Borewells and Tubewells

India being an agrarian country, our farmers depend mainly on groundwater for irrigation. With increasing population, lesser land holdings and urbanisation, deeper borewells are dug for groundwater abstraction. Borewells & tubewells, are very similar. Both are basically vertical drilled wells, bored into an underground aquifer in the earths surface, to extract water for various purposes. The difference in the two lies in the type of casing used, the depth of this casing and the type of soil where they are drilled. Casing to support the external surfaces of the borehole against collapse may be needed at certain depths, and usually is made up of PVC pipes. Electrical pumps are usually used to pump out the water fro the borewells, though the government is now giving subsidy for solar pumps. This convenience of pumps may increase the depletion of the groundwater at an increased pace.

Our FAQ on borewells, deals in detail with topics ranging from the initial planning, selection of site to final commissioning, maintenance of the structure and problems associated with existing borewells,. Another Frequently asked questions (FAQ) on Groundwater - Understanding the basics, narrows down the existing knowledge gaps amongst the common groundwater users.

Excessive drilling of borewells has led to exploitation of groundwater at higher rates than the rate of water recharge and caused depletion of the groundwater levels. To monitor this many states like Karnataka & Kerala have come up with laws & a statutory authority to regulate and keep tabs on the groundwater utilisation. Some states have implemented groundwater legislation acts which prevent drilling of borewells without the permission of Government Bodies in water scarce regions. However, some states allow only drilling of drinking water borewells without the need for obtaining permission. Therefore, it is advisable to explore the details of it before drilling a borewell.

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has come with reports on the groundwater status in the country. Uncontrolled use of bore well technology leads to exploitation of groundwater at higher rates than the rate of water recharge, which may cause drastic depletion of groundwater. 

Featured Articles
May 25, 2021 While borewells and aggressive irrigation practices continue to suck Punjab dry, can crop diversification rescue the state from turning into a desert?
Unsustainable agricultural practices in Punjab (Image Source: IWP flickr photos)
December 18, 2019 A study from Gujarat finds that micro-irrigation combined with metered power led to a reduction in uncontrolled groundwater extraction by farmers.
Micro-irrigation and its impact on groundwater (Image Source: India Water Portal)
November 13, 2019 News this week
A cyclonic storm that hit India in 2016. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
October 25, 2019 Groundwater use has doubled in Pune. Comprehensive mapping of groundwater resources and better management and governance is the need of the hour.
Groundwater, an exploited resource (Image Source: India Water Portal)
September 30, 2019 The recently concluded 4 day conference in Bangalore looked at the current state of global water resource challenges & future pathways to achieve the SDGs, while ensuring equity in access to all.
Charles Vorosmarty, Chair, COMPASS Initiative, Water Future at the opening plenary on advanced water system assessments to address water security challenges of the 21st century.
September 28, 2019 A women's collective in western Madhya Pradesh protects crop varieties bred by indigenous farming communities.
This variety of bajra has extended whiskers on its seeds when on the plant. This prevented the birds from eating it. Growing bajra in Pandutalav became possible only when Majlis could lay its hands on this variety. (Image: Majlis)
WASH in the times of COVID-19
Government of Maharashtra and UNICEF Mumbai are training frontline workers to tackle the spread of COVID-19. Posted on 17 Apr, 2020 10:08 PM

Maharashtra has the highest COVID-19 cases in the country and the government is taking a slew of measures to flatten the curve. We speak to Mr.

Students handwashing with soap (Image: World Bank, Flickr Commons; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Clean drinking water: Still a pipe dream for Maharashtra?
While water supply coverage has improved over the years in Maharashtra, why does safe and continuous water supply still remain a distant dream for the state? Posted on 30 Mar, 2020 04:34 PM

Latur in Maharashtra has been facing acute drinking water scarcity over the last month and has been in news again, and that too, inspite of having piped water connections and a good monsoon this year!

Har nal me jal, a pipe dream? (Image Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Community-led piped water supply initiative in Bihar
For Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal to succeed, the state needs to look at water harvesting to augment groundwater availability. Posted on 28 Mar, 2020 12:34 PM

Water is a precious natural resource that ensures human well-being. However, across the globe there is a severe water crisis, which is heightened by issues of inaccessibility and contamination.

The community at the ward level of the panchayat is supposed to have complete ownership of the system created. (Image: GG Vogman, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC 2.0)
Tap water to all
What can be learnt from past experiences on scaling up coverage of piped water supply? Posted on 20 Mar, 2020 01:47 PM

Efforts are underway by both state and central governments to improve access to safe and adequate drinking water to people, and nationally, as on 31 December 2018, 79% of rural habitations had been covered at 40 litres per capita per day (lpcd) but only 47% at 55 lpcd.

Child drinks water from a tap (Image: Imal Hashemi/Taimani Films/World Bank, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Jal Jeevan Mission: Will piped water to every household no longer be a pipe dream?
There is a need to focus on the “first mile” i.e. communities across rural India to be able to ensure sustainability and scalability for piped water supply. Posted on 14 Mar, 2020 04:26 PM

Millions of Indian women can take up to six trips a day to gather and transport water, which takes up a major part of their day. During scorching summers when many sources dry up, their drudgery gets even worse.

A school boy from Tilonia in semi-arid region of Rajasthan drinks from a tap from a rainwater harvesting tank that provides clean drinking water. (Image: Barefoot photographers of Tilonia)
Women lead the way in water quality surveillance
Why women need to be trained and engaged in monitoring and surveillance of water quality at the community level in rural India? Posted on 06 Mar, 2020 01:45 PM

Historically, water is a gendered burden, with women being the primary caregivers responsible for cooking, washing and cleaning chores in the house and in modern times in institutions (teachers, anganwadi and healthcare workers). Women have traditionally been associated with various water related tasks - be it collecting, fetching, or purifying water.

Organised under WaterAid India’s partnership with GAP, water testing workshop (2019) held in Indore district aimed at training women and youth to lead the entire process of community water management – from planning to supply, operations and maintenance and to educate communities on water-quality issues. (Image: WaterAid India/Ashima Narain)
Community water purification system in a Delhi urban slum
Women swipe clean drinking water through an automated dispensing unit at the Lalbagh slum. Posted on 22 Feb, 2020 12:38 PM

It’s a dull reality that the state of water in the urban slum of Lalbagh near Azadpur in north Delhi was awful till a few years back. Hoards of people would queue up to get water from the public taps or the tankers along the road. Life was tough here and people got access to piped water supply only recently.

Once selected for the role, the women entrepreneurs were trained to run the community filtration plant and overlook all operations ranging from the management of customers to the plant finances. (Image: India Water Portal)
Tangled bones, children unable to move and lives cut short
Fluorosis has turned out to be a chronic public health problem, with millions of people at high risk due to lack of clean drinking water. Posted on 19 Feb, 2020 11:45 AM

I am in the middle of nowhere, out on a field visit to understand how fluoride, a deadly contaminant in groundwater has been afflicting people in some of the worst affected villages in Nalgonda, Telangana. I am thirsty as hell and would do anything to find a seemingly elusive little glass of water, but I can’t.

INREM Foundation has helped develop protocols on designing proactive action on safe water and nutrition to help mitigate fluorosis (Image: Vikas Ratanjee)
Decentralised groundwater governance to deal with the groundwater crisis
Decentralised groundwater governance frameworks that integrate democratic institutional mechanisms are needed to deal with the current groundwater crisis in India. Posted on 17 Feb, 2020 05:43 PM

The challenges to sustain groundwater dependency in India are many where groundwater over extraction is not only leading to rapid depletion of the resource, but also giving rise to water quality issues in a situation where the response at the level of policy continues to be lukewarm.

The need for decentralised governance to deal with the current groundwater crisis (Image Source: ACWADAM)
Perils, politics and prospects of groundwater in India
How can India change the game on groundwater management to deal with its overexploited aquifers? Posted on 05 Feb, 2020 03:15 PM

After independence, India was largely food insecure but post Green Revolution around the 1970s, foodgrain production increased manifold consequently reducing food insecurity and poverty in the country, in spite of rapid population growth. Its ability to achieve targeted results was largely dependent on the explosion of groundwater abstraction mechanisms like tubewells.

An irrigation well at Randullabad, Maharashtra. (Image source: India Water Portal on Flickr)
×