Betsy,
Thank you for the information and I find the details of your own water setup fascinating and also reassuring.
I have looked into the red tape associated with getting a water well on the property; and, fortunately, for my sanity, it’s fairly low key in Texas. The city of El Paso is about 100 miles away from the property and the city has been trying to secure water from the rural areas throughout the river basin. The property is in the plains/scrub-land area but is good for agriculture when you add irrigation:
We will be gradually building up hugelkulturs as we acquire suitable organic materials, perhaps bales of straw/hay initially and old logs and stumps as we can haul them in. The idea being that water can be conserved by relying on the hugelkultur characteristics. I envision a gentle terraforming of sorts. {with metal roofing/simple gutters over rammed earth structures, we plan to store up rain water to bolster our water supply)
Again, thank you for your post. I am trying not to be overly giddy, but I feel like I am on the brink of a great adventure, for better or worse, it will be interesting, no doubt.
Peace,
Ray aka Kuldebar