Ideas with a spring.

I live on an ex-dairy farm that is just rented out to grow corn. On the property is an old spring house. Looks like it was modified once to pump water over to the barn. Previous occupant was a horse person and kept horses in the barn. Electric is no longer there. I only use it when I have over stock items I want to keep cool and lay items in the trough. Any ideas on what to do with this? There is a building housing it, but I believe painted with lead paint since it is from the 50's. I know it could be cleaned, for sure.

My question is, what would you do with it now? And, what could it be used for in a situation where electricity may not be an option?

Here are a few pics.





I'll tell you what, it cools a jug of hot brewed tea in 15 minutes.



Thankyou for your help.

Personally I would use it to keep things cool.

Hey Moody,

Check out Engineer777 over on youtube. He's a prepper with an engineering degree who develops springs, wells and things.
He has all kinds of ideas for this type of thing.

Hope this helps,

If the water flows under its own pressure, it would be worth repairing the structure. Clean, fresh is invaluable during an emergency. If it flows, it would be handy for livestock and irrigation during non-emergency.
If it does not flow under its own pressure, can a hand operated pump be installed?

What is the temperature of the water as it comes out of the well?
I've done some number crunching on using irrigation water to cool a structure. If the water is flowing, run it through a radiator or a waterfall setup (swamp cooler), put a fan behind it, cool a room or a structure, the water then moves on to irrigate crops. The biggest energy draw is pumping the water needed to cool a space. Free flowing water only needs a small fan to cool a space.

How about use the water for raising fish in tanks? The flow would maintain cleanliness in the tank. The dirty water moving out of the tank would do an even better job of irrigating crops.

The stemwall and slab of the building look pretty good. The wood structure looks aged but straight. Anything wrong with the structure that cant be seen in these pics?

Thank for the input everyone.

Ken, The fish idea is interesting. I believe the water is in the 50's, I will have to check again. It is free flowing. I could see tanks below the house. I imagine it would have to be a cold tolerant fish.

The building could use a new roof and a paint job.