AMEN! Been there, dun that, Nowadays, there's a lot of paper work, EPA, Soil Conservation, FSA, State Water permits, etc. I have 29 wells on my plantation, most were drilled before all the regs came in. Also costs have gone out of site. I'd say you have to spend around $20K to get 700 GPM, plus the added costs of fuel.
I put in several little 8 inch wells, 130 feet, plastic, with 6 inch 10 hp electric submersible pumps, 600 GPM, and they ran about $10 K each. They would pump up 80 acres of rice slowly. But weren't capable of watering beans or corn. And that was 20 years ago.
Plus, the ducks are smarter than we are sometimes. He's right about the clear water. Clear or black plastic is cheaper, LOL