A steady and dependable daily water supply is certainly an important survival issue. These are some videos that I found online that detail the construction of a shallow or deep water well and the construction of a functional handpump.

Clearly you will have to invest quite a bit of time and effort into these projects, but they are long term setups, are relatively simple, relatively cheap, and above all very do-able.

Surf around on their 'channel' for a bit and see if there is something that may 'wet your fancy' :-)


http://vimeo.com/channels/emas

EMAS is also a whole technical and social concept of water and sanitation which includes manual drilling, rain water harvesting, solar water heaters, wind power, hydraulic rams, water treatment, small tanks and sinks, a variety of hand and foot pumps, and ferrocement water storage tanks.

The sludge drilling method is very interesting! Sure, you need the right type of soil to be able to do that, still impressive.
http://vimeo.com/channels/emas/8357733


Hand pump - http://vimeo.com/channels/emas/8365884