Question CODE 1031!!!!!

If it were an artesian well in the classical sense of having a head above land surface, looking down the well while the pressure is being uncorked can be an unfortunate life decision.

Also, the water lift doesn't have much rope on it, but the rifle burst is shown going a long, long way down. With the water level already tens or hundreds of feet below their reach, the locals should have already died of thirst and dehydration long before the Federation dropped by.

Ignore the fact that if the "primitive natives" had the technology to dig that narrow a well that far down through rock, they could have cleared any blockage themselves. Before anyone whines about needing to break through "the bedrock": yes, it's possible a bedrock-hosted aquifer could be potable, and under sufficient pressure for the potentiometric head to be notably higher than the aquifers above it such that breaking through an impermeable layer (which won't stay open long without a casing) would be helpful, and that unit would just happen to have a water-bearing fracture passing directly under that spot. It's equally likely that praying to Space Alien Jesus would have done the trick.

Also, take a look at the complete lack of irrigation or any other system of water distribution. (Maybe SAJ did drill the miracle well after all) If there are any other surviving members of the race, this just became downtown Baghdad in the coming 89-year water war. Go, Team Fed!

If engineers get to complain about unrealistic depictions of their fields in science fiction, so does this geologist/hydrologist.