When we moved from well to city water I rerouted the well pipe around to the garage. The pipe goes up the wall just enough to clear the slab then goes through the wall. I have the hand pump set above a laundry sink that has its drain go out the same wall into a 20 foot French drain. Its not exactly up to code but unless your in my garage and see the pump and follow the line you never know its there. If your in northern Fl. Where freezing is a problem I would go under the slab far enough to get past the wall and bring it up through the slab. I ended up re plumbing mine later because my wife was not comfortable pumping it at the original height. I had to cut down the legs of the laundry sink and lower it to lower the pump.

WOW!!! When I see posts like this it really makes me appreciate living "in the country" so to speak. Other than abiding by local laws, county health department rules and regulations, and other more common sense things (some examples of what I mean here, I can't simply build a dam on the large creek/small river that runs behind my house or install an outhouse in my back yard or the garden across said creek/river) we can pretty much do as we please. I couldn't imagine having to deal with the headaches of an HOA. The downside of this is, the neighbors could put in a pig farm or junk yard if they wanted, assuming they did not violate any health codes in doing so.

All that said, a few things I am thinking of with regards to the OP.

- Will the HOA even allow you to drill the well in the first place? It sounds as if they are pretty strict.

- How do they define "yard decorations" and will they consider the pump as such? [I'm assuming they would, or you're assuming they would, otherwise you would not have posed the question]

- How difficult is the HOA to deal with on such matters?

- What are your intentions for the well? To share with neighbors and the community? It will be difficult to impossible to keep it a secret, all the well drilling equipment I have seen is fairly large, your immediate neighbors, and probably your entire street will know. If you have to get permission from the HOA chances are the entire community will know.

- Is the HOA of the mindset to be prepared for emergencies? If so, it would be much easier to convince them to allow you to do the well if your intentions are indeed to share with the community.

Hope this works out for you JI

Other things to consider....

Some 'codes' do not allow a 'dual source' or (for lack of a better term) output. For example septic.... if you go city sewer line, some places REQUIRE the septic tank to be crushed and rendered un-usable. Haven't had to deal with that personally.

Depending on the depth, you will reach different aquifers. I know of 'older' Florida homes and during a drought, the ENTIRE area 'ran dry'. All of the homes drew from the same aquifer and the water level got so low- none of the wells 'had water'. Massive number of wells 'dried up'. Some residents had deeper wells drilled to reach a deeper aquifer and ensure a better supply.

if your HOA has a problem with "yard decorations", they certainly are NOT going to allow well drilling. These people sound like they will be in your face about everything.

The types of survival techniques that are discussed here require "independent living" i.e. there is nobody else telling you what to do on a daily basis.

This might be a very good time to sell your home and buy a piece of property that meets your real needs.

LOOK AT IT THIS WAY - If the HOA denies your request for a well, what are these people going to be like in a real Crisis? Honestly, they will be a nightmare of epic proportions. Selling a home is a real hassle ... but getting the right property now could be a life saver later on.