Traditional hand-dug wells
History and social context
Suitable conditions (advantages / disadvantages)
| Advantages | Disadvantages/limitations |
|---|---|
| Circumstances which make the construction of large diameter wells necessary:
i. inability to obtain or maintain pumps or special buckets necessary for small diameter wells ii. desire to use some type of water raising system requiring more space than is available in a small diameter well (e.g. continuous chain and buckets) iii. desire to improve or repair existing large diameter wells. iv. necessity of storing water where the aquifer is of extremely low permeability v. low cost labour is available vi. local skills are available. |
- greater effort and longer construction time
- greater safety hazards during and after construction |
Technical specification
Operation
Maintenance
Manufacturing
Cost
Country experiences
Manuals
An excellent guide to a relatively safe method of digging hand dug wells can be found at: Consallen
Movies
External links
An excellent but slightly outdated summary of hund dug wells by Koegel is made available by the UN FAO at Large Diameter Wells
An excellent guide by the highly experienced British Drilling Company can be found at Consallen
