Deserts make the best walls. Petra, Babylon and Samaria were possible because they were isolated by the surrounding desert. Their foes faced significant logistical obstacles to attack them.
Regulator just needs to put in a well and a solar system to run the pump. A hand pump might even work. Imo anything visible from a ways off advertises “water here”. When resources are scarce no one wants to burn fuel and water to check what looks like a dry hole from afar.
Depending upon where I am, I might not even need a well, just a decent water purification filter. Some locales don’t even need that. But, I spend some time where there is reliable wind and so windmills interest me. So does solar. Mobility, autonomy, a lifeboat if I and my family ever need it, and we just might someday. An RV.