constraint. Supply lines live below the local frost line (1.2–1.8 m in the cold belt), the well head wears an insulated cap, the cistern goes underground or into heated space, and the last exposed metre gets heat tape on a thermostat. Three-season lines get drain-down valves and a fall ritual. Choose a frost-proof hand pump — the good ones drain themselves below ground between strokes.
Before you even buy the land: the neighbours' well logs, a flow test in L/min, a lab potability test and the local withdrawal rules are part of the 8-check due-diligence sweep on the LAND Buy page. And water is the layer the other three lean on — the pump takes its watts from Energy, the drip lines feed the Garden, the troughs keep the Animals alive.
💡 Know a tank, pump, or filter brand we should add? Share it on the Ideas page or mention @LOAM_token on X.
Notes and sources
Notes reviewed September 12, 2026. Links open the reference documents.
- Rainwater can contain microbes and chemical contaminants. Test and choose suitable treatment before food or drinking uses. CDC · rainwater.
- Private well: test at least annually and additionally after suspected contamination. Choose parameters with the local laboratory. CDC · wells.
- VIQUA D4 UV: replace the lamp annually per the manual; clean the sleeve as water conditions require. Budget parts and check alarms. VIQUA · maintenance.
- Certification concerns a particular model and specified reductions. A filter or tank is not a general guarantee of safe drinking water. NSF · certified models.
The city pumps water uphill with someone else's diesel and mails you the bill. Meanwhile the sky delivers it to your roof for free, and the rock under your feet has been filtering it for ten thousand years. A cistern, a ceramic filter, a hand pump — and no one can ever turn your tap off again.
Water is the blood of the sanctuary.
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