[GRAND23]

Dear BHPians,
I am here to post something different than automotive stuff today.

I have farm land at outskirts of Bangalore and we don't have borewell facility yet.
I am now planning to get borewell for my farm land. All these years, the land was monitored by my relative and I was never involved in any of crop related thing. My reason to go for borewell is to make a beautiful farm house in future. I do not want to get into commercial crop business as I do not have people and time to manage. Instead, I just want to use borewell to plant trees (coconut and few fruit trees for my own use). After 5 years, I would like to construct a small house and would like to maintain small farm. Most likely, this will be my weekend plan and leisure activities for my kids.

Now, coming back to subject. Does anyone have structured approach on borewell stuff? I have zero knowledge on this. Please help me if you have involved in borewell recently. Here are the few questions running in my mind:

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?
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?
3. What is the best time in year for drilling a borewell?
4. Do I need to take special permission for drilling?
5. What are the common methods adopted for drilling borewells?
6. What are the types of casing pipes used in borewells?
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?

Although there are many websites on borewell, I am relying on BHPians answers since I find it more genuine.

[condor]

Hi Grand23,

Geology dept or a reputed water diviner can help you locate a point
Eucaluptus trees are said to draw water, but their roots dont go to the depths that a borewell goes.
Summer is said to be best season for drilling
Dont think there is any special permission required in farms
Charges for drilling go in slabs by depth.
Worst case - point will fail. Mid-point: not a good location.

Important point is the electricity supply. If you dont already have it, then get a point asap. After a successful drilling, do the setup soon and start using the water.

Check locally for a drilling service - some one who has done it recently.

[GRAND23]

Originally Posted by condor

Important point is the electricity supply. If you dont already have it, then get a point asap. After a successful drilling, do the setup soon and start using the water.

Check locally for a drilling service - some one who has done it recently.

Hi condor,
Thanks for suggestions.

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

Is there any limitation in bore depth? Like 500 ft or 800 ft. I have heard that too much depth is not good as water source might go dry soon. Is it true?

[aargee]

Originally Posted by GRAND23

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?

Approach a borewell rigger & they'll get done everything for you, which is the most easiest & practical workable solution

Originally Posted by GRAND23

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?

True, but deeper you go (read beyond 100 feet) it seldom matters

Originally Posted by GRAND23

3. What is the best time in year for drilling a borewell?

Yesterday

Originally Posted by GRAND23

4. Do I need to take special permission for drilling?

See #1

Originally Posted by GRAND23

5. What are the common methods adopted for drilling borewells?

Using aircompressor & rigging

Originally Posted by GRAND23

6. What are the types of casing pipes used in borewells?

Slotter & plain PVC

Originally Posted by GRAND23

7. How are charges for drilling a borewell calculated?

Point #1

Originally Posted by GRAND23

8. What stuff I might encounter during drilling? Any worst case scenarios, I should be aware of?

Anything from going good to earth quake

Originally Posted by GRAND23

Although there are many websites on borewell, I am relying on BHPians answers since I find it more genuine.

You've to get to streets & find that out boss. See if you're able to get Jothi Murugan borewells whom I've seen in almost all parts of TN & Mahadevapura. They're one of the leaders in borewell

[Samurai]

Do read this before you make your choice.

https://www.indiawaterportal.org/que...er-exploration

[BlackMamba24]

Originally Posted by GRAND23

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?
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?
3. What is the best time in year for drilling a borewell?
4. Do I need to take special permission for drilling?
5. What are the common methods adopted for drilling borewells?
6. What are the types of casing pipes used in borewells?
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?

Although there are many websites on borewell, I am relying on BHPians answers since I find it more genuine.

1. Apart from geology department, talk to nearby farmers. They can help you regarding the same. Also, instead of borewell you can go for 2 or 5 inches well.
3. Anytime is good.
4. Initially apply for transformer connection and where you need to give the details for your well. No special requirements needed. As, when the officials will come to inspect the land they will provide you with necessary requirements.
5. contact the farmers in your area and they will help you with local borewell diggers.
6. Same as above. Will let you know other details after talking to my father(farmer by profession).
7. It varies by state, so not sure about the price at your place.( I am in Hanumangarh, Rajasthan)
8. Worst case: water is too salty or very deep.

My suggestion would be to talk to the area farmers, as they will give you more information than anyone and with that information do the research.

[srini1785]

Not an expert in borewells but here's my 2paise on your queries.

1. The depth of the borewell depends on area of the farm land. Certain areas of bangalore have notoriously low levels of water ( eg bommanahalli ). No matter what depth you bore, you will not get water. So much for a city which once boasted of a water table at 50ft below the ground.

2. The pipe will be in the scope of the driller and depending on your wish they would lower a uPVC/PVC pipe (usually a 1-2 ft in dia) to a certain depth.

3. The submersible pump would set you aside by around 50-75k depending on the hp involved and the OH tank would be additional to the cost of bore drilling.

If your neighbor has a bore well installed , just ask them at what depth they hit water.

PS : The art of digging open wells in farms has long died, i suppose.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by GRAND23

3. What is the best time in year for drilling a borewell?
7. How are charges for drilling a borewell calculated?

Touching only these 2 points since others were answered already.
3. Peak or end of summer, when the ground water is at the worst level.
7. Goes in slabs, below is the quote for 6.5" borewell in TN (Coimbatore) 6 months ago



Ignore the 1st option, rates are higher because it is with a smaller rig machine, has it's advantage of taking inside narrow lanes but operation cost will be higher. Other 2 are regular full sized rigs

EDIT: Depth in feet

[GRAND23]

Originally Posted by srini1785

Not an expert in borewells but here's my 2paise on your queries.

1. The depth of the borewell depends on area of the farm land. Certain areas of bangalore have notoriously low levels of water ( eg bommanahalli ). No matter what depth you bore, you will not get water. So much for a city which once boasted of a water table at 50ft below the ground.

My farm land is located in eastern part of Bangalore, close to Malur. None of the nearby land has borewell (atleast in 0.5 km radius). I think today norm in Bangalore outskirts is somewhere around 500ft and might go further deep depending on the area.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Do read this before you make your choice

Sir, not disputing, but there's 2 incidents to share...

1. Was talking to one of my Uncle's tenant, he holds PhD in Botany; he's a damn good expert. His reputation is that, he simply turns the plant in some specific direction after which grapes were hanging like inverted mountain, flowers were blooming more than leaves.

I usually talk to him on these subjects whenever possible during my short visits in hometown. He once said that today's farmers are businessmen & not original farmers. When I didn't really understand what he said, he shared an incident from his PhD days.

On a farm in AP, here were the guys pursuing PhD trying to educate an old farmer on scientific methodologies. The farmer challenged them politely asking them to use scientific methods on right side while he sowerd seeds to the left. He simply threw the seeds with his hands (after praying) while our friends plotted, crafted, calculated & sowed.

When the seeds germinated, then came the big dismay!! Left side 100% germination, right side, hardly 80%.


2. One of the prominent & most reputed builder in Chennai, made soil test, water test & rigged a well in OMR for building over 700 flats. Reports from govt stated good water is available at 60 feet. So the builder rigged, not one but 2 wells & both had to be closed as they couldn't find water at 150 feet. This was 2011

Next to the appartment, they rigged a well in 2019, no soil test, nothing, at 20 feet they were able to find water. They stopped at 100 as there was sufficient water. And there's still sufficient water even now.

Point - Both Science & traditional methods are unreliable; after these 2 incidents that I've experienced, I now think - if it is meant, it will be

[androdev]

Find out from your neighbours if this land is fit for your purpose. Some areas around Bangalore are hopeless when it comes to ground water and it will seriously affect your long term planning. If you are planning for a farm, stick to the areas which have very good water availability. Even if you spend a lakh or more to dig a borewell, there is a good possibility it will dry up in few months. This pattern is very common in many parts of Bangalore surrounding areas especially north of Bangalore.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by aargee

Point - Both Science & traditional methods are unreliable; after these 2 incidents that I've experienced, I now think - if it is meant, it will be

Scientific methods fall into two categories, deterministic and stochastic.

Deterministic: The outcome has 100% certainty. If you drop a phone, it will fall to the ground.
Stochastic: The outcome has a probability attached to it. If you drop a phone, it may break by a certain probability depending on the height, hardness of the ground, build-quality of the phone, etc. No one can give 100% certainty here.

Most confusions arise because people assume all scientific methods are deterministic. Stochastic is a hard concept to grasp unless one has studied inferential statistics.

Many farmers use empirical methods which are actually un-documented stochastic methods. Most stochastic methods were once empirical methods. Once an empirical method has been studied and found to be consistent, it will be called stochastic scientific method. Many empirical methods fail the consistency test, they must be discarded as anecdotal or pseudoscience.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by GRAND23

Now, coming back to subject. Does anyone have structured approach on borewell stuff? I have zero knowledge on this. Please help me if you have involved in borewell recently. Here are the few questions running in my mind:

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?
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?
3. What is the best time in year for drilling a borewell?
4. Do I need to take special permission for drilling?
5. What are the common methods adopted for drilling borewells?
6. What are the types of casing pipes used in borewells?
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?

Although there are many websites on borewell, I am relying on BHPians answers since I find it more genuine.

My late father started his career with Kerala state ground water department (GWD) as a hydrogeologist where survey visits and borewell digs used to be his domain. As a kid I used to tag along for a few of those drills because the noise and the machines were fun to watch, from a distance. He retired as the district officer from service. He was a hydrogeologist first and a sort of water diviner second which he became with experience. He didn't carry sticks or coconuts Even with backing of science there needs an intuition to find a reliable source of water under the ground and that comes from experience. After retiring from govt service he often used to go for site surveys (both open and bore) for people who approached him through his known contacts and all those whom he has helped used to come home to tell how the well still has water when other in the area dried up or how the water is so clear but the neighboring well is muddy etc.

During my childhood private borewell diggers were not the norm in our part of the country. It is only after mid 90s that we used to see private borewell digger and compressor trucks. Before that to dig a borewell the landowner need to file an application with the state GWD and once it is approved the GWD with their own equipment would dig the well for a nominal fee. People with pull at the right spots used to speed up their application and the rest will need to wait, being govt machinery it was kind of slow but there were not many options in those days. With the incoming of private diggers those who didn't want to wait needn't, they charged a lot more but people got their wells faster than how a govt machinery would allow. Not everything goes well always and in case of private diggers the probabilities of that was higher; some ended up having to get the bore redug at another location or there were issues with water quality or the wells went dry sooner.

Some private diggers employ or consult retired govt geologists for site survey. But for your own good it might be wise for you to find a retired govt hydrogeologist through your contacts for consultation and site survey. I would not trust everything to the digger, as a landowner you should take some responsibility on site survey. If you don't pick the right spot it can cost you money again in the future.

If not the hydro geology department my suggestion is to find yourself a hydrogeologist (look for people working at/retired from central or state ground water department) and ask them to help find a spot. I don't speak for all but some of these retired folks are really passionate about what they learned and what they do and may be willing to help you without taking a single rupee for their service.

[condor]

Originally Posted by androdev

If you are planning for a farm, stick to the areas which have very good water availability. .

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

[GRAND23]

Originally Posted by condor

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

Yes! I already have land in Bangalore east, Malur area as mentioned in my previous posts.