[androdev]

Originally Posted by condor

Grand23 has said he already has the land. So the whole discussion is about water in that land.

I should have been more explicit - don't bother if the land you own is in a dry region. The romance of a farm in a dry region has tragedy written all over it.

I would call this water point location at best a smart guesswork. Better than total randomness. I don't know where the OP's land is located but he needs to study the neighborhood very carefully before deciding to invest time and money in a farm project.

[srishiva]

I used a water diviner for a bore well before building my house. These people also have some superstitions that they will survey only northern side of your plot or something. I asked him to do it in another part and he was furious

I got little water at 450 feet and then dug until 900 feet. Water level was filled upto 400 feet. It was enough for building my house. Been 4 years and with rain water harvesting, the water level is at 100 feet. Of course Kaveri water is plenty and we use it only for plants etc.

With rains for most part of the year in Bengaluru, if you harvest rain water, it will never go dry. A geologist I had a talk once said since most of the crust is rock here, you will find water in crevices between the rocks. If you dont hit that gap between rocks, you wont find water. So its not just overuse of ground water.

Also remember, if you want to lose money through lot of hard work - its farming. Its true for overwhelming majority in our country.

[PGA]

If you visit your farm and speak to neighbours you will probably get good answer to your questions. But before you dig, few things you must answer for yourself.

Is groundwater absolutely necessary. Amount of rainfall in your area and possibility of harvesting runoff. You get get upto 90 percent Govt subsidy for it. Speak to Dept of Soil and water conservation in your block.

Whole of country has been mapped about the water quality, depth and terrain. In your area the above mentioned dept will give you the details.

Sink the borewell or build a check dam or dig a tank based on natural lie of the land so the water flows as per gradient otherwise you will use energy to push water

Lastly, power connections for borewell are not being encouraged/ permitted especially for arid and semi arid zones, consider solar it's reliable and cheaper for the pumping unit for the borewell or tank. Govt support under project KUSUM is available.

If new to farming do consider adopting permaculture / natural farming techniques if the area is less than 5 acres, it obiviates the need for water to a great extent. Or consider integrating with drip, A 5hp motor comfortably irrigates my 6 acres on commercial cropping with drip.

[condor]

Originally Posted by GRAND23

I will start getting electricity connection first. Why setup need to done soon? Any reasons?

The process too. If there is no supply right now, then they need to may be erect poles from the nearest suitable location. The distance will add to the work to be done to get you the supply.

If you already have a connection - is it single phase or 3-phase ? And then the transformer part which they will have to get from their stock.

All this takes some time. So if you start soon, then may be all this will happen in a month or two of you getting the borewell.

[saisree]

I'm writing this after having an experience of drilling 5 bore wells. As mentioned by others electricity is very important and you shouldn't be keeping the borewell unused for longer times. Water has to be drawn. You were telling about constructing a farm house after five years. Until then, will there be someone who will take care of the farm?

Originally Posted by GRAND23

Dear BHPians,

1. How to know the exact location of good water resource? Should I take help of geology department or any third party support who can help in pointing out right location?
Get help of geologist and a water diviner. Also, survey the near by lands and find out how others are able to manage with water for their lands.

2. Adjacent to my land there is another land which has eucalyptus trees. I was said that these trees reduce the ground water drastically. If true, will it be still good option to go for borewell on my land?
No need to worry about this.

3. What is the best time in year for drilling a borewell?
Summer. This is the time you get the actual yield.

4. Do I need to take special permission for drilling?
Not necessary. Please check with local authorities. Atleast in AP, we have to register the presence of borewell

5. What are the common methods adopted for drilling borewells?
Go for an 6" borewell. Since yours is a vacant land, try to get a Direct to head borewell rigger. Saves time and is faster too.

6. What are the types of casing pipes used in borewells?
Use slotted casing pipes until you reach a solid rock beneath. Also, after negotiating and finalizing the price for drilling, tell them that, you will replace the slotted pipes with the new PVC pipes of the same size. You will save some 1000's .

7. How are charges for drilling a borewell calculated?
8. What stuff I might encounter during drilling? Any worst case scenarios, I should be aware of?
Loose soil. The major contributor for cost of the borewell. If you haven't hit a solid rock beneath, you have to slot in slotted pipes to the entire depth. If the depth of the borewell is more and the yield is less, go for a compressor motor setup. Easy to maintain.
Check out the small rocks that come out during the rigging. If its white, then there are high chances you will get water. White rocks indicate water tables. This is some gyaan from a borewell operator.

[condor]

Couple of more points for now: Get good quality pipes (the ones that will be dropped down to the bottom - they need to hold each other and the pump too.

Plan the area where the pump will be: you will need starter switchbox to be installed. Where will you place it - near the bore, or away ? Make an enclosure to protect it from rain.

Get good quality switch box, and a good submersible pump. Cables too. This would be after the borewell is drilled, so you will then know how much cable to get.

Plan the expense: drilling, steel pipes, casing piples. cables, pump, BESCOM, starter switch box, enclosure for switch box.

*****

Two points for the future:
1. Plan for a recharge system. Will involve preparing a pit to collect rain water, and let it in after filtration, into the borewell itself.
2. When planting your crops, plan to leave a path for a jeep to reach the bore, and some space around the bore to work in. With time, the pump may need to be pulled out, and there are people with required rigs mounted in jeeps who will pull up the motor. In such times, you will need some space to temporarily place all the steel pipes you have used.

*****
To add to this post: Black rock is said to be counter-indicative. Drilling will show colours of rock depeneding on layers below, but like Saishree said - white's good. So when you see white rock powder, it's indications of possible water strike soon.

Originally Posted by saisree

I'm writing this after having an experience of drilling 5 bore wells.

can you elaborate on the slotted pipes ?

Most times, we will hit rock - especially considering the depths that has to be drilled to today.


****
@Grand23, wishing you the best that you hit good water in first try. Occasionally, a drilling may not hit water, or sufficient water. Dont lose hope.

[saisree]

Originally Posted by condor

can you elaborate on the slotted pipes ?
Most times, we will hit rock - especially considering the depths that has to be drilled to today.

These slotted pipes will allow water in the upper channels right from the ground level to the top of the rock level to flow into the borewell and also stops soil breaking into the borewell. Works a charm during the rainy seasons

Originally Posted by condor

2. When planting your crops, plan to leave a path for a jeep to reach the bore, and some space around the bore to work in. With time, the pump may need to be pulled out, and there are people with required rigs mounted in jeeps who will pull up the motor. In such times, you will need some space to temporarily place all the steel pipes you have used.

This is where we need to choose our motors wisely. Submersibles are very efficient and are prone to more failures when the yield is low. HDPE pipes have replaced those GI/Steel Pipes making it more cost effective. It's one single piece running to the depth of the borewell. When the yield is low, compressors are the best bet. Agreed, that the compressor are low in efficiency, basically the discharge rate. But, they require relatively low maintenance. You don't pull those pipes out may be for a life time.

Again, all these in a farm land and I guess there will be looott of space to work on.

[condor]

Originally Posted by saisree

. HDPE pipes have replaced those GI/Steel Pipes making it more cost effective. It's one single piece running to the depth of the borewell.

Are you saying

HDPE pipe + compressor pump -or
any pump with any pipe ?

[GRAND23]

Thanks guys for valuable inputs. God bless this forum!

I have made pretty good notes from the discussion. I will follow certain best examples shared by BHPians. This will be my weekend job.

I will keep you posted if I learn something new during this process.

[amol4184]

OP, thanks for starting this thread. I am in same situation albeit in Maharashtra. I have been reading up on internet about finding a spot to dig but didn't think of posting here. There are some very valuable suggestion here.

Originally Posted by srishiva

I got little water at 450 feet and then dug until 900 feet. Water level was filled upto 400 feet. It was enough for building my house. Been 4 years and with rain water harvesting, the water level is at 100 feet. Of course Kaveri water is plenty and we use it only for plants etc.

900 feet borewell is truly astonishing. I am not an expert but borewells around here are 500ft max. 900 is a number unheard of!
For reference, borewell in our residential plot is 60ft (water level hit) and we went till 180ft. Borewells where our farm is, hit water at about 120ft. People go about 450ft total. A person whom we brought out to our land to "sense" the water has identified a spot and "guaranteed" us that we will find water about 100ft. Most other bores around our farm are in the same range, so it's not really rocket science for him to say 100ft. Father doesn't trust him but gives you an idea of the average borewell depth.

[PrasannaDhana]

Find a geologist, they call them "water diviners" and they are pretty accurate and cheap too (2000 rs per borewell)

The type of bore depends upon the water level (depth you need to go), the soil type underneath.

They usually classify it by diameter (6inch, 8 & 10 and so on) depending on the depth, water source and your need. Agricultural motor that I have are 10 HP each. For a small farm house, you may need 2 HP if the depth is less than 300 ft.

If the soil is loose, you may have to throw in PVC pipe to the entire length of the borewell, else just 2-3 pipe's length of slotted PVC casing would be needed. Standard pipe length is 20 ft.

Cost of digging is 85 rupees per foot here, goes up when the depth goes beyond 500 ft.

There are some places where you can't use the driling rig right away, those cases you use manual drilling upto 100ft or so and then use the rig further.

Usually a borewell may cost you 1 lakh rupees to 1.5 lakh rupees (400-600 ft). I have dug 1000 ft well in my farm, and it costed me 3 lakhs.

Usual cost components - Borewell rig drilling charges + PVC pipes + Motor pump & Electric accessories + pebbles (in some cases only)

My tip - if you hit the water source at say 200 ft, go atleast another 150-200 ft deeper, so that the borewell is useful even when the water level drops.

[wheeledwanderer]

grand23, you dont have to go for electricity exclusively for the sake of running the borewell pump, especially since you will use the farm house only for the weekend activities. These days Solar pump is available in the market from 3-5HP. Mecwin Solar and Pumps in Bangalore can help you. Their email is rajeev@mymecsolar.com / 9731760263.

For your borewell requirement, we had a divine convener who came with a coconut and exactly pointed out the location where water was available and then the borewell contractor verified it too before digging the well. In Bangalore you can contact Krishna Borewell (sukumar@krishnaborewell.com / 74068 77775, 9900244471)

Neither of them are related to me nor do I have any commercial interest with them. When I was doing my research, I found them.

So of the other things (Reducing carbon footprint) which you may want to do in your farm could be (Only if you are interested)

1. Going off the grid (Solar power storage in the battery for use)
2. Rain water harvesting

Good luck!

[ArTigor]

Great thread! being actively involved in farming, that too in a hot and dry area like Solapur, I can give a few useful insights on this.

1- There are two ways here, one being a little superstitious, the other being Techno-Logical. In my experience both have been super successful.

First the Superstitious, As my farm is just on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border I know a few things about local farming on both sides including understanding Kannada. There are these 'Water Locator Men' in local language, they are sort of semi-god men types, talk to your farm neighbors they might help you connect with one. These men the come to your farm, conduct puja and then with their 'heavenly connection' locate a point where there is the most possibility they take a very nominal fee like 500 to 1000 rupees. I do not endorse this, although this method is followed ritualistically in my region, and northern parts of Karnataka.

Second the Technological, govt. of India has this wonderful website called Bhuvan, You can source the "Ground Water Prospects" Data Map from there for free. It is a hardly 5 minute job, this will help you understand the prospective location with estimated yield in liter per minute and the depth of water table. Attaching images for your reference. To explain the process I have marked my farm for better understanding of the process & outcome.

Go to the Bhuvan Website, select your State, it will direct you to your State Portal. Here select the satellite imagery tab and locate your farm land.


On the right side you will find the tools tab, use it to mark your plot boundary. Now on the left side Click on the ground water prospects tab and tick on Ground Water Prospects. you will see a colour patterned map depicting the state of underground water source in your plot. On the Left side bottom there is the Legend tab, click on it to interpret the same.




Ideally above 100-200 LPM is good enough to do small scale farming with Drip Irrigation (this is what I practice). 50-100 LPM shall be good for just Plants, but do use Drip irrigation to conserve water for plants too.

2- This will not matter as the borewell generally pick water from under the impervious layer of Earth from aquifers, and hence generally stay unaffected from roots. Bangalore and its outskirts are notorious for ridiculously deep water levels, was conducting a Geo-Technical survey in Devanahalli, was surprised to find average water levels at 600 feet below ground level, That too Hard Water.

3- Just any time, But do remember get it done in Summer, a borewell that survives summer should be good for all the year. In monsoon, many a time there are chances you may hit seasonal pockets. I have done all my 3 bore wells in summer.

4- This is a bit contentious I have a few relatives in Gadag who said that after a certain depth one needs to obtain permission, so surely there is some regulation in Karnataka. Anyways talk to the borewell guy/locals they have better expertise on this.

5- Vertical Drilling rig and clearing with compressed air is the most common one, it is the standard process. Also there are horizontal borewells dug in physical Wells which have dried off, it is a completely different topic though.

6- PVC & UPVC with slotting provision is used. generally weep holes are made in these casing pipes before slotting in the ground, this job is done by the borewell guys itself. Casing pipe cost varies yet a 20ft long casing pipe costed us 900 rupees a year ago. We used 3 such casing pipes as loose soil is encountered in our area up to a depth of 50 feet. Once hard strata is achieved no need of casing.

7- Charges may vary, yet to give a glimpse of what is current approx. rate in my region and parts of Northern Karnataka, following are the rates:-
Normal Boring-
0-100ft 60 Rs. per ft
100-200ft 80 Rs. per ft
200-300ft 120 Rs. per ft
300 and above 150 Rs. per ft
Casing Fitting and Boring this has higher cost as it involves boring with a bigger head, and multiple processes.
250 Rs. per ft

8- Nothing great, Just be aware of one thing, talk to your neighbors to know the average depth of their borewells and at what level they have encountered water. Worst case scenario is that you may not hit water. Now say the average water level is 600ft below ground level in your area, while boring you have hit 700 ft and yet have not encountered water, the boring guys try to make more money they will tell you "sir lets go 200 ft deeper' here the anxiety catches the better of you, hence keep a local guy along with you.

Now some additional points.
9- based upon the quantity of water hit, the Bore operator will recommend a Motor and Pump size to you, Go with a reputed one, I personally trust Kirloskar, they provide 5-7 years of unconditional warranty. Especially as water around Bengaluru is hard, hence go for the best, it will be 12-20% costlier but worth in long run.

10- Have a stable 3 Phase electricity connection, the motor will not work on regular Single Phase connection. Have stabilizers in place. if possible give an application for a separate transformer for your plot if required, we have done this. Unstable/fluctuating electricity can spell dooms day on not only your borewell but also Farm house equipment's in future, our farm house earlier drew electricity source from 3 phase connection, yet once with all stabilizers in place our Refrigerator, Water purifier and Bore Well Motor blew up due to bad surge in electricity.
On the other side if you can avail solar energy, then there is nothing like it.

11- If you are going to go to your farmhouse only on weekends and if you do not have a caretaker it is a bad thing for the Plants as they will require water daily especially during summer for the first 6-8 years. Do not worry there is another technical solution to this.
Connect all your plants with drip irrigation pipes and this drip pipe shall be connected to your bore output pipe. There are auto on/off switches available for bore motor which can be activated by mobile app(Costlier one) also there are programmable auto switches(Economical ones) available in which based on electricity availability, the switch turns on automatically for programmed amount of time daily. Thus automatically watering your plants.

12- If hard water encountered, you have to take a few treatment steps, as hard water though is okay for coconut plants, it is not good for other fruiting plants. We have hard water and our Mango, Chikkoo, Custardapple plant suffered initially, my uncle suggested adding some type of gypsum compound to the borewell and post that the water quality has improved(yet I don't know what were the technical details of the stuff added as the job was done by my uncle and father)

Adding image of my farm and farmhouse as a motivation, we began all this in 2015 and after 6 years it feels like heaven! hence all the pain efforts and money is worth!

[Tucker48]

Digging borewell requires relevant authority's permission. Do check that out as well before you start implementing any plan. They might also advice you as to how to proceed ahead.

[saisree]

Originally Posted by condor

Are you saying

HDPE pipe + compressor pump -or
any pump with any pipe ?

We can use HDPE pipes with any motor. Basically, these pipes goes to the depths of the borewell and GI pipe will be connected from the head of the bore well to the motor for safety purposes.