If you are content to pump your water by hand and do without a flush-type toilet and bath or shower, then a dug well with a bucket and windlass or one with a hand pump is sufficient. On the other hand, if you are wise you will install a small power pump—the cost is quite reasonable—and a storage tank, which can be either in the top of the house or on some nearby high ground. In estimating the amount of water you’ll need figure that the average bath takes 30 gallons, one flush of a toilet 4 to 6 gallons.
Government experts estimate the consumption of water per person in 24 hours is 4 to 8 gallons if only a hand pump is provided; if one faucet is installed, domestic uses require 7 to 15 gallons per person; if the house is equipped with hot and cold water in kitchen, bath and laundry, the consumption rises to 20-25 gallons, a family average of 100 gallons every 24 hours. That’s a lot of water to carry in pails or pump by hand.
If you build your cabin in the mountains, you may not have much success digging a well because bedrock may be close beneath the surface. If you build in or near some community of vacation homes, you can find out what method others employ in the neighborhood. In the more established communities you may find a co-operative water system in existence. Many of the privately developed summer home areas are served by local utility companies.
Test Your Water Frequently
If you are lucky enough to have a spring on your property, the water will probably be good—but test it first, and test it periodically thereafter—at least once a year. Then build a tight covering for the spring to keep out dirt and wandering animals and pipe the water to your house. (See [illustration below].)
Cover your spring and fence it to keep out animals. The ditch helps prevent surface water from contaminating your house supply.
In some localities sub-surface conditions may be satisfactory for a dug well. It takes at least two men and a lot of work. One digs the earth out and the other raises it by a bucket and windlass. Such a well should be lined with concrete or vitrified pipe and should have a tight covering. The best covering is a concrete well curb and a concrete or heavy wooden lid through which the pump pipe passes. A man-hole must be built, too, to allow entry for cleaning the well occasionally. (See [Fig. 2].)
Fig. 2