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Traditional hand-dug wells

610 bytes added, 23:25, 11 April 2012

→‎Construction, operations and maintenance

==Construction, operations and maintenance==

[[Image:HandDugWelldiagram.jpg|thumb|right|350px|]]

The basic elements of a hand-dug well are illustrated in Figure 5.3. The three main elements are: <br>

A. The Well Head - this is the part of the well which is visible above the ground. It generally consists of a protective apron and a superstructure which depends on the type of extraction system in use.

B. The well Shaft <br>

C. The Intake - this is the part of the well in contact with the aquifer. It is constructed in such a way that water flows from the aquifer into the well, from where it can be extracted using a bucket, a pump or another method.

Hand-dug wells have a tendency to have very little water or even dry up in the dry season. This is largely to do with the fact

that the intake area is not deep enough inside the dry season water table. Shallow aquifers tend to reflect recharge more sharply than deeper aquifers, resulting in water table fluctuations of several metres between seasons – these fluctuations need to be accounted for in the construction method. Several techniques can ensure that wells are sunk deep enough:

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