Infrastructure

The pump house

Before we could do anything else, we needed a road to access the spot we identified as the best house site. We put in mile long road the following summer and except for one spot, it has held up through some extremely wet winters. After the road, we put in water and power. I designed the water system with advice from the local fire chief and a local electrician. We now have 6000 gallons stored high on the property and a 2" line running all the way down to the main road. There are 5 fire hydrants each which deliver 80-100 psi which is more than enough for fire fighting. The power system takes a standard 200 amp feed from the local utility, steps it up to 2400 volts, and transmits it underground up to the well site. From there it branches down to the house site.

There is no DSL or cable available in the valley so satellite internet and TV is required. Satellite internet is rapidly changing and 1 mbit/sec is currently available for download. This is marginal but workable.