Drawing on well water

At a time when all the major reservoirs supplying water to the city have gone bone dry and private borewells, that pump out water from several hundred feet below ground level, finding higher and higher total dissolved solids (TDS), making water unfit for consumption, the good old wells, several of which remain covered with wire mesh and left unused, have come to the rescue of many in the city, as they still contain potable water. 

Traditional wells prove to be an effective option to meet the water needs of people without having a negative impact on the environment in the city, to a large extent. Water experts say that drinking water crisis can be mitigated, if such existing wells are maintained properly by respective households and a strong awareness should be created on this. 

Residents living in Triplicane, Saidapet, West Mambalam, Besant Nagar, Adyar and Ambattur and most  parts of South Chennai still have wells in their homes, capable of supplying quality water that  is fit for consumption. These residents need not depend on either Metro Water supply or on tankers run by private players.  Sekhar Raghavan, director, The Rain Centre, said, “There is plenty of water in many parts of the city, but we fail to use them. We at Rain Centre have set up around 30 open wells in the last one month alone in the city.” Raghavan also pointed out the fact that people forgot ancient culture, in which water would be drawn from open wells. 

“There are two methods to tap ground water. First, we should go for water from an open well, as the water generated above the hard rocks are highly potable and should be tapped. If there is no water in the well, the second option is a borewell. However, things are opposite nowadays, as people are interested in digging borewells first, in which water comes from  below the hard rocks in the earth,” Raghavan said and added that residents could easily find water within 40 to 60 feet from open wells, whereas they can draw water from borewells only after digging 150 feet to 170 feet into the earth. “Residents should understand that water scarcity can be mitigated, to a large extent, if they go for open wells,” he stressed. 

A city-based hydro-geologist working with Metro Water said that water can be drawn from open wells during rainy season and many households, having open wells, wasted treated water (supplied by CMMWSB) by using it for various purposes other than drinking and cooking. “If those households start using water from wells for other purposes and avail of Metro Water only for drinking purposes, such scarcity will drastically come down.”  The expert also stressed that the government should create awareness to revive the ancient method. 

R Prasanth, a resident of Saidapet (West) said, “Although we are getting bottled water for drinking purposes, we still use water drawing from open well, which was set up by my grandfather 20 years ago. During the rainy season, we take sample for lab test and drink if it is fit for consumption.” 

Similarly, P Viswanathan, coordinator, Chitlapakkam Residents Welfare Association, said, “The traditional wells in south Chennai play a key role in generating water and maintaining the water table. Many residents draw water from these wells. About 20 to 30 years ago, the city had thousands of open wells. However, due to rapid urbanisation, the traditional wells have been closed.”

Before digging open wells or borewells, a geo-physical test is conducted and vertical electric sounding pipe is inserted into the earth. Experts hear the sound of water at the other end and based on that, open wells and borewells are established in the places identified by such practices.

According to groundwater experts, the earth has many layers like clay, sand, clay-mixed sand, sandstones and shale. “Water containing 500 mg of salt per litre can be consumed and even when there is no alternative water source, the salt level could go up to 2,000 mg, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) standard,” an expert said. The expert further explained that water is produced in between sand particles above the hard rocks.