The dilemma

The quota keeps the shared aquifer alive only because thousands of farmers across the basin all take the cut together. Your extra draw would be a drop against the whole basin, invisible in the totals, and the harm would land on people you will never meet. You open the basin app to check your meter. The water table is dropping faster this month than the quota should allow. The old well's pump handle is cold in your hand.

Your options

1. Leave the old well off and take the ration as it stands. If every farmer drew a hidden extra, the aquifer would be gone.
2. Turn it on tonight. One small farm's draw will never show in a whole basin's numbers.
3. Start calling the other farms tonight. The quota hits small growers hardest, so push the authority for a fairer split, and leave the old well off.