Tapping Auxiliary Groundwater

Abstract

Groundwater which is hidden from view on a farm is often hard to locate, access and assess. Sometimes the presence of shallow groundwater is indicated by a damp patch of soil. Springs and the base flow of streams during rainless periods also emanate from aquifers. Often a line of flourishing green trees in an otherwise rather barren landscape will indicate the presence of groundwater that is within reach of trees with deep roots. Then again what appears to be a dry river bed may, in fact, contain a large quantity of water in the alluvium which can easily be extracted from wells or by a system of pumped well-points. The same holds for many alluvial fans which build up along mountain foothills where rivers debouch on to a plain and deposit their silt load.