I Won a Small Battle in the War for Desert Water 

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Guys, when I say be really careful with that well head and cover plate, I mean it. If you drop that while your fingers are over the pipe, it will slice your hand or fingers clean off. I saw that happen to a guy in the oil fields. He had rested his hand over the pipe, and the rig operator started down and just cleanly cut his thumb off. Those heavy equipment pinch points are NO JOKE.

it will be interesting to see if the irrigation will prove the concept and get some biomass growing to hold future rain water. Next will be finding a way to keep the cattle from just coming into the area and eat it all again.

Yay, you’ve got water. Hopefully the first monsoon rain isn’t a gully washer. I’m excited to see the baby sprouts.

Congrats on getting even a non-potable water source on the ranch Shaun. Giving people a ground-eye view of how costly and difficult it is to terraform a section of land, and how experimental the whole process is will forever be a service to the future. I wish that the working knowledge that went into the swales and berms that greened parts of the Sonoran desert during the work programs of the 1930 wasn't lost. I'm sure you don't want to reshape the geography of your ranch using only hand tools like they did, but it would be nice if someone had access to a list of all the work performed so that we could evaluate which subprojects succeeded 90 years on. I know that some of them did. There are microvalleys with eight inches of topsoil in the middle of the desert, but I wish we knew what the failures looked like when they were dug.

I highly recommend getting the water from these wells tested for metals, oil & grease (HEM), semivolatile organics (BNA), and volatile organics (VOA) before you begin applying it to your plants. The crayon odor leads me to suspect that there could be petrochemical contamination of some sort. BNA and VOA analysis will determine concentrations of the most common organic contaminants, including solvents. HEM (hexane extractable materials) testing will let you have a general idea of how much organic contamination is present, but it won't identify which compounds are in the mix. A full battery of metals analysis will let you know if any toxic metals are present and in what quantities. In your setting, the metals results are primarily a reflection of the geology rather than contamination from point sources. At the very least, I would request analysis for cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, zinc, arsenic, antimony, and mercury. Hopefully, they would all be non detectable , but if not, you'd at least have some data to use for deciding whether the quality of that water is adequate for your intended uses.

Buy 2 large pipe wrenches, they grip the pipe, to stop it slipping, using the jack or a person on each wrench lifting then stepping under wrench after wrench.

I'd be very interested to learn about the water quality if you do get it tested. And if any rains start, I'm eager to see what the various dams and divets across the property look like! Final idea/request: maybe set up a tripod near the seeded area where you can take regular pictures of any sprouting for a timelapse idea? I'm just very eager to see some green - but of course patience will be key with this project.

Congratulations on getting water to your property. Now your dream has a chance to come to fruition. Spot ON!

Hope your pump works man! Adding some biomass to your property will only result in more water retained each rainfall.

Just use a pipe wrench to lift the pump. Two pipe wrenches one to lift then put the next one on and lift again. The wrench will also hold against the casing to prevent the pump from sliding back down.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how well your water retention and capture works during the rainy season. I really think that is where you are going to get the most, bang for the buck on your project.

Two 24" pipe wrenches is all you need to pull pipe.

I can't wait for the progress on the crayon well water. Especially how the mesquite tree holds up to it.

I appreciate your stamina and project. I wish you incredible success. I have seen such projects around the world that have been successful. As you demonstrate it's not easy. Be Strong.

I’m happy with the format the videos are published. Love seeing the updates, no complaints.

You're doing amazing work! 🥰

Nice dude. Now we’re talking, your in business! We used to have well pulling parties with some permaculture group I was a part of on one of my chihuahua desert properties that I was trying to build forest on. Pretty nice to have enough people to just walk them out. My well was 1100 feet there so we couldn’t do that though lol. Listen brother you are right in the money with the bio char- now that you have water ducks are an incredible resource for fertilizer. I don’t know if you have people there full time but on the property I own now in NM my treed acreage and food forest is so successful this time because of bio char and massive amounts of deer and elk hair ( I tan 200 hides a year) all charged with duck poop and different compost teas. Bio char, burying deer hair and cottonwoods, worm castings, epsom salts, and duck poop are what I’ve really narrowed my focus on. Now we have a huge cottonwood forest down low and nice emery oaks, locusts, walnut, and different juniper up higher. And we farm about 3 acres of food. Still working on establishing more resilient perennial pasture for my sheep. I think your place could really benefit from picking the right spot maybe where there’s sign of historic cottonwoods or mesquite bousques and putting in a series of consecutive one rock dams to stop headcuts and spread ground water where rains gather and start profusely throwing down biochar charged with compost tea and loads of wood chips. I made the mistake of doing this in chihuahua desert style land I worked on once without tilling. After 3 years I had 2 feet of chips and decent soil for a patch of jujubes but the native soil was still like a rock. I think land like yours really needs to be tilled just once before loading down with wood chips and layering amendments. If you can retain water and get down enough nutrient dense biomass and you have a well now I would start planting trees. One thing that is crucial in compacted chihuahua desert soil when planting actual trees is using gypsum. Gypsum will over time continue to loosed soil so that root systems can penetrate. If it were me I would choose Arizona ash. Of maybe 30 different species what did the best on my low desert permaculture projects were as ash and jujubes bushes. Congrats on the well man that really changes the whole scenario here. You have a real chance at getting a real desert forest.

You guys worked like mad men through that heat and it paid off big time. The knot game was on fire and congrats on all that water. Can't wait to see what this does to the terraces.

The easiest way to pull up the pipe and hold it is to put, what looks like a large pull tab off a drink can, and when you lift up the pipe,it slides down and when you start to release the pipe, it leverages the pipe itself from falling

Just last night I was reading through my Ashley Book of Knots and the section on various pulley set ups once common and now almost forgotten. Very nice to see the Prussic getting a little love!

Sean, you're allowing your lack of practical experience to transform from being merely ineffective, to being a danger to yourself and others.

Slow pumping water out prevents the bore collapsing and a return back down the well helps ( forking runing out of water in the hole ) animals that fall down the shafts can make the water a little bit smelly a bit of pumping will Fix it a tank left nexto the well will help capture more water slowly

So excited for you. Looking forward to next video. Great work Dustups team.

Seeing your progress and just your skill set grow has been amazing to see!

Drip irrigation is probably the dumbest thing. You probably could’ve done out there. Flood irrigation is what you need. You’re gonna drip the water in the top 4 inches of soil and it’s gonna evaporate in the sun, and the plants are going to grow their roots around where the water is coming out and they’re not gonna send their roots down where it’s cool and moist 24 seven.

Great work, keep it up! I hope this project works. You're freaking me out wearing sandals and working with this heavy equipment though. 😰

Watching you start pulling the metal pipe by hand had me convinced that someone was going to get hurt. Fooled me! Glad you are both ok.

This episode should be called "watch all the things I am willing to do to avoid going into town to get the appropriate equipment I need" lol

These many obstacles are frustrating, but you have amazing help and everything you need to succeed, it's just a matter of time!

The progress should be measured in: 1. Catchment amount of water in gallons / cubic meters 2. Retention of the caught water. Spending thousands $$ and weeks trying to establish a few plants at this stage makes little difference and is likely a waste of money and effort. How many cubic meters / gallons of water your current structures (dams, leaky weirs, ponds, holes) can catch?

you guys are amazing I only wish there were more people like you in the world ! i'm binge watching you

Success! I’m working with a much smaller scale area to be watered. I’ve still got a problem with attaching the water to the piping. Only saving grace is that the rain has been constant!

Very exciting so glad you hit plentiful water. Looking forward to hearing about the water's quality🤓.

Congratulations on another great milestone!

Maybe use the discarded pipe lengths to build a basic tripod over the well with a pulley at the top, Attach some steel rope to the pump so you can use a winch to lift it out when you need too.

"... and then they get cut off the water and have to make it on their own". This is very much like what happened at the Al Baydha Project. Would truly appreciate if you could talk a bit about how you see that project in comparison to Dustups! Excited to see your progress. Thanks for keeping us in the loop :)

Can't wait to start seeing the progress. It's been a long journey. I've been watching since your 1st video

I really felt for you guys hauling that pipe out of the well, it's for this reason we use pipe wenches to 'dog the rod' as it's brought up (and reposition the cinch ring to pull up mor e pipe .. dog it with the pipe wrench, rinse repeat)

Thats an excellent win. Hopfully the waters not too contaminated or worse, toxic.

Keep 'em coming, we are rooting for ya!

Can’t wait for the next video to see if we got any rain from the tropical storm

"What's that in real measure?" That one got me :D. We ask the same when read the information in gallons.

To cool a greenhouse of 40x20 feet with 16-foot ceilings in a hot environment like the Texas desert using a geothermal air conditioning system, you need to calculate the cooling load and design a ground loop system that can handle it. Here’s a step-by-step outline to estimate the pipe length and diameter: 1. Calculate the Cooling Load First, determine the cooling load of the greenhouse. This calculation considers factors like the size of the greenhouse, the temperature difference, insulation, and solar gain. For simplicity, we'll use a rough estimation method. Volume of the Greenhouse: 40 ft×20 ft×16 ft=12,800 cubic feet 40 ft×20 ft×16 ft=12,800 cubic feet Cooling Load Estimate: A rough estimate for a greenhouse is around 30-60 BTU per square foot per hour. Given the high temperatures in the Texas desert, we can use 60 BTU. 40 ft×20 ft=800 square feet 40 ft×20 ft=800 square feet 800 square feet×60 BTU=48,000 BTU per hour 800 square feet×60 BTU=48,000 BTU per hour 2. Determine the Ground Loop Size The efficiency of geothermal systems is measured in tons, where 1 ton = 12,000 BTU/hour. For a 48,000 BTU/hour load: 48,000BTU/hour 12,000 BTU/hour/ton=4 tons12,000 BTU/hour/ton48,000 BTU/hour​ =4 tons 3. Pipe Length and Diameter Pipe Diameter: The most common pipe diameter used in residential and small commercial geothermal systems is ¾ inch or 1 inch. For a 4-ton system, ¾ inch or 1 inch HDPE (high-density polyethylene) pipe is typically used. Pipe Length: The required length of pipe depends on the thermal conductivity of the soil and the efficiency of the system. For a rough estimate: Horizontal Loops: Typically require 400-600 feet of pipe per ton of cooling capacity. Vertical Loops: Typically require 150-200 feet of borehole per ton of cooling capacity. For a 4-ton system: Horizontal Loop Calculation: 4 tons×500 feet/ton=2,000 feet of pipe 4 tons×500 feet/ton=2,000 feet of pipe Vertical Loop Calculation: 4 tons×175 feet/ton=700 feet of borehole 4 tons×175 feet/ton=700 feet of borehole Loop Configuration: Horizontal Loop: If space allows, you can lay out 2,000 feet of pipe in trenches. Typically, trenches are 4-6 feet deep, and the pipe is laid out in a "slinky" or "coiled" pattern to fit more pipe in a smaller area. Vertical Loop: Requires drilling multiple boreholes. For example, 4 boreholes at 175 feet each. Summary For a 40x20 feet greenhouse with 16-foot ceilings in the Texas desert, you need: Cooling Load: Approximately 48,000 BTU/hour or 4 tons. Pipe Diameter: ¾ inch or 1 inch HDPE pipe. Pipe Length: Horizontal Loop: Approximately 2,000 feet of pipe. Vertical Loop: Approximately 700 feet of borehole (e.g., 4 boreholes at 175 feet each). Final Considerations Soil Conditions: The actual pipe length can vary based on soil thermal conductivity. Better conductivity means less pipe length. Professional Design: Consult with a geothermal system designer or contractor for precise calculations and system design tailored to your specific site conditions and greenhouse requirements. These estimates provide a general guideline. A detailed site assessment and professional design will ensure the system is correctly sized and installed for optimal performance.

following you from the start, youre a great insparator ! greetz from the very wet netherlands, europe.

Several people suggested two pipe wrenches for lifting the well pipe. I’ve done this exact thing before and used two big ViseGrip pliers. Worked great. I could do it all by myself and I’m not that strong. I just lifted a foot or so and put on the Vise Grip. Easy. Good luck!

This could be a real post-modern preper handbook case study it's gonna work

Hey Shaun, in case you're gonna need better quality water out of those wells, I have some experience with "restarting" old wells full of sediment - you shouldn't use submersible pumps to do that, because it may damage the rotors and other components, you should either use a more durable external waste water pump, if it has enough power to lift from that depth, or the fastest method - you stick two poly pipes down the bottom of the well, you use one to pump large volumes of compressed air down the bottom to disrupt the sediment, which then flows out the other pipe, which you keep doing until the water runs clean. You need a powerful high volume air compressor to do that, but since these "air lift" methods were pioneered in the US, I'm sure there's some available, the only issue remains towing it to the location. If your analyses show any sort of bacterial contamination, use hydrogen peroxide to disinfect it, it's relatively cheap and neutralizes quickly.

If the water turns out to be too contaminated, you could always build a passive, solar distiller setup out there!

You should look into the programme in Chile where they use net to collect condensation to then use as drip irrigation. I think that's the best investment to make, also those wild cattle roaming about would help you immensely.

Well, that was exciting, I’m pumped…

I really admire everything you’re doing (and all your team) I love your tenacity & enthusiasm 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼😃

Keep at it lads, you're doing great. This is so much slower than people think it would be. Please bring back the Dustups theme music, not mad about the death metal instrumentals during speed scenes. 👍👍

Awesome guys! Look forward to each new video, thanks for taking us along!!

When pulling pipe like that all you need is two 24" pipe wrenches.

Awesome!! Terrific, water is life!

Quite likely the more you pump the wells, within their inflow limits, the water quality and clarity may or should improve. You are likely pumping the fines and whatnot out of the well casing at the height of and below the current pump location.

Very cool!! Quick question, Do you have a filter between the 1000l totes & the dripper valves? If not, you may get blockages &/or sediment build up. It will need to be placed before the pump & easily serviceable. Can i offer my opinion on greening your desert, Never under estimate the power found in dead wood. As logs & branches, it helps to support swales & sediment traps. It slows down water flow, it absorbs moisture creating cool spots where insect life & ultimately it rots, feeding the mycelium that plants require to grow. Get the wood chip down, heaps of it & watch the magic happen

Congratulations on getting the well water running!!! Let's get the terrace growing!

Great progress and exciting news!

I happen to be a world expert in the specific thing you’re doing at any given moment and I’ve materialized to tell you that you’ve done at wrong after you’ve already done it

Nice job getting that well up and running. When the monsoons do come, you might want to capture as much of it as you can to supplement. Any rain in areas you haven't terraced will just wash over the desert without soaking in, so you're better off placing it strategically. Literally a large tarp funnelling downhill into those containers would be all that's needed.

Enjoying these videos, thanks Shaun. It's quite a lot quicker to cut metal with a Sawzall and metal blade rather than a grinder. Safer too. I learned this watching plumbers working on steel pipework. Once the blade gets a bite on the pipe it goes through like butter.

I have a good feeling this time it will work according to the plan :)

18:06 Just saying buy a ultralight plane for your property. You could park outside of your property save wear and tear on your truck. Mind that I don't mean the whole family just you when you need to drive into town 10 minutes in an ultra light would be way better then a 4 hour truck drive or whatever you drive Everytime you want too. Hope you checked the wire connectors before running it into the second well. A little late but wanted to mention it

Let me first say that I believe you can and will do this. The only thing I saw/heard that was worrisome could undermine the entire project. That was only watering the trees for a year. Let me explain that it takes years for trees to develop decent root systems in normal environments, much less in that desert. Think about doing this instead with that in mind. Maybe water them 20% less in the second year and another 20% less the third year, etc. I know that is your pilot program, but stop thinking things will be linear. They won’t be. However, once you get the trees large enough to creat shade, that will create a natural mulch effect which will make everything else you are trying to do easier.

This may be obvious, but why are you not using the wellhead tower to mount your winch or tackle to raise and lower the pump and pipe" A bar with 6" pulley laid across the tower upper end, rope over the top and shackled to your truck tow hitch, and drive away to raise the pump. This method would work for well no.2 also if you had a pair of shear legs there. These are made using 2"/50mm galv pipe pivoted at the top with the pulley on a shackle under the head.

You are right not to spend allot of money digging a well. Do you have a pond liner for when it rains?

I have been following the project for several months now. That was a very exciting episode. Im looking forward to the next ones.

Happy to see that the second well is producing.

Use two pipe wrenches, get a grab of the pipe and lift then move one wrench below again to secure it and then the other then lift again. Just keep repeating the process. Sometimes you will need the big wrench to have a better grip. We do this in the Philippines all the time when they make wells.

Many suggestions, water containers placed just below crest allows for easy off loading from containers on trailer. Multiple storage containers plumbed into the lune ups pressure. 2 pipe wrenches can be used to create lifting handles. 2 water storage containers up off the ground at the well head can be used to gravity feed into containers if power is not available. A bale of straw buried half way in the bottom of the bathtub gives a sump while creating habitat for small animals that will help with biodiversity. Many more suggestions available. Part of my career was in environmental engineering and remediation.

That metal pipe is damn heavy. We had a well company dig one for us. They had to pull the pipe up to reinstall a new hand pump and used a crane on the back of the truck to pull it up (18 metres), so good job with the limited tools you have. Goodyou have a full time employee now to get the project moving quicker. And that is some really great work you have done here.

What a great journey. I've been watching your videos for a while, and every little step is a great achievement! The viewers can feel it as well, my man! Cheers.

I used to work on well pumps and servicing problem wells. We would often use a 200 CFM air compressor to blow down a poly pipe to agitate the water and try to clean out the well screen. We could crank up the air volume and blow the water and accumulated sediment out of the well. The thing is it’s a touchy job and you can easily damage the well too. The geology of different areas requires different approaches. Maybe you will find a local well guy that could give you some suggestions. Definitely have the water tested but the more you pump it the better it may get. If it once tested good I’d be optimistic about it coming back to its previous quality with time and effort. Good luck out there !

I’d definitely suggest looking into Nigeria/china’s green wall project. Seems like a way to get more water with less input on your end!

If you do irrigation you allway have to look out for Salds building up in the top soil due to evaporation . You have to wash the salt away from time to time. Also you need something to catsh nutients ( charecoal) in your soil mix outher wise you are just going to wash them out. DeinStamm

What ya do top pull a steel pipe string. First, each section of pipe will be a 20 footer, connected by a coupling,, threaded,, fairly conventional. They DO make gripper teeth to hold the pipe in place as you lift it. but if you don't have that use two large pipe wrenches The modern pipe wrenches are steel jawed but aluminum of magnesium handles/ I use to do it with all steel pipe wrenches but that adds another 20 pounds to the lift. The jaws should be opened just a touch more than what is correct for tightening or loosening a threaded connection. Walk the pipe up. Lift with one, transfer to other to lower down. Lift with that one and and again repeat.. when the coupling clears the casing head take two pipe wrenches and un screw it. You HAVE been cutting the tape free as the cable comes up. Repeat. One hundred feet down,, 5 sections of pipe. Completely remove, do not reuse. Go to poly on the new install. Been there, Done that. many times with wells as deep as 200 feet. Strong back and weak mind. I have pulled by hand and installed by hand. It can be done. Two cautions Do NOT drop the string. DO not ! Second. a 20 foot section of 1 inch pipe,, or 1.25 inch pipe is heavy. (Yeah, right.) To unthread it for removal,, or to thread it back in for installation you MUST hold it absolutely stone vertical above the coupling. It ain't easy. a 20 foot length of 1" is about 35 pounds, a 20 foot length of 1.25 is 45 to 50 pounds.. You are supporting the weight of the pipe entirely as well as holding it absolutely vertical at the same time. When you have finished your new install,All new pump, check valve, cable, connectors, poly pipe tape etc pour in a half gallon of bleach to kill the bacteria,, and run the pump until there is no longer a chlorine smell.

Love that agile approach. POC first.

Looking forward to seeing your plants grow.

In deserts, rain water often evaporates before seeping deep enough to establish an underground water table. If rain water can be collected at a small area and prevent evaporation, establishing an underground water table can be achieved. Without a decent amount of water undeground and near surface, a forest building would be difficult.

Good job on the wells. However, taking water from the ground is not success. Adding water to the ground is. Continue the little berms, gabions, check dams, b.d.a.s, bathtubs, swales, etc... Catch and slow as much as you can. Hold water where the plants can get to it. And eventually the water you slow down will make it's way down to where the wells are and it'll help them too. I'm glad I don't have smellavision. I grew up out in the country with well water (the good, the bad and the ugly).

Man, I love this story. I really wish the best for you guys. Would love to see this succeed.

Great news my old mate. I that a thoughty (Ouch!) could you use the left over metal work at the new well to build a new frame to support the pump and fittings. Cheers

With that blow torch, maybe you could disassemble that broken down windmill at the well site, and use it as a derrick in the future, or as a windmill on your ranch.

If the water isn't to bad or was just from that old well fill and the new is clearer this sounds great! With this much more water you'll be able to do much more :D

Possibilities Abound. We only need to apprehend them. Keep Going!

i am not in he impossible camp, but i read an article by Neal Spackan of the Al Beyda project where he essentially said that extending an edge is a lot easier than popping an oasis up out of nowhere, so you bringing in water and organic matter is essentially you extending the edge, and the acreage you're working on will help your porject become more self sustaining once it hits that level

Try planting a hearty variety of bamboo that doesn’t need very regular watering. Also a massive rain water collection system would be of benefit for when the rainy season comes

looking forward to the water test results

All progress is great progress on a project of this magnitude. Small experiment, perhaps pick a spot where you have greenery. Use a yard stick etc to markout a circle, draw back the soil to make a shallow cone. Using an auger put a hole on the centre depended on the auger length and pack with chipped wood straw etc. When the rain comes hopefully you can get water under the surface and retained in the ground. Would be interesting to compare to an adjacent spot untouched. 🙏❤️

Your debugging and problem solving skills is what gives you an advantage on this journey.

I wonder if its worth it to get someone to assess the well that 's close on your property to see if it can be dug down deeper. Good luck

risk management? pulling the pipe without proper tools, vises, etc was very dangerous, if the pipe dropped, alot of trouble. a windmill was there, i'd get another one to pump the water

Love the series can't wait for more videos to binge on

Is it perhaps interesting to set up a water harvester somewhere for the rainy season? These could also provide shade for plants. If these are on higher ground you could also save the electricity for the pumps

That's great that well #1 seems to be performing. Just a heads up, well #2 is 380' deep, the water level measured in 1973 was 163.65' and has decreased since then. I would suggest checking the salt quality in that water - especially if it smells funky. Most of the groundwater in the Bolson aquifer has (depending on where you are in the Bolson aquifer) become more saline and brackish with arsenic, chloride, fluoride, iron, manganese, sulfate, and other total dissolved solids. Not if that would affect your planting as I'm more of a rock and water guy.

In Climbing with top rope (same concept as your setup) you can belay someone who is twice as heavy as you. So the friction alone from the carabiner is enough to 1/2 your force! And of cause you first have to overcome the static friction to get it moving, all in all odds are stacked against you to lift the pump easily like that.

Love Connecteam!

Love the safety boots