Bore well

………………………., ………………………..
Department of Computer Science,
Govt. Adarsh Science College Rewa (M.P.)

Abstract:
Recharge of defunct bore wells through filter bed was studied for 4 years from 2011-12 to 2014-15 at 3

locations using five defunct bore wells with base line discharge ranged between 0 and 126.6 lpm at UAS,

GKVK, Bangalore and Hosapalya village, Nelamangala Taluk, Bangalore rural district, Karnataka. The

discharge rate at 15 days interval after the treatment was recorded. The results showed that over the study

period of 4 years, the average discharge rate of bore wells 1 to 4 with filter bed treatment was higher in

rainy season but lower in summer season and vice-versa (46.8 and 138.0 lpm, respectively) in case of

borewell-5. The physico-chemical component values of recharge water of bore wells with filter bed

recharge system of pH ranged between 8.59 and 7.44, conductivity between 31.00 and 858.00 µs/cm,

chloride 63.9 – 92.3 mg/l, sodium absorption ratio 5.59 – 10.70, sulphate 124.8 – 172.8 mg/l and residual

sodium carbonate between 0.16 and 1.44 mg/l showing suitability for drinking purpose.

Keywords: - Bore well recharge, runoff, filtration beds, rain water harvesting.

INTRODUCTION

In order to augment the depleting ground water resources, it is essential to conserve and recharge the

surplus monsoon runoff that flows into the sea. Ground water storage that could be feasible has been

estimated as 214 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM), of which 160 BCM is considered retrievable. The Central

Ground Water Board (CGWB) has prepared the master plan in 2013 for artificial recharge of ground water

for all the states in the country. Out of total geographical area of 3287263 sq. km. of the country, an area of

448760 sq. km. has been identified feasible for artificial recharge. The total quantity of surplus monsoon

runoff that can be recharged, works out to be 36.4 BCM. The master plan envisages around 39 lakh

artificial recharge and water conservation structures in the country at an estimated cost of ` 24500 crores

(Anon., 2013).
Materials and Methods

During 2017-18, the experiment was carried out for two low yielding bore wells of 150 mm diameter at

GKVK farm, Bangalore which were lying idle. Borewell-1 is located near horticulture farm. During kharif

2012-14, the experiment was set up under NICRA project at Hosapalya, Nelamangala Taluk, and

Bangalore rural district to record the impact of recharging by feeding the runoff water to the failed low

yielding borewell-2 with filter bed. During 2014-15, the experiment was set up at National Seed Project,

GKVK for recording discharge rate of borewell-3, borewell-4 and borewell-5 from August 2014 to

February 2015.

The detailed specifications and locations of all the bore wells were indicated in Table 1. The catchment

area, discharge rate and the approximate runoff considering the catchment, rainfall and runoff events were

calculated before the diversion of runoff water to the filter bed.

Design aspects of recharging of bore well in filter bed system

A pit of 3 m x 3 m x 2.9 m dimension was excavated in the region centering the casing of the borewell. At

the bottom of the pit, filter holes were made to a casing pipe and mosquito mesh was fixed tightly such that

the casing pipe will function as a filter (Ramachandrappa et al., 2013). Then different layers of filter bed

system were laid as per the following specification and diagrammatically indicated in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of borewell recharging with different layers (all the units are in

meters).
Results and Discussion
During 2011-12, the discharge rate of a borewell-1 recorded at every 15 days interval after implementing

recharge treatment was 56.7 lpm in rainy season while it was 32.9 lpm in summer (Table 4). The

correlation between the rainfall during different months and the discharge was found non-significant. It is

clearly established that the rain water infiltrated in to soil needs time to percolate into the ground water

aquifer. Timely good rains is mostly utilizable for replenishing the moisture in the surface layer which

might be severely exposed for evaporation losses during summer. The runoff generated during these initial

rainfall period helps for saturation of the rhizosphere and later rains largely recharge the aquifer.

The discharge rate of a borewell-2 with filter bed during 2012-13, was on an average of 9.7 lpm over the

year and in the rainy season, the average discharge rate was 11.9 lpm while 7.1 lpm in summer season

(Table 5). The discharge rate was increased with the advancement of monsoon and declined towards its

secession. During 2013-14, the average discharge rate of borewell-2 with filter bed was 9.5 lpm over the

year, 10.7 lpm in the rainy season and 7.9 lpm in summer season (Table 5). Rainfall and discharge showed

significant and positive correlation (r= 0.637). Similar results of improved bore well yield with artificial

recharge pit were reported by Shiva Kumar (2006). Reddy and Khybri (2008) conducted similar type of

study and observed that the groundwater level in the open wells and borewells started rising from June till

the end of September and later declined during first week of October. The increased discharge rate with

artificial recharge was ascribed to improved ground water resources as the diverted water is least subjected

for evaporation losses. The water stored with infiltration of rain water and percolation into groundwater

helped in pumping the reserved water. Agarawal and Soni (2005) worked on different types of filter using

sand, pebbles, charcoal aggregates, cotton cloth, nylon mesh, etc. as porous media. This study focused on

performance of developed filtering units available, which can be used as integral part of rainwater

harvesting for groundwater recharge.

The runoff water diverted from the catchment area to recharge pits of the defunct / low yielding bore wells

resulted in increased discharge rate. The incremental discharge rate was greater during the advancement of

monsoon and was lower towards the cessation of monsoon season.

Acknowledgement

The data presented have been generated from the All India Co-ordinate Research Project for Dry land

Agriculture, GKVK, and Bangalore. Financial and technical assistance by Project Co-ordinating Unit,

CRIDA, and Hyderabad is duly acknowledged.

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