Borewells and Tubewells

India being an agrarian country, our farmers depend mainly on groundwater for irrigation. With increasing population, lesser land holdings and urbanisation, deeper borewells are dug for groundwater abstraction. Borewells & tubewells, are very similar. Both are basically vertical drilled wells, bored into an underground aquifer in the earths surface, to extract water for various purposes. The difference in the two lies in the type of casing used, the depth of this casing and the type of soil where they are drilled. Casing to support the external surfaces of the borehole against collapse may be needed at certain depths, and usually is made up of PVC pipes. Electrical pumps are usually used to pump out the water fro the borewells, though the government is now giving subsidy for solar pumps. This convenience of pumps may increase the depletion of the groundwater at an increased pace.

Our FAQ on borewells, deals in detail with topics ranging from the initial planning, selection of site to final commissioning, maintenance of the structure and problems associated with existing borewells,. Another Frequently asked questions (FAQ) on Groundwater - Understanding the basics, narrows down the existing knowledge gaps amongst the common groundwater users.

Excessive drilling of borewells has led to exploitation of groundwater at higher rates than the rate of water recharge and caused depletion of the groundwater levels. To monitor this many states like Karnataka & Kerala have come up with laws & a statutory authority to regulate and keep tabs on the groundwater utilisation. Some states have implemented groundwater legislation acts which prevent drilling of borewells without the permission of Government Bodies in water scarce regions. However, some states allow only drilling of drinking water borewells without the need for obtaining permission. Therefore, it is advisable to explore the details of it before drilling a borewell.

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has come with reports on the groundwater status in the country. Uncontrolled use of bore well technology leads to exploitation of groundwater at higher rates than the rate of water recharge, which may cause drastic depletion of groundwater. 

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The quality of water and the dependency on groundwater in four South Indian cities
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K V Raju
N Latha
S Manasi
Posted on 15 Aug, 2010 07:18 AM

This paper by the Institute of Social and Economic Change (ISEC) examines the extent of groundwater dependency and quality status in four South Indian cities viz., Hubli, Dharwad, Belgaum and Kolar cities. Widespread water shortage problems have resulted in increased dependency on groundwater with tapping the resources to unsustainable levels. In Karnataka, out of 208 urban local bodies that come under Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board, 41 depend on groundwater.

Water Initiatives Orissa dated on 5th August 2010
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Posted on 11 Aug, 2010 12:18 PM

WIO Urges the Government of Orissa to come out with a While Paper on state and availability status of water resources in the state. The demand comes in the wake of the government's consistent claim that the state is water surplus even though water scarcity hits us all every day.

Sambalpur, 5th August 2010 -  As the industrial overdrive of Orissa continues with signing of MoU after MoU with water guzzling industries, there is no clarity on the exact water available in the state.  The government has been propagating that Orissa is a water surplus state. However, statistics used by the various reports of the government are dated to 2001, from when the real industrialization boom has taken off in the state.  It is time that the government comes out with a transparent position paper on the exact water availability in the state or else water conflicts will aggravate.

A sudy of the core of a riverine system and relevance of meltwater in river basin hydrology
An account of the bore well gone muddy.
R. Ashok Swaminathan
Posted on 25 Jul, 2010 10:44 PM

My house is about 20 years old and is located in R T Nagar in Bangalore. In 1990, I had got a borewell dug. The Borewell is about 150 feet deep and has been giving me excellent quality water until about 2 years ago when I started noticing muddy water. The water that is pumped to an overhead tank contains fine particles of mud which tends to settle down in the overhead tank.
Groundwater quality studies in Belgaum district, Karnataka – A research report by National Institute of Hydrology
The report looks at groundwater quality and presents the results of the chemical analysis of groundwater samples from open wells and borewells of Belgaum district in Karnataka.
National Institute of Hydrology
Posted on 23 Jul, 2010 08:40 PM

The report looks at groundwater quality and presents the results of the chemical analysis of groundwater samples from openwells & borewells of Belgaum district. The study broadly covers these aspects - (i) groundwater quality evaluation of the district (ii) identification of groundwater quality problems in various parts of district (iii) classification of groundwater, and (iv) application of DRASTIC model for assessing the vulnerability to groundwater pollution.

Hydrological problems of hard rock regions: A state of art report by the National Institute of Hydrology
The study presents a status report on hydrological problems of hard rock areas related to hydrological network design, groundwater quality, failure of open and borewells.
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Posted on 25 Jun, 2010 07:32 PM

The study presents a status report on hydrological problems of hard rock areas related to hydrological network design, groundwater quality, failure of open and borewells, regional flood formulae, groundwater balance studies, reservoir sedimentation, hydrological aspects of droughts, forest hydrology and drainage problems of black soil of the hard rock terrain.

Speakers and presentations WHSC 2009 day 1 : Ramaswamy Iyer delivers the keynote address
A resource page on the speakers and their presentations
Praveena Sridhar
Posted on 23 Nov, 2009 02:54 AM

 

The speaker line up for the opening day of the conference has some of the most respected names in the water sector, in India. I have put together resource pages for each of the speaker's profiles and the subject of their talk.

 
Hydrofracturing - A new approach to revitalize bore-wells
This brief examines the various hydrofracturing techniques, principles, equipment involved, procedure and operative processes, as well as performance limitations of the method.
T.S Badrinarayanan
Posted on 28 Oct, 2009 05:38 PM

Hydro-fracturing is a new approach to revitalise bore wells to improve its yield, by injecting water at high pressure in the failed bore wells to break up fissures, clean away mud and other impurities, thus bringing it in contact with adjacent water bearing bodies, and thereby yield water.
Electrical well logging techniques for ground water exploration
A presentation describing the techniques of electrical well logging for groundwater exploration
tsbadri
Posted on 28 Oct, 2009 08:12 AM

A concise explaination of the techniques used for groundwater exploration.Electrical well logging is a kind of geophysical logging tool for ground water exploration. It involves the continuous recording of electrical resistance, resistivity and spontaneous potential (SP) of formations of a drilled bore hole. This helps to identify the formations and also delineate freshwater aquifers from saline aquifers.It is also used to delineate the fracture system in hard-rock terrain, for rejuvenation of poor/low-yielding bore wells.

Rain water harvesting to recharge bore wells?
Posted on 18 Sep, 2009 04:43 PM

WE have a farm in Bangalore North, Hennur Road, with a number of borewells that have been unsuccesful or dried up. About 5 years back we built a dam across a Nalla (Natural erosion)in the farm, to collect rain water. The size of the Nalla is 300x20 ft approx with a water depth of over 7ft in good rainfall time. This year for the first time, thank God, it has not dried up.
Arsenic contamination of irrigation water, soil and crops in Bangladesh: A paper from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation
Data indicates that approximately 20 percent of the shallow tubewells in Bangladesh exceed the standard and 10000 to 30000 people have been diagnosed with arsenicosis to date
Alex Heikens
Posted on 29 Aug, 2009 12:53 PM

Arsenic contamination of irrigation water, soil and crops in Bangladesh: Risk implications for sustainable agriculture and food safety in Asia.

Click here to download the paper
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