KASARGOD : In what could be a sustainable answer to the quest for water in Kerala's Kasargod, the farmers of the northern parts of the district are considering experimenting with horizontal borewells.
The horizontal borewells tap the uppermost unconfined aquifer, much like Kasargod’s indigenous surangas, said Umesh Kumar Sale, a farmer in Katukukke, a village in Enmakaje gram panchayat.
“But instead of digging a narrow horizontal tunnel, we are drilling the slopes of laterite hills to extract groundwater,” Umesh said.
The advantage of a horizontal borewell is the water tapped from the upper crust can be recharged during the rainy season, said water conservationist Shree Padre, who has worked hard in popularising the concept among people of northern Kasargod. Rampant drilling of borewells and extraction of water from deep aquifers had led to the fast depletion of groundwater levels in Kasargod. “It is one of the most critical districts in the state,” said District Collector Jeevan Babu K.
A conservative estimate by borewell drilling agents reveals 65 registered truck-mounted rigs could have drilled 23,000 borewells in the past six months in the district. “That could easily be the highest for any district in the country,” said vice-president of East Eleri panchayat James Panthammakkal who used to run a borewell drilling agency. Shree Padre said Kasargod has overexploited the groundwater. After creating awareness on horizontal borewell among people, he trawled social media and used WhatsApp to scout for the right agent to do the work.
His search ended in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district, where one Govindram Bhai, 52, a farmer, had perfected the art of horizontal borewell drilling. “He is now in Goa and will come to Kasargod next week with his team,” said Shree Padre.Govindram said he had been drilling horizontal borewells for the past 22 years. “We have technical expertise to dig up to 300 metres,” he said. “This is the first time we will be coming to Kerala,” he said.One of the first horizontal borewells to be drilled will be on Sale’s property. Shree Padre said five people have already signed up for the project. The horizontal drill is also cost-effective, with Govindram charging around `250 to `300 per feet. “Given the nature of the soil, a farmer will strike water at around 100 ft,” he said.
As much as it is important, the horizontal borewell has limitations too, he said. “The drill bit will cut through laterite, but not penetrate granite,” Shree Padre said. Also, this concept cannot be implemented in urban areas. “But as a student of rainwater harvesting, I feel it is best suited in hilly areas,” he said.
If the best rainwater harvesting techniques are adopted, the well can be easily recharged, he said. “Drawing water from the horizontal borewell is like writing a cheque. But investing in rainwater harvesting is like making the deposits,” he said.