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Related to wells, in my area, if you want to learn about water, if your neighbors don't have wells, you talk to the health department person in charge of well permits, or you talk to the well drillers and surveyors. They can probably tell you with an amazing degree of accuracy what kind of challenge you will face on your property. Those folks have usually forgotten more about underground water than you will ever want to know. I live in a rural area though.
If you are in an urban area. I'd check with the public works or a geological or environmental firm to learn about where the water is. In any area that might have had industrial activity or does currently, I would check land parcels a mile or so around your location with the county register of deeds for well restrictions in your area due to groundwater contamination as well as checking with the health department before starting any well project.In areas that had industrial activity, even if that activity is long gone, the water can be nasty.
Don't forget to test the water. Remember that a standard drinking water test that health departments do for low cost does not check the water for industrial contaminants such as solvents. Testing for solvent and other chemical contamination can be done through private laboratories and is a fair bit more costly, but far better than drinking benzene. Test water quality early and often, just like Chicago voting.
Talking about USGS Maps reminded me of something.
If you are going to shelter in place, the USGS Topo maps and State/County watershed or standard maps will often show small creeks and streams that might provide water sources a lot closer than the ones you might have in mind.
I have a well, but it is at 90 feet and has a pressure tank on top of the casing that makes a hand pump not really feasible. I have planned around water storage and resupply from another location. I live within 4 miles of a lake and had always noted it as the likely water source I would use if needed. About a year ago, I had a friend tell me about a very small unnamed and unmarked stream that crossed the road I commute on. I had never noticed the stream, as it was small and really blended in, and was in a curved area of road that demands a driver's full attention. This stream was farther away from my house than the lake so it wasn't the best water source for me, but it got me looking.
Even though I have Topo maps for my immediate area. I got online to see what kind of info was available. I found the state of MI GIS Department has the USGS Topo maps available online for viewing. From the Topo maps, I found three different small streams, all of which cross roads, which are all closer than the lake I had originally identified as my water source of choice.
In the event of need, I now have cut the distance to water in half. The different sources I have found do not share common start points, so contamination of one source doesn't eliminate all of my choices.
I cross checked on Google Earth, and some of those small streams were visible, some were not.
Don't just rely on your own observations-whoever mapped the area probably spent a lot more time checking things out than you have the time to do.
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