In a Spanish property not connected to the mains, how do I find water ?

Question from a British reader:

In Spain, is it preferable to dig a well or to make a reservoir, in areas not connected to water mains ?

It depends of the area, and I believe you mean in the south of Spain. The solution of the water is to build a reservoir with some 50,000 liters - 11,000 gallons, to collect the rain water below the plot, and to pump it upward to the house. The price of the reservoir turns around 10,000 euros - 8,500 pounds. Should a year be particularly dry (it does not happen as much as one may think, but the rain is falling mainly in autumn, when our visitors are not here to see it) you can order water carried by a lorry; I do not remember the price exactly, but a few years ago, I heard about a price turning around 6 euros per cubic meter, i.e. about 18 pounds per thousand gallons.

Digging a well is another way of solving the problem. The price of drilling turns around 35 euros - per meter i.e. 9 pounds per foot, and the depth where you can find water usually is located at about 100 to 200 metres - 330 to 660 feet, less if you are lucky. However, nobody can promise you that you will find water exactly there where you are digging.

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