California Drought and Small Farm Living

It's another non-winter here at the ranch.  Could not ask for more beautiful weather except that we are asking for wet, cold, snowy weather.  We are asking for a lot of it.  The reservoirs are so low one can hardly refer to them as "lakes" anymore.  Rivers are mere trickles.  The state that provides for much of America's produce is looking pretty sad. 

We are on a well.  This comes with it's own joys as well as challenges especially when you have livestock counting on you for their well being.  First off we have a 3000 gal holding tank.  This gives us a little breathing room in the event of a pump problem.  I am surprised how many other well owners did not include this in their irrigation/plumbing plans.  It was something we had to add years after purchasing our property.  Not that the previous owner didn't have a tank it just wasn't closed.  Not something you would want to drink from for sure. 

What we learned from last years drought conditions was that our well was not recovering as quickly as it does when we have regular winters.  This prompted the addition of a well pump timer.  This means that instead of the tank always filling when the float is at a certain level it only fills for a set amount of time during a set time of the day.  This has saved the pump from working to hard or worse, working dry. 

This means that just like the rest of the state we aren't mindlessly using water.  Anything that needs water is on a timer and/or a drip system.  Public water is not an option for us where we live.  We have never been mindless about our water supply, pumps are expensive and and we still pay for the electricity to run the pump but these last few years have certainly forced us into more restrictions. 

So as I watch the alpacas sun themselves on this beautiful March day I am also doing my garden dreaming.  This years irrigation will be very different from years past.  My son has already tilled the soil with new alpaca manure and we will establish a drip system for each row, keeping water low to the ground to prevent excess evaporation as well as being able to adjust for the water needs of each different crop. 

While we work hard to make use of what we have there is an undercurrent of fear as the drought continues.  If the water source that feeds our well drys up, what next?