Allotment water supplies

There's no water on our allotment. That is, there is no running water. As a result we all have different systems for capturing water and it is great fun to walk around looking at all the different contraptions people have set up. 

 Last year, there was no rain from March to June. This year we've had non-stop rain from March to June. Literally. There's still an official drought though as we've not recovered from several dry years.  So we have filled up every possible bucket and water container this year, but still it would be good to have more reliable water supplies.

  A group of us are investigating possible water sources including a borehole or pumping water from the river. Boreholes looked a good bet initially, but having spoken to several drilling companies, it is looking less promising. We were hoping for a hand-pump (like a pump from a French village square). Now it looks like water might be at least 30m deep which means that we'd have to have some kind of electric (solar?) pump for it - not to mention the cost. They are talking about £6-7,000! There's more work to do on this before we can apply to the council for some funding of a realistic project.

But we can't expect the council to fund it all anyway. So in parallel we have to think about whether there are enough people who are willing to contribute their (our) own money. And then, what happens about those who don't contribute - will they have access to water? There's still a lot to think about.