Difference Between Dug Well and Borewell

Groundwater helped us way far in preventing water scarcity and the use of dug wells and bore wells is still going on. These helped our population to fulfill the need for water. Dug wells are formed by the use of a hand shovel and dig until it reaches the water level. And bore wells are built by rotator machines to dig deeper than dug well but with a smaller diameter.

Dug Well vs Borewell

The main difference between dug well and borewell is that dug well is dig until the water table with a hand shovel. In dug wells, the supply of water is contaminated because the surface water table gets spoiled with soil and dust. Borewells are built deep down more below to water table than dug well which brings out more pure water without contamination.

Dug well is built by old techniques which are time-consuming as well as labor-consuming. It is done by hand shovel which is difficult and risky. In ancient times, people use these dug wells to fulfill their water needs like washing clothes, bathing, even drinking too. Nowadays, in some villages, people use dug wells for irrigation and other household activities.

A bore well is used to pull up the underground water. It is formed by modern techniques, the percussion machine drills dig deep under the water table to fulfill the requirements. The diameter of the bore well is much smaller than the dug well. It pulls out the water with the help of a pump. Borewells are generally 40-50 m in depth but if there are low chances of finding water then it can be dug up to 45-55 m.

Comparison Table Between Dug Well and Borewell

Parameters of ComparisonDug WellBorewell
Diameter1.2-1.5 meters4.5-6 inches
Depth20 meters40-50 meters
Tools Usedhand shovelrotating drill
How to useBuckets are used to take out the water.The pump is used to suction the water and serve it with the help of a pipe.
Water capacityIt can only reach the surface of the water table which means low water capacity.It can reach below the water level which means high water capacity.

What is Dug Well?

Dug well is an ancient technique to find and use the water. It is generally 15-20 meters which only reach the water level. It brings contaminated water as used or unhygienic water thrown to the underground water which makes whole water dirty and unable to use.

The water is brought out with the help of a bucket which is connected to the rope and pulled to uplift it. It consumes a lot of labor and time but is less expensive than a bore well. Simple tools are used and no skilled workers are needed. Dug wells are lined with stones, tiles, or bricks in order to prevent collapse.

It is covered by a cap of wood and the land surface should be mounded around the well so that the water around the well does not pond. If the dug well has a pump instead of a bucket then it should be placed inside the house. With low expenses and unskilled workers, dug well is the preferred choice for those villages.

During the construction of dug wells, many safety hazards can occur, like lack of oxygen, collapsing of sidewalls, falling of any heavy object from the above into the dug well while the presence of the workers. So many precautions have to take place while building it.

What is Borewell?

Borewell is a modern technique to build a well to conserve water. It is generally 1700 feet deep and usually dig by the rotating drill machine under the ground level to create a space for filling the water in between the rocks. With the help of bear cracks under the ground, the water is collected and stored in the bore well.

We can store rainwater by making the surface flow of water towards the borewell by appropriate filtering. Electrical pumps are used to pump out the water nowadays solar pumps are in use. However, bore wells are used to deplete the underground water and usually dry up if it is not closed. Hazardous miss happening can occur, like falling off children in those holes if not closed.

The water collected by these bore wells is not drinkable as it is not filtered and hygienic. These wells are used in the irrigation process, etc. The bore wells are connected to the pipe which supplies the suctioned water to the crops or used in other household activities.

People living in rural places are a little bit relaxed after having borne wells as it minimizes the labor and hard work. Whatever the advantages are provided by the bore wells, disadvantages should also be in mind like, depleting underground water, water getting more contaminated, etc.

Main Differences Between Dug Well and Borewell

  • The bore wells are more beneficial to form than dug wells as it requires less time and labor.
  • Due to the depth of the dug well, the capacity of water is less than the bore well as it is just dug only to the surface of the water table but the bore well is dug below the water level.
  • People with high population density in a village would prefer to bore well over dug well as it will feed more humans.
  • The formation of both the wells is so different; the dug well is dug by hand shovel whereas the bore well is dug by machine.
  • No skilled workers are needed in dug well whereas bore well requires professional workers.
  • Conclusion

    According to the villagers, they prefer bore wells for their crops due to high efficiency and less time and labor. However, both the wells are useful and solve the water scarcity problems but the demerits for our environment are affecting the water table. This leads to a shortage of water in the soil and causes soil erosion, loosening of soil, effect in soil fertility, etc.

    And also the wells are not possible to be formed in every place as it is challenging for those areas where brackish groundwater is present because it is not used well as non-drinkable. So last but not the least, if we’re using groundwater for our needs then it should be refilled and provide proper attention for our planet’s needs.

    References

  • https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10661-009-0848-2
  • https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12665-009-0342-8
  • https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.4137/EHI.S3149
  • https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03067319.2020.1800000
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