Good call....windmill pump and water tower....water tower gives you water storage and pressure to your pipes when everything goes down.....
Being inland near the Blue Ridge in NC, we never had windmills, what wind we get is seasonal and not all that reliable, but we did have spring chases which were gravity fed, providing at least some water pressure. Good water, too. But, down on the NC coast, particularly the OBX, windmills were once quite common to the point that it had to look somewhat like Holland approaching from sea. So, I’m familiar and admire them, despite not having any actual experience with them. I’m learning, though. Looking at portable wind generators for RV use. Some pretty good ones out there.
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.