Systems and methods for gathering water

A method of gathering water from soil, comprising:

• inserting a plurality of conduits into soil, each conduit including a wall having an outer surface configured to be exposed to soil and an inner surface defining a central passage, wherein the wall includes a plurality of gathering pores extending through the wall, and wherein the cross-sectional area of each gathering pore decreases from a first size at the outer surface to a minimum at an intermediate position along the pore, and then increases to a second size at the inner surface larger than the minimum to promote capillary action for moving water from the soil through each gathering pore to the central passage;
• gathering water into the conduits through the plurality of gathering pores;
• transporting the gathered water through the conduits;
• and
• delivering the gathered water to a location above ground.

A conduit system for gathering water from soil, comprising:

• a plurality of conduits configured for insertion into soil, each conduit including a wall having an outer surface configured to be exposed to soil and an inner surface defining a central passage, wherein the wall includes a plurality of gathering pores extending through the wall, and wherein the cross-sectional area of each gathering pore decreases from a first size at the outer surface to a minimum at an intermediate position along the pore, and then increases to a second size at the inner surface larger than the minimum to promote capillary action for moving water from the soil through each gathering pore to the central passage;
• a means for transporting the gathered water through each conduit;
• and
• a means for automatically moving each of the conduits between a retracted position and an extended position.