Owners of country houses and plots, in order to establish comfortable living, must ensure uninterrupted water supply. The best option is to equip a well. Therefore, many people need to know how to find water on the site for a well with their own hands.
To dig a well at your dacha, you need to find a suitable place where the water vein passes.
Aquifers and location in the ground
Finding water underground is not easy, because it is located between layers of soil, through which it cannot seep due to the moisture-resistant composition. The basis of such layers is clay and solid sediments. Layers of clay alternate with sand, gravel and pebbles. These layers contain pure water. Those who develop a source of drinking water need to dig down to such aquifers.
It must be taken into account that a layer containing water does not have the same parameters along its entire length. Somewhere the layer becomes thinner, somewhere it expands and goes to greater depths. The waterproof layers are also not the same: the arrangement can be horizontal or curved at different angles. Large volumes of sandy layers saturated with moisture lie in the bends and curvatures of impermeable layers.
The influence of burial depth on water quality
When developing a well, you can stumble upon an aquifer already at a depth of 2-2.5 m from the surface of the earth. This source is called perched water and is not used for water supply to private households. The close location to the ground indicates that the water collected due to melted snow, rain and water from nearby reservoirs. Its quality is low, because there is a risk of sewage and other dirt seeping through.
The high water is unstable. The layer containing high-quality water is located 15 m from the ground surface. Sand is a natural filter that purifies water from dirt and other dangerous microelements.
Water occurrence diagram.
Observation when searching
You can find a watercourse in your dacha using your own powers of observation. It is enough to pay attention to the behavior of animals, some natural phenomena and plants.
Summer fogs
Soil saturated with underground moisture will emit evaporation. Early in the morning or in the evening at the end of a hot day, you need to observe the area where the location for the well has been selected. If fog hovers over the ground, there is water. Optimally, if the fog gathers in clouds in one place or rises upward in a column, this indicates that there is a lot of water and the layers are located close to the surface. Waterproof layers copy the terrain. Therefore, there will be moisture in ravines and depressions that are surrounded by hills. On flat terrain and slopes its presence is questionable.
Animal behavior
In the heat, in order to cool down, dogs dig small holes and lie down there. Pets sense cool, and therefore damp, places. The close location of moisture-containing layers provides such temperature characteristics of the soil. Poultry is also worth watching. Chickens do not lay eggs where the humidity is high. Geese, on the contrary, choose places where they intersect to build their nests.
Various midges sense places with high soil moisture. The insects cluster together and swarm over damp areas in the afternoon. Field mice, on the contrary, do not like moisture. Rodents will build nests only in dry places, sometimes even climbing trees or buildings that rise above the ground.
You can determine the location of the water by your pet’s choice of resting place.
Types of growing plants
Some plants can tell you whether there are underground reservoirs on the site. A birch tree growing above underground springs will be small in height, with a crooked trunk and growths on it. The herbaceous plant chickweed and river gravel also indicate a watercourse in the area where the plants grow. Indicators of the presence of groundwater are lingonberries, blackberries and bird cherry.
A pine with a long root in the form of a rod, on the contrary, indicates the location of water sources at great depths.
Help from friends and neighbors
If there are houses or summer cottages nearby, you can talk to your neighbors. Perhaps they have already established a water supply and will be able to suggest where a good place to place a well is. It is also recommended to learn about the composition and quality of water, about fluctuations in water levels.
Practical Search Techniques
After the observation stage, you can begin a practical search using standard and traditional methods.
Using glass containers
Finding water using cans.
Dry open glass jars are placed upside down in the area to search for a watercourse. After 7-8 hours, the banks are inspected. Where the inner surface of the container becomes most moist and the accumulation of condensation is greatest, it is recommended to dig a well.
Application of hygroscopic material
You can find water using hygroscopic materials. These include salt, red brick, silica gel. For this method, you need to prepare an unpainted clay pot and choose a hot period for research so that the soil is dry. Pre-dried salt, brick chips or silica gel should be poured into a pot, the container with the contents should be weighed, wrapped in gauze or agrofibre and buried in the soil to a depth of 50 cm. After a day, the pot is dug up and weighed again, if the difference in weight is significant and moisture is close.
Almost scientific methods of dowsing
It is difficult to classify such methods as scientific, but there is no doubt about their effectiveness.
Aluminum electrodes and wire
Using aluminum frames is a popular method. Aluminum picks up magnetic vibrations in the area that are affected by water.
To find a water vein, you need to prepare:
- 2 pieces of aluminum wire 40-45 cm long;
- 2 fragments of a viburnum or elderberry trunk 10-12 cm long.
A piece of wire 10-12 cm long on both sections must be bent at an angle of 90° for handles. Cut the wooden blanks to the length of the handles and remove the core. Insert the wire into the handles so that nothing interferes with the smooth rotation.
To search, you need to walk around the area with frames in your hands, press your elbows to your body, and do not clench your fists too much. During movement, the ends of the frame should be moved in opposite directions. If there is a water-bearing vein underground on the left or right, both ends of the frame will turn in the right direction. If the watercourse is a few meters ahead, the ends of the wire will close together.
To ensure that the chosen location is correct, it is recommended to walk around the area again, but follow a different route.
Willow vine at the heart of the search
Willow naturally senses water and reaches out to it with its branches. It is not difficult to search for the source yourself using a vine. To do this, you need to find a willow branch with 2 ends coming out of one trunk and dry it. Then you need to take the edges of the vine in each hand and spread them apart so that the angle between them is approximately 150°, the branch should be directed slightly upward.
With such a device you need to go around the area. Where there is a watercourse, the willow branch will fall closer to the ground without difficulty or effort.
For more accurate indicators, it is recommended to walk around the territory:
- from 6 to 7 am;
- afternoon from 16:00 to 17:00;
- in the evening from 20:00 to 21:00;
- at night from 12 to 1 o'clock.
Finding water by drilling
Drilling is a more expensive method of finding an aquifer; the cost of developing some wells is equal to the cost of equipping a well with rings. Therefore, drilling with industrial equipment is rarely used in private areas. This type of development is justified in the case of well equipment for large industrial enterprises where water is used in large volumes.
For a suburban area, a hand-type garden drill is used, the diameter of which is 30 cm. With the help of such a drill, test holes are made with a depth of 5 to 10 m. During the drilling process, after introducing the tool into the soil, every 15-20 cm you need to remove the soil with an auger and inspect it. This is done to prevent breakdowns and check the soil moisture level, which indicates the proximity of an aquifer.
This search method is effective and affordable, but the result will largely depend on the skills of the driller.
After the watercourse is found, you should not immediately dig a well hole. It is necessary to ensure that the water found meets the standards. It is recommended to send samples to a laboratory for analysis and wait for the experts to respond. If the result is satisfactory, you can end the search.
Water is the main source of life on Earth! How to find water on the site and how difficult it is to organize your life and all gardening activities without water.
And although drinking water is not required - about 3 liters per person per day. Carrying her with you from the city is not an option at all! Ideally, you should have your own well on the property! Of course, a well is also possible, but it also requires a pump. After all, every living thing around us wants to drink, so without water we can’t grow a good harvest!
Of course, those gardeners who have a plot next to a pond are very lucky, but not everyone has such happiness. So let's take care of ourselves! Let's find water on the site, using the old fashioned method, and dig a well! What knowledge do we need for this? — knowledge about the occurrence of groundwater. So, let's look at the question, what kind of underground waters are there?
THE GROUNDWATER
When precipitation penetrates the upper (filtration) layer of soil (see Fig. 1), it sinks lower and lower until it is stopped by a waterproof layer of soil, which usually consists of dense, fatty clay rocks. Here water accumulates in the unevenness of the upper boundary of the layer, thereby forming aquifer lenses or continuous layers (horizons) with an admixture of sand, clay, earth, and gravel.
If water finds paths (pores, cracks, permeable inclusions) in the impermeable layer, it percolates below and fills the interlayer cavities between the two impermeable layers.
Rice. 1. Groundwater: 1 - perched water; 2 - groundwater; 3 - interstratal waters; 4 - artesian waters. Thus, depending on the shape and depth of the aquifer layers, underground layers can be located at different heights:
up to 4 meters (high water);
up to 10 meters (groundwater);
up to 40 meters (interlayer water);
more than 40 meters (artesian waters).
All of these are free, or gravitational, waters (they move freely under the influence of gravity) - in contrast to the so-called bound waters, which are held in rocks, for example, by molecular forces, and do not participate in underground circulation.
Verkhovodka- water that forms at shallow depths, immediately under the upper, filtering layer of soil due to the infiltration (filtration) of atmospheric precipitation. Perched water as a source of water supply has two serious drawbacks: it is untreated, fecal water from a latrine or other contaminants can penetrate into it (it is not suitable for drinking). It is seasonal, as it is fed by rain and meltwater.
Groundwater- This is the aquifer closest to the surface. Unlike perched water, it always exists, regardless of the season. The groundwater aquifer is thus located below the perched water. Beneath it there is a waterproof layer, which prevents groundwater from leaving this layer. The ground aquifer is free-flowing: if you drill a well or dig a hole to the water surface, its level will remain the same.
Groundwater is not only stable, but also much cleaner than perched water, as it is filtered by the top layer of soil. Therefore, these waters can be used for autonomous water supply to suburban housing.
Horizons below groundwater lie interstratal waters. They are separated from groundwater by water-resistant or semi-permeable rocks. This aquifer can be either pressure, under pressure (then it is artesian water), or unpressurized. Groundwater is fed either from the surface or from overlying layers of water. If pressurized groundwater reaches the surface, springs or springs are formed. They are often found in lowlands: in ravines, ravines, and at the foot of slopes.
Artesian waters are most preferable for water supply: they are perfectly purified due to filtration through water-resistant layers, are stable and do not require energy to raise water to the surface.
Let's answer one more question WHERE TO DIG?
It happens, of course, that you can’t find water near your house, for example, if there is a solid rock slab under the soil. There's nothing you can do about it. But most often there is water below us. Let's consider ourselves lucky.
Finding underground water is an art that people have mastered since time immemorial. Experts in this field enhance their sense of smell for water with the help of a simple device - vines, these are twigs with a fork like a slingshot.
In the manual on mining, published in 1760, the use of prospecting vines is stated as follows: “they cut off or break off the forks of the vines from the hazel tree to the thickness of the annual shoots. Then, taking both edges of these forks, turn the third end at the top so that the palm is facing the face and the upper part of the palm is facing the ground. Where the vine moves in your hands and bends at the upper end, in such a place there are water springs and standing waters.”
Fig. 2. Dowser's tool: a - vine; b, c - wire arrows. The dowser himself walks along the ground, guided by his mysterious instinct, and holds this light dowser in his hand. He barely holds it, without squeezing it in his hand, so as not to interfere with the vine giving him a sign. Where there is water underground, the vine should tremble and bend to the bottom. Try this experiment on your site too!
In the old days, dowsers did not know how to explain their gift, but in our days of fascination with extrasensory perception, the theorists of this matter seem to have figured it all out and improved the simple device, replacing the wooden slingshot with a scientifically proven wire arrow (see Fig. 2). One way or another, a dowser or a hydrogeologist, as a rule, finds water.
The best time to dig a well is the end of August, the time when groundwater is at its lowest.
Why do you need to search for water for a well on your property?
It is generally believed that water is everywhere. The only question is the depth of the aquifers on the dacha plot. Dowsing - searching for water for a well using a frame, is intended to facilitate the work of building wells on the site by indicating places where water naturally rises higher and penetrates through water-resistant layers. With the help of dowsing, you can detect the so-called underground “keys” - places where underground water flows out on the site, or the paths of spring veins. The effectiveness of the method for finding water for wells using a frame will be checked by test drilling.
It is believed that the best time to search for water is from 5 to 6 am, from 16 to 17 pm and from 20 to 21 and from 24 to 01 am. It is not advisable to look for water between 18:00 and 19:00 and 22:00 and 23:00.
It is better to look for water on an empty stomach and in an absolutely sound state of mind!
To make it clear how this happens, I’m posting a video where everything is clearly shown how to look for water using frames.
Folk signs that will help determine the location for a well on the site.
Look at the presence of indicator plants in your area, they will also help determine whether there is water in the area . Plants such as cinquefoil, hemlock, foxglove, autumn colchicum, coltsfoot, horse sorrel, rush, and sedge grow best where groundwater is close to the surface of the earth.
Apple and cherry trees grow poorly in places where groundwater comes close to the surface of the earth. At the same time, oak, alder, willow, willow, nettle and fern, on the contrary, “feel” excellent in these places.
If alder, maple, weeping willow, birch are all leaning in one direction, this is a sign that there is a water vein nearby.
In places with high standing waters, single oaks may be found. They grow as if at the intersection of water veins.
Horses and dogs, when thirsty, begin to dig in the ground where they sense water.
The dog avoids lying above the water veins, but the cat does the opposite.
A chicken will not sit and lay eggs in a place where the waters are high, but geese lay eggs at the intersection of water veins.
Red ants build their heaps taking into account the location of the water: where it is close, they are not there.
Columns of mosquitoes and midges after sunset indicate that there must be water here, underground.
The fog spreading after sunset is also a sign of close groundwater in this place.
Springs, wet places, and in winter ice and thawed patches in the snow cover indicate that an aquifer is reaching the surface of the earth.
A well is dug where the bedstraw grows.
Where there is hard clay, wells are dug there.
If the ground is damp at a depth of up to a meter, you can dig a well.
I hope these simple ways to determine water in an area will help you. And at the end of the article, a song about a well, to lift your spirits!)))
How to find water for a well on a site is a question that worries everyone who has turned from a buyer into the owner of this site. There are two solution options - costly and free. Turning to specialists, you will immediately have to shell out a certain amount, sometimes quite a decent amount, of your hard-earned money. It's easier to find water yourself.
Aquifer
There are several of them in the ground. They are separated from each other by waterproof layers. Their depth varies, sometimes reaching tens and hundreds of meters. In the immediate vicinity of the soil surface there is the so-called “overwater”. This water can only be used for technical needs, but not for consumption. The depth of the “overflow” can start from 1-2 meters. It is formed from the accumulation of melt water, precipitation and from seepage through the soil from nearby reservoirs. May dry out in hot weather.
Groundwater diagram
Subsequent layers of water begin from 8-10 m. Their water, in terms of its characteristics, is quite suitable for internal human consumption. Water raised from a depth of 30-50 meters is especially valued. Artesian water lies at a depth of more than 100 meters. But it is not rational to drill such deep wells on your site. In addition, this must have special permission from the authorities, since this water is the property of the state.
Looking for water
Becoming the owner of a water-bearing well is not as easy as it seems at first glance. First of all, you need to find a place where the well will give the expected result. To do this, you will have to spend a little of your precious time, but the result will more than compensate for everything. It is necessary to begin the search by studying the territory adjacent to the site. Having analyzed the location of neighboring wells, you need to mentally or on paper connect them with one line. The passage of this line along your site will indicate the approximate location of drilling the well. The fact is that in most cases the water surface runs along the same line between adjacent wells. But there is no need to delude yourself, this does not always happen. We need to continue the search.
Literally a hundred years ago, people who wondered had to use only the clues of nature. A suitable location was determined by analyzing the plants growing as well as the behavior of the animals. With the passage of time and the development of technology, methods such as test drilling and the production of hydrogeological maps, which mark the location of aquifers, have become available. But such maps are not compiled for all regions and settlements, and test drilling will require additional material and physical costs. That's why the old methods are still popular.
Advice. To sufficiently accurately determine the location of water on the site, you need to use all available methods for determining this location. The addition of the results obtained will indicate the most optimal location for drilling the well.
Ways to find water
There are quite a few ways to find an aquifer. Conventionally, they can be combined into the following groups:
- analysis of natural phenomena;
- use of available technical means;
- dowsing;
- test drilling.
Even individually, these methods sometimes help to correctly determine the location of water, and taken together they increase this probability significantly.
Important. When searching for a place to drill a well, one method of determining the location of groundwater is not enough.
Nature's hint
Often nature itself indicates the location of groundwater quite accurately. You just need to observe a little and summarize what you see. Vegetation will tell you a lot. The proximity of water is primarily indicated by the color of the vegetation. The brighter and softer it is, the closer the water. Thickets of willow and alder, wild currants also indicate this. But if an apple or cherry tree does not take root and gets sick, the water is nearby. The same indicator is the plum. You need to pay attention to the herbs. Nettle, sorrel, licorice, and sedge grow only in close proximity to groundwater. Moreover, the plants will even tell you the depth of the aquifers.
Approximate water depth
The behavior of animals, birds and insects provides a lot of useful information on this topic. For example, a dog does not like close groundwater, but for a cat this is happiness. Observe which place on the site is not held in high esteem by the dog. Moles do not like wet soil. A chicken will never lay eggs in a place with low groundwater. There are no red ants in such places. Conversely, curling columns of various midges directly indicate the presence of water nearby.
A dense, creeping fog and the formation of abundant dew on the grass in the morning indicate a shallow groundwater table.
Interesting conclusion. Technical means for determining the occurrence of groundwater have appeared relatively recently. Wells were built much earlier. It turns out that there is no reason not to believe in nature.
We use silica gel
The old age-old method of detecting groundwater using a clay pot has been improved. Previously, they took a dry clay pot and placed it in a place where water was expected to be available. If fogging appeared on the walls of the pot, this indicated that there was groundwater. The density of fogging was used to judge the proximity of the aquifer. After rearranging the pot several times, the most optimal place for digging a well was determined. Now this method has undergone some changes.
Well-dried silica gel is taken, carefully weighed and poured into a clay pot or glass jar. The container with silica gel is wrapped in cloth and buried to a depth of 0.5-1 m in the place where the well is supposed to be drilled. After a day, everything is dug out, the silica gel is weighed and the process is repeated several more times. Only the container is buried in a different place, 2-5 meters from the previous one. The place where the silica gel has collected the most moisture will be optimal for drilling a well.
Silica gel
For your information. Silica gel is a desiccant. After drying (calcination), it again restores its ability to absorb moisture.
The barometer helps too
You can approximately determine the depth of water using a room barometer. It is generally accepted that a pressure drop of 0.1 mmHg. Art. corresponds to a distance of 1 m. Thus, by measuring the pressure at the surface of the nearest natural reservoir and at the point of proposed drilling of a well, from the difference in readings we find the approximate depth of groundwater.
Barometer scale
Calculation example. The following data was obtained during the measurement. The pressure on the shore of the reservoir is 760.2 mm Hg. Art. The pressure at the point of proposed well drilling is 760.8 mm Hg. We subtract the smaller from the larger (760.8 – 760.2 = 0.6), convert the result to meters and get the approximate depth of water – 6 m.
Note. The barometer does not look for water, but helps determine its depth.
A frame comes to the rescue
One of the proven and popular ways to find water for a well on your site is the dowsing method. For this, 2 frames are prepared. These are ordinary rods of aluminum or copper wire with a diameter of 4-5 mm, a length of 40 cm. We measure 10 cm and bend the wire at a right angle. This is the future holder, or pen. We insert the holder into the elderberry branch with the core removed so that the wire can rotate freely in any direction. We select the length of the branch according to the width of the palm. That's it, the frame is ready. We make the second frame in the same way. Then the fun begins.
Finding water using a frame
We take the frames in our hands so that the elbows are pressed to the sides, and straight hands and forearms become parallel to the ground. The wire is directed forward, in the direction of travel. We slowly begin to move around the area, and as we move above the aquifer, the wires will cross. We put a pole in this place and examine the area further, and begin to move in a direction perpendicular to the original one. The place where the wires come together again means the point of drilling the well.
Advice. Instead of wire, you can use ordinary welding electrodes. Food for thought. This method of finding water is not scientifically justified, but it works. And in the hands of almost every person.
Test drilling
After all methods of searching for water have been tried, test or exploratory drilling can begin. In most cases, it becomes the final stage of work to find an aquifer. In other words, it turns from exploratory to basic. Of course, you could start with it right away, but here you need to take into account several factors. The fact is that the process of exploration drilling itself is quite complex, lengthy and expensive. In addition, it must be performed by specialists. And the most important thing is that he determines the parameters of the future well, but does not make it. After exploration, the depth of the aquifer, the amount of water in it, and the nature of the soil will become known exactly.
Homemade hand drill
But the well will have to be drilled, as they say, for a fee. In our case, exploration drilling is, as it were, the result of all previously carried out work. Real proof of the presence of water.
In practice it looks like this. Take an ordinary garden or homemade drill. By screwing it into the hole at the point where there should be water, a well is slowly made. Every 10-15 cm the drill must be removed and cleaned. This work continues until the aquifer is reached.
For your information. In practice, mechanical and electrical drills are most often used.
Now the problem of finding water for a well on your site does not exist. Using many years of experience in solving this issue, all work can be done independently with minimal financial investment. Clean, cold water will be a worthy reward for the efforts invested.
There are several ways to find water and correctly determine the optimal location for a well or for a well of any type in a garden plot. To correctly find the aquifer in the soil, both technical and time-tested folk remedies are used.
At what depth can drinking water be found?
The most dense and slightly permeable layers, which are contained in the summer cottage, alternate with loose and porous soil. A horizontally located waterproof layer, which is located at a sufficient depth, directly underground - an aquifer, composed of fatty clay, and the main aquifer with the accumulation of water in a usable quantity is located slightly lower.
To choose the optimal depth at which suitable groundwater flows and to correctly search for an aquifer, you need to take into account some natural factors, since there are many aquifers, and their depth, quantity and fullness directly depend on the characteristics of the geological structure:
- groundwater lies above an aquitard located close to the surface;
- above individual aquitards, perched water can accumulate, on which it is best to dig Abyssinian wells;
- in the central part of our country, groundwater is most often located with a depth of 5-40 m;
- groundwater is most often of low quality and is characterized as unsuitable for food purposes;
- between the aquitards, at a depth of 15-60 m, there is an interstratal water aquifer with fairly high quality characteristics and slight seasonal fluctuations in filling;
- The main type of interstratal water is represented by artesian water-saturated layers at a depth of 50 meters and is characterized by a constant filling level and high quality.
Of course, the highest quality drinking water can be obtained from the purest artesian sources, but when digging such sources one must count on high financial costs. Groundwater, especially high water, is not the best source of water supply, therefore, in order to improve the organoleptic properties of such water, it will be necessary to use a filtration system.
It is also important to remember that the maximum depth of a well made of concrete rings is approximately fifty meters, since with large values the structure may become jammed by large soil stones. Thus, the optimal depth of the water supply source can be determined taking into account the technical capabilities, soil structure and qualifications of the work performer.
How to find water on a site using frames (video)
The best ways to find water in your garden
To search for a place to build a water-bearing source with your own hands, you don’t need a lot of experience. In this case, a folk method or simple technical devices made independently can come to the rescue.
How to search for water using copper wire
With the help of copper wire, water-bearing veins are searched quite often. Such a dowsing frame is an L-shaped bent wire with sides measuring 25 and 15 cm. For free rotation in the hand, the short ends of the wire must be inserted into wooden tubes. When located above the aquifer, the frames rotated 180 degrees close, which allows not only to determine the location of groundwater, but also its boundaries.
Plant Tips
In the presence of close water, the vegetation has a brighter color and a richer appearance. The main natural landmarks are willow, willow and wild sorrel, which most often grow above the water vein. You can also assume the depth of the aquifer from the following vegetation:
- cattail - up to a meter;
- sandy reed and black poplar - up to three meters;
- sucker and reed - up to three to five meters;
- wormwood paniculata - up to seven meters;
- whose brilliant one is up to eight meters.
- naked licorice, sand wormwood and yellow alfalfa - up to ten meters.
Uses of willow vine
The water finder should hold the ends of the slingshot with his index fingers under the branches. In the process of slowly walking around the area, the upper part of the slingshot barely tilts down or rises a few millimeters up, which indicates the presence of an underground water vein.
Exploration drilling
Ground water exploration is one of the most promising methods for obtaining reliable information about the presence of an aquifer. Exploration drilling is carried out using compact drilling rigs or using a hand drill. Among other things, it is possible to preserve landscape coverage and, in the shortest possible time, obtain data not only on the depth of water, but also to study the structure of the soil at the location of the planned water supply source.
Observations of weather and animal behavior
A thirsty horse kicks its hoof, and a dog digs the ground above a water source with its paws. A hen will not lay eggs in damp places, but a goose looks for damp places to lay eggs. Also, the presence of high-lying water can be indicated by accumulations of mosquitoes and midges after sunset, thick fog and very heavy morning dew both on the grass and on objects.
Finding water for a well (video)
How to determine water quality
The soil and groundwater in our country are contaminated in large quantities with waste, which cannot but negatively affect the quality of water extracted from wells and wells. To protect your health, it is necessary to check the liquid from the water supply source. . At home, testing a sample taken is performed as follows:
- heat a liter of water to a temperature of 20 o C and check for the absence of taste and odor;
- if there is no unpleasant odor, the liquid is heated to 60 o C, after which a test similar to the first test is carried out.
- clean, odorless and tasteless water should not have even slight staining or cloudiness, and a drop of water applied to the glass after drying should not leave streaks;
- The degree of hardness is checked by boiling water and assessing the amount of sediment. The presence of a dark gray color of sediment indicates an excess amount of iron oxides in the water. The presence of a light yellow precipitate allows us to conclude that there is a significant amount of calcium salts and various oxides.
If there are the slightest deviations from the norm, then it is advisable to order a chemical, bacteriological and microbiological examination of the sample in the laboratory. It is important to note that samples obtained from groundwater are slightly cloudy, which is due to saturation with iron oxide and salts. Transparency indicators in laboratory conditions are determined by a colorimeter.
Criteria for choosing a site for drilling a well and digging a well when several sources are detected
In the Moscow region, publicly available water supplies are at the level of the first limestone. As a rule, in the southeast the layer lies at a depth of 30-70 meters, and in the north and northwest it is already within 70-100 m. If a well is drilled on the “second limestone”, then, most likely, After inspection, the well will be plugged, and a fairly large fine will be imposed on the owner, since such sources of water supply require the preparation of special documents.
To obtain high-quality drinking water in large volumes, it is necessary to draw up a package of documentation and coordinate actions with Rospotrebnadzor and other organizations:
- applying to the regional Ministry of Natural Resources to consider the possibility of drilling an artesian well;
- visit to the site of the proposed drilling by a commission, which includes hydrogeologists and representatives of Rospotrebnadzor;
- if there is a positive answer in the conclusion, a license is issued in accordance with the law “On Subsoil” in the presence of a certificate of the right to use the land plot, a cadastral plan and a master plan for subsequent development, identifying the location of the proposed source of water supply and sanitary protection zone.
To obtain a license, you need to agree on the balance of water consumption and wastewater disposal in the regional water department, as well as the sanitary and epidemiological conclusion of Rospotrebnadzor, after which a well design contract is drawn up, which is transferred to the SES. If the package of documents is collected correctly, the drilling license can be obtained within three months. After drilling, you will need to issue a passport for the water supply source based on state acceptance permits and state geological examination.
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How to determine underground water
If you are thinking about how to find water underground, start by studying the nearest area, analyze how water flows in neighboring areas. More often, water flows along one line between wells or wells of neighbors. A couple of meters away from this line - and there is less water or a worse taste.
Method 1
The most effective method is to drill test wells in several places. You can drill with an ordinary garden or homemade drill to a depth of 6-10 meters. After analyzing the soil layers, humidity, depth of groundwater and the quality of the water itself, you can decide on a place to drill a well. If there are no tools for drilling a well, use another method.
Method 2
This method requires some kind of desiccant that can absorb moisture and accumulate it, for example, silica gel or red brick.
The lycagel is pre-dried in the oven and placed in a clay pot that is not covered with glaze. The pot is buried in the place where it is planned to drill a well or dig a well, having first weighed it and wrapped it in several layers of dense fabric. Bury to a depth of about 0.5 meters. After 24 hours, the container is removed and re-weighed (preferably on a pharmacy scale). The heavier the pot becomes, the more water there is in that area. You can make several of these containers at the same time to determine the search location, and then re-dive to check the exact location for drilling. If you use bricks instead of silica gel, then each one must be weighed before and after burial. Record the results and analyze where the water is closest.
Method 3
This method has been used for a long time and quite successfully, although it is not scientifically substantiated. How does this happen? Find two copper wires with a diameter of 3 mm and a length of 50 cm. Each of them is bent at an angle of 90⁰. Take one wire in each hand and hold it by the short part so that the long part is parallel to the ground and the short part rotates freely in the fist. Then they walk slowly with their hands out in front of them and watch the movement of the copper wires. They will spin randomly, sometimes intersecting. In the place where the wires intersect and return to such a position as magnetized, this is where water passes underground. So you can try to drill here. If there is no copper wire, ordinary steel wire will do.
Method 4
You can search for water using one frame. In this case, you should walk with one frame, observing its movement. In the place where the water is, the frame will spin.
This method of searching for water has existed for a long time. A person who knew how to find water underground in the described way was called a “dowser,” since previously a curved vine in the form of a slingshot was used instead of wire. Previously, it was believed that in order to find water, it was not enough to simply learn to walk with a vine; the “dowser” must have a special gift to feel it. It is better to take a test for “sensitivity” to water in advance: take a wire and walk along a bridge over a stream or river. Sensitive people will only feel the water when approaching the stream, less sensitive closer to the middle, and others will not feel it at all.
Nature's clues
Our ancestors shared their knowledge of how to find water underground. They successfully used their observations and hints from nature.
Observe the plants in summer. The greener the plants, the more likely it is that water is passing close by. Fruit trees such as cherry and apple trees get sick in places where there is water underground, while alder and willow, on the contrary, grow well.
See how the fog spreads over the ground early in the morning or late in the evening in summer. Fog is denser in places where there is more moisture, which evaporates and cools faster.
It has long been known that on hot days dogs dig the ground where there is water, and cats like to lie right where water veins pass.
Geese lay eggs above the intersection of water veins, but chickens, on the contrary, will not lay eggs there.
Red ants sense water very well and build their anthills away from water veins.
Columns of mosquitoes hover over damp places in the evening.
You can find the place where water is underground using a bunch of salt. It becomes moist even in dry weather, and an overturned jar is always covered with dew. More dew will fall where the water is closer to the ground.
It is important to consider that there is no one universal and 100% effective way to search for water underground, so it is better to use several at once.
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After rummaging around on the Internet, I managed to find a fairly complete guide to the popular search for water ().
Well-known folk methods of searching for water are conventionally divided into four groups:
— determination by indication (this method is also known as the “dowsing method”);
— using indicator plants;
- on the behavior of animals, birds, insects;
- other signs of a natural nature.1. Search for water using the frame indication.
When using an indication, use pieces of aluminum wire or a fork from a wooden branch of hazel, willow or viburnum.1 way. In the first case, take two aluminum wires 30-40 centimeters long, each with ends bent at right angles (10-15 cm). It is better to insert these ends into tubes of tree-like elderberry, removing the core. The wires should turn freely in the tubes.
The starting position is as follows: the indicator wires are rotated horizontally by 180°. When a person, walking along the site, comes across an aquifer, the wires close forward, to the right or to the left (along the flow of water). Having passed this place, the indicators again diverge to the sides by 180°.
Now, having marked the place where the wires meet, you should walk with the indicators apart in a perpendicular direction. If the wires came together from the very beginning and stayed that way for some time, then this was the direction of the aquifer. If the rods deviate to the right or left, again look for the place of their contact. It will be the center of the future water source.
Method 2. You can search for water using one frame. A wire 30 centimeters long is bent at about a distance of 10 cm. The short end is taken into a fist so that the long end is horizontal. Forward direction. There is no need to clamp the wire too much. All. We walk around the site. In some places the end of the wire will deviate to the side as if from a single-pole magnet. We keep the direction towards the greatest resistance. The place we need is where the wire will rotate.
3 way. A similar way to search for a water-bearing ball is using a wooden fork (two branches that grew close to each other, connected by a piece of trunk). They are first unbent and dried, the angle between the ends must be at least 150°. Take the fork in two hands, extend them horizontally in front of you and walk through the surveyed area. In the place where the aquifer is located, the section of the trunk will noticeably tilt towards the ground. Often, during an inspection of the territory, the indicators do not respond: they do not close anywhere and do not tilt. This means there is no water-bearing sphere here. Water should be looked for elsewhere.
2. Finding water using indicator plants.
At all times, peoples of different countries have attached great importance to plants when searching for groundwater. The close occurrence of water is evidenced by moisture-loving vegetation, colored with bright and lush greenery. The more abundant, dense and green the vegetation, the more water there is.If wild currants have grown greatly, seemingly in a dry place, you can be sure that there is groundwater close to the surface.
The willow has long been used in Rus' as an indicator of water sources. They said about her: “Where there is water there is a willow; where there is a willow, there is water.”
A good indicator of shallow waters in the temperate zone is meadowsweet, or meadowsweet. Meadowsweet can be found in damp meadows, ravines, swamps, river banks and ponds.
Forest reeds indicate the close occurrence of groundwater.
If the plant community is dominated by forest reed and meadowsweet (meadowsweet), and gray and black alder are also present in them, this indicates that the water lies at a depth of up to 3 m.
The Chuvash used sorrel as an indicator of nearby groundwater: “Dig a well in sorrel places—water will appear.”
The ancient explorer Vitruvius Pollio, who lived in the 1st century BC, attached exceptional importance to vegetation when searching for underground water: “The signs of water in the earth rocks described above are as follows: thin reeds, reeds, willows, alder, vitex, twigs grow there, ivy and others, which have the property that they cannot germinate without moisture."
Where groundwater is located close to the surface of the earth, plants grow best: cinquefoil, hemlock, foxglove, autumn colchicum, coltsfoot, horse sorrel, reed, sedge, nettle, horsetail.
If alder, maple, weeping willow, birch are all leaning in one direction, this is a sign that there is a water vein nearby.
Willow and alder grow well above the aquifers, leaning towards the flow.
In places with high standing waters, single oaks may be found. They grow as if at the intersection of water veins.
If a plane tree grows far from an open source, it means that an underground river flows under it. The location of the trees indicates the direction of the flow.
Licorice glabra grows strongly in places where groundwater is located at a depth of up to 2 meters.
In places where groundwater is close, apple, cherry and plum trees grow poorly, get sick and dry out.
Table of groundwater occurrence, depending on growing plants:Plants Groundwater depth, (m)
_________________________________________
Rogoza 0 - 1
Sandy reed 1 - 3
Black poplar 0.5 - 3
Reed 0 - 1.5 (up to 3 - 5)
Loch 1 – 3 (up to 5)
Sarsazan 0.5 – 3 (up to 5)
Wormwood paniculata 3 - 5 (up to 7)
Chiy brilliant 1.5 - 5 (up to 8)
Licorice naked 1.5 - 5 (up to 10)
Sandy wormwood 3 – 5 (up to 10)
Yellow alfalfa 1.4 - 2 (up to 10 - 15)3. Finding aquifers by observing the behavior of animals, birds, insects
When a horse wants water, it sniffs the ground and hits with its hooves where it senses the presence of moisture.
The dog, feeling thirsty, begins to dig the ground where it senses water.
The dog avoids lying over the water veins, but the cat does the opposite.
A hen will not sit and lay eggs in a place where the waters are high; Geese lay eggs at the intersection of water veins.
Red ants build their heaps taking into account the location of the water: where it is close, they are not there.
The curling columns of mosquitoes and midges after sunset indicate that there must be water close here, underground.
In damp places, mice make nests on tree branches or in weeds, but not in the ground.4. Search for water using natural signs.
The fog spreading after sunset is a sign of close groundwater in this place.
In the morning dew falls - there is more dew where the water comes closer to the ground. Dew is formed because the closer the water comes to the ground, the better it cools, and when cooling, condensation forms from the air on the surface of the earth.
An overturned jar or pot above the aquifer will certainly become covered with dew, and a bunch of salt will get wet in dry weather.
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How to find water underground
First of all, be sure to determine the location of the water key. Finding quality water is a responsible and not easy task. So how to find water on the site with your own hands? Let's find out...
Before you start searching for a place for a water intake point, you should carefully examine all readily available information about groundwater in the area and study hydrogeological maps.
From among the underground stone and clay layers, reservoirs of various widths arise from a cubic meter up to 10 cubic meters. They have every chance of being both vertical and horizontal. Sometimes such hydrophytic lenses bend. 
Determination of groundwater movement
The so-called perched waters are located nearby on the soil plane. These are not very large underground reservoirs that fill when snow melts and precipitation. If the weather is dry outside for a long time, they will soon dry out, and the quality of such water is very low, since various types of blockages enter it from the surface. As a result, it is not recommended to use such water as a main spring. The best option is to use it for technical needs.
Extremely successful for extracting drinking water are deep aquifers that contain the maximum amount of pure and high-quality water. They are located at a depth of more than 5-7 meters, the water is very well filtered before entering these “lakes”.
Getting it to such a depth is not easy, and is undoubtedly not profitable financially, but the quality of the water is worth it. It is necessary to take into account that in one area the water well can be thin, and in another it can increase to large volumes.
How to find water with your own hands
Very easy. The most famous and well-known method is the use of aluminum frames. They sense magnetic fluctuations in the area well.
And water has a significant effect on the magnetic background. In order to find water with the support of aluminum frames, you need to carry out similar actions.
Take 2 pieces of thick aluminum wire and drive them fifteen cm apart until the immediate corner is removed. Cut fragments from the viburnum trunk along the length of the handles and remove the core. Insert the wire into the tubes so that it can scroll freely. Holding these well-known devices in your outstretched arms, walk around the area. During the period of movement, the edges of the wire must be moved in different directions.
If water underground appears on the right or left, then these two boundaries will turn in the required direction. And if the water-bearing well is in front of you, the edges of the wire will close. In order to be convinced of your own find, walk over the found water several times, but moving along a different line of movement. If everything happens again, then it is allowed to dig a well in the current area.
Technology for finding water using vines
Our ancestors understood this very well! For this purpose, they used an ordinary willow rod. There was also a similar activity - dowsing. Willow senses liquid and nature has endowed it with the ability to reach for water. It is not difficult to carry out such searches personally. 
To do this you should: Mark a willow branch with 2 branches coming out of 1 trunk and dry it at room temperature. Take the edges of the branches in your hands and spread them apart so that the angle between them is approximately one hundred and fifty degrees. The outcome of a single barrel must look a little upward, and the muscles of the arms must be strained. With this device you need to walk around the area.
Where there is a water-bearing well, the branch of the vine will fall down without much difficulty.
Ancient method with clay pots
This is also an extremely old and classic way of searching for water. To do this, in order to clearly establish the zones where water occurs, the villages used earthenware. Before this necessary task, the pot was perfectly dried in the sun. In the area of the planned well, the dried product was placed in an inverted form. If there was actually water deep under the soil, then the pot would become very sweaty inside.
Current owners also use this technology, however, in a slightly improved version. A certain amount of silica gel is poured into the pot. It is also dried before use. The pot with the filling is weighed and placed in the water search area. To increase the likelihood of a positive ending, several such pots are placed throughout the entire area. After time, the pots are weighed: where it is heaviest, that’s where it is necessary to dig a well or borehole. Instead of silica gel, it is allowed to use small pieces of typical brick.
Indicator plants
According to numerous representatives of the plant world, it is possible to absolutely clearly establish the zones where water occurs, including the depth of its location. This is due to the fact that different plants have different root lengths and consume water at a specified depth. If in your place there is a thicket of wild rosemary, woodlice, and the like, then in these places the water comes quite close to the plane of the ground. A birch tree with a disproportionate crown and a twisted trunk also indicates excessive dampness. But pines and other coniferous trees do not prefer water.
Service Animals
Your pets will give you a hint on how to find water in a well site. Since time immemorial, peasants have noticed that in a place where dogs or horses begin to dig into mother earth, there is a high chance of finding water. Chickens do not lay eggs when the area is damp, and geese, like waterfowl, will rather build a nest over the site of the future well. Ants do not prefer “watery” areas. If in the evening you notice a column of midges or mosquitoes over a certain area, you can look for some water here.
Salt and brick
Let's look at how to find water in a country house using typical kitchen salt and building bricks. It is necessary to choose a hot period when the ground is completely dry. Pour pre-dried salt or crushed scarlet brick into an unpainted gray clay pot. We weigh the container together with its contents. We wrap the pot in gauze or agrofibre and immerse it in the soil to a depth of half a meter. A day later, we buy our own homemade apparatus and weigh it again. If the difference in weight is quite significant, then water is not far away.
Fog
In those places where there is a light smoke in the early morning in the summer, or rather, groundwater lies nearby. The thicker the fog, the higher the water underground. You only need to look at the fog that is standing in the area without moving.
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- Where is water most often found?
- Willow frame (dowsing)
- How to look for water correctly
Where is water most often found?
In cross-section, the soil looks like a layer cake consisting of different rocks. Between them in the aquifers lie water deposits, the location of which has its own gradation:
- groundwater (upper water) – depth 4-5 m;
- ground – 8-10 m;
- interstratal waters – from 10 to 100 m;
- artesian waters - over 100 m (their occurrence cannot be determined by household methods).
To detect groundwater, you can use the clues that nature itself gives us. The terrain on which the site is located often suggests the presence or absence of water underground. A negative answer is given by the following features:
- hilly terrain, the site is located on a hill or on the left (steep) bank of the river;
- nearby there are powerful artesian springs, ponds or springs, as well as powerful water intake points;
- the settlement is located next to a mining quarry.
Beech or acacia groves do not increase the chances of success. But if bird cherry, rosemary, a lot of blackberries or lingonberries grow in abundance, it’s worth trying your luck.
If the plot has recently been acquired or the issue of purchase is just being decided, there is no centralized water supply or well on the plot you like, which means you need to get to know the neighbors. When questioning, they clarify the presence of wells or Abyssinian wells, the depth of the water, and whether there have been cases where the source “goes away” after a short period of operation.
If all hydraulic structures are located at approximately the same depth, you can count on success in finding water in your own area.
IMPORTANT TO KNOW: A swamp nearby is a sure sign of the presence of groundwater, which is of poor quality. Possible yellowish color of water due to impurities of iron and manganese, a specific musty odor due to the high content of hydrogen sulfide.
Main types of frames for searching for water
A recognized folk method of independently searching for a source is the use of dowsing frames. It is believed that they respond to changes in the biofield. The mediator between the frame and the potential water deposit is a person who meditatively focuses on the desired object - water, ore, etc.
The method has no scientific confirmation. However, all kinds of experiments confirm its relative effectiveness. The results of studies conducted using various methods vary from 13-15% to 80%.
Willow frame (dowsing)
Among the “getters” of water, a popular method is using a frame made of willow vine. The research was given a special term – dowsing. How to make a frame for searching underground water? The bottom line is this:
- a fork-shaped frame is made from wicker;
- take the device by the ends and slowly walk around the area where you need to find the source;
- in the place where the boundaries of various structures are located underground, the frame will begin to deviate. The greater the deviation, the higher the chances of success.
At the same time, one cannot be completely sure that, for example, clay and water met at a point. These can be two soil-forming rocks - a layer of chernozem and clay.
Dowsing wire frame
Wire frames made of any metal are also used for searches - copper, aluminum, steel and even welding electrodes are suitable. Proceed as follows:
- the wire is bent at a right angle in a ratio of 1:3;
- a shorter section (conventional handle) is placed in any cone-shaped object, the diameter of which slightly exceeds the cross-section of the wire;
- another frame is made in the same way;
- they take the wire locator in both hands and begin searching - they slowly move around the area and react to the places where the frame begins to rotate - hypothetically there is water there.
IMPORTANT TO KNOW: Among dowsers, it is believed that it is best to build a well at the intersection of two aquifers (underground streams).
How to look for water correctly
In addition to folk methods, there are scientifically proven ways to search for underground sources. The electrical resistance method is considered quite effective. Using special equipment, data on the resistivity of each soil layer is collected and then analyzed. If all kinds of communications are located nearby - engineering, railway, pipelines run, the results may be distorted.
A proven method is exploratory auger drilling based on the hydrogeological directory of the area. On the one hand, this is an additional burden on the budget, on the other hand, it is an opportunity to make sure that it makes sense to start constructing a well or borehole. In addition, water samples can be sent to a laboratory, where their quality and composition will be determined.
Video: how to find water on a site using dowsing method
Video: review of searching for water on the site with frames
The surest way to find water and meet the needs of the household for many years is to contact specialists in the field of hydrogeology and construction of hydraulic structures. Professionals will not guess with frames and coffee grounds, but will carry out a complex of surveys, as a result of which, if water is detected, a well or a well will certainly appear on the site. High-quality exploration combined with competent execution of work on the construction of a hydraulic structure will definitely solve the problem of water supply to the estate and the surrounding area.
Installing your own water source in a suburban area will significantly increase the level of comfort. Agree, bringing sufficient quantities of water to the dacha is an expensive undertaking, especially since some areas are significantly removed from the city. Have you decided to build a water intake, but don’t know how to find water for the well?
We will help you understand the intricacies of the search - the article describes various methods and methods that are in demand among owners of suburban areas. There are also video recommendations and colorful photos that clearly demonstrate the material presented.
There is water underground, but it is not so easy to find. You can, of course, dig a hole at random in the hope of accidentally stumbling upon an aquifer, but the result will most likely be disappointing.
Meanwhile, it happens that if you had not missed by literally two meters, the desired goal would have been achieved. After all, water in the ground is located between layers of soil, which it is not able to erode due to its water-resistant composition, which is based on clay and rocks.
Clay layers alternate with sandy layers, gravel and pebble deposits. They contain clean water. It is precisely this aquifer that those who decide to dig a well on their site need to get to.
Aquifers lie unevenly and their location is not so easy to detect, but those who are going to build a well need such information
It should be taken into account that the aquifer is not the same in geometric parameters throughout its entire length. Somewhere the sand layer becomes thinner, and in other places it becomes wider and deeper.
The waterproof layer is also not the same: in one place it is horizontal, and in another it can bend or even bend. The largest volumes of water-saturated sand are stored in places where the waterproof layer is bent.
The influence of burial depth on water quality
If you dig a well in the exact place where the water is located, the aquifer can be found even just two or two and a half meters from the earth's surface. Knowledgeable people call this water layer perchal water and do not use it for drinking.
Proximity to the surface is not a good sign, because water has accumulated due to melting snow, infiltration of rain streams and water from nearby reservoirs. The quality of the water in it leaves much to be desired, because there is a high probability of sewerage and other dirt seeping through.
In addition, the surface of such water is usually unstable. A well with perched water can completely dry up during the summer heat and fill up during the season of melting snow or prolonged autumn rains.
This means that water supply sources fed by perched water will also be empty, and summer residents will be left without water in the hot summer, when it is especially needed. Under such circumstances, it is better to forget about plans for the harvest. After all, no water is expected in the well until late autumn.
Therefore, we will look for deeper water. Experts believe that high-quality water is not so deep, only 15 meters from the soil level. In the sands, where the water is clean and tasty. The sand layer in which water is “stored” is a natural filter. By passing moisture through itself, it cleanses it of residual dirt and harmful elements.
If you are interested in installing a personal water source at your summer cottage, it is worth comparing the arguments in favor of the device, as well as learning about their disadvantages. We invite you to read the comparative review.
Observation when searching
The ability to take note of everything and analyze the information collected has never been superfluous. It was in this way that our ancestors, who were not yet armed with the achievements of science and technology, found water. What facts and natural phenomena will help us in our search for water?
Observation #1 - summer fogs
Fogs may appear in the area during the warm season. This natural phenomenon happens either in the early morning or late in the evening. If you observe fog in your area, pay attention to its density: it will be highest in the place where the water is closest to the soil surface.
If early in the morning you see fog in your garden, swirling or concentrated in one of its corners, then you can say with confidence that there is water in your area
The cause of such fog is the evaporation of water that is located underground. It will not stay in one place like ordinary fog. Moisture vapor may swirl or travel very low to the ground.
Observation #2 - animal behavior
By observing the behavior of domestic and wild animals and birds, we can obtain all the necessary information:
- Dog. A dog is a man’s friend and will definitely help him in finding water for a well. In the heat, dogs are always looking for an opportunity to cool their body, so they dig holes where it is cooler. These are exactly the places we are looking for.
- Horse. When thirsty, a horse hits its hoof in a place where there is water underground.
- Harvest mouse. But mice love where it is dry. They will never make their nests near places of high humidity. It’s better to climb a tree or some building that rises above the ground level.
- Domestic bird. Chickens do not lay eggs where it is wet, but geese, on the contrary, choose places where underground aquifers intersect for their nests.
Even midges feel the proximity of water. If we look at its behavior at dusk, when the summer heat has already subsided, we will see columns of insects circling in the air precisely over those places where it is coolest - where there is what we need underground.
Dogs, like people, have difficulty withstanding heat and drought. They try to get to the coolest layers of soil, which are located just above the aquifer.
In a place unwittingly indicated to us by representatives of the animal world, we can safely strike to obtain water for watering the garden and for maintaining the territory.
Observation #3 - types of growing plants
Who would know about the presence or absence of water on the site, if not the plants? It is not surprising that they are used as indicators. If blackberries, buckthorn, lingonberries, bearberry, bird cherry, wood lice and wild rosemary are doing well on your site, then it makes sense to look for an aquifer - it is definitely present.
Take a closer look at the birch: its modest growth and gnarled trunk with curvatures indicate the presence of a nearby watercourse. Coniferous trees also prefer to grow where it is dry.
By the way, the presence of nearby groundwater is not always a benefit for gardeners. After all, cherries and apples prefer moderate humidity: their waterlogging can provoke tree diseases and fruit rotting.
Observation #4 - help from friends and neighbors
If your property is part of a gardening society or you have neighbors nearby, be sure to talk to them. As a rule, they have already solved the problems that you are struggling with today. If there is an operating well or well on their site, then you will have water too.
It is worth asking your neighbors at what depth the water is in their source and whether the level is stable. In this way, it is easiest and easiest to collect information and plan work on. For private owners, surveying the owners of adjacent plots is the only expedient way to obtain hydrogeological data.
You should always maintain friendly relations with your neighbors: they will be the first to come to your aid, and if something happens, they will protect your property from thieves
Try to find out not only the current state of the local water intake, but also fluctuations in water levels throughout the year, as well as the composition of the water. Agree that it is not very pleasant to find your site flooded with flood waters in the spring. Receive vital information in a timely manner.
Practical Search Techniques
When the observation stage is already over, and the neighbor said that he bought the plot already with a well, the time comes for a practical search for water layers using standard or non-standard methods.
Method #1 - using glass containers
Finding the right number of glass jars of the same size is not a problem for those who occasionally do home canning. If you don’t have cans, buy them; the summer resident will definitely need them sooner or later.
The contents of ordinary glass jars will eloquently tell you where exactly the aquifer may be located: look for the container with the highest concentration of condensate
Throughout the entire area, you need to dig glass jars of the same size, bottom up, to a depth of at least 5 cm. The duration of the experiment is a day. The next morning, before the sun rises, you can dig out and turn over the dishes.
We are interested in those jars that contain condensate. There is more of it in banks located above aquifers.
Method #2 - use of hygroscopic material
It is known that salt is hygroscopic, that is, it can absorb moisture even from the air. Red brick, crushed into powder, has the same properties. Silica gel is another material that is perfect for our purposes.
To conduct the experiment, we will need several clay pots that are not covered with glaze. Choose a day when there has been no rain for a long time and we hope that it won’t rain in the next 24 hours.
You need pots like these, not coated inside or outside with glaze, because they “breathe” well and are able to let water vapors in.
We pour the material into the pots and weigh the resulting “devices”. It is better to number the pots and write down the data obtained. We wrap each pot in non-woven material and bury it at a depth of half a meter in the ground in different places on the site.
A day later we dig up the bookmarks and re-weigh them. The heavier the pot and its contents become, the closer to the place where it was laid the aquifer is located.
Almost scientific methods of dowsing
Despite all the skepticism of professional drillers, dowsing is still used to this day and gives good results. Let's look at two ways to search for water this way.
No. 1 - aluminum electrodes and wire
For this experiment we will need two pieces of aluminum wire 40 cm long. We bend 10 cm on each piece at a right angle for the handles. For the remaining 25 cm, you will need a hollow tube, such as elderberry, with the core removed.
We insert the wire into the elderberry tubes so that it can rotate freely inside the channel. By the way, instead of elderberry you can use viburnum, willow or hazel.
Usually those who do dowsing professionally use rather complex frameworks, which we don’t need, especially since the principle of operation and the result will be the same
We take one tube in each hand so that their ends point in opposite directions. We walk along the site in the direction from north to south. Elbows should be pressed to the body. The frame, not tightly clenched in the fists, serves as an extension of the hand.
In the place where there is a water-bearing vein, the wires will turn around and converge towards the middle. It is possible that the water may be to your right or left, then both tubes will “look” in this direction.
When you pass the aquifer, the tubes will again turn in different directions. To make sure that you have not made a mistake, walk again over the place where the tubes meet. This time in a direction perpendicular to the previous one (from east to west). If the closure is repeated, the right place has been found and this is where the well should be dug.
No. 2 - willow vine at the heart of the search
We need a willow on which there is a branch that seems to be split into two parts, forming an angle of 150 degrees (approximately) with each other. This is actually a ready-made “frame” - the main tool that we will use. But the frame cannot be used immediately. Be patient and let the wood dry first.
People have been involved in dowsing since ancient times. We shouldn’t abandon this method either, especially since it is quite effective.
The finished frame is taken at the ends of the branches so that the “beak” located in the middle looks up. With this vine you need to slowly walk around the entire area. Above the location of the aquifer, the vine will “bite”, that is, the middle part of the frame will be directed downward.
Not every person knows how to handle a vine correctly, so dowsing is the destiny of a few. For those who are ready to test themselves, we remind you that the most accurate values can be obtained using the frame:
- in the morning from 6 to 7 o'clock;
- after lunch from 4 to 5 o'clock;
- in the evening from 8 to 9 o'clock;
- at night from 12 to 1 o'clock.
Such research brings results. But the water found may turn out to be high water or underground utilities passing under the site and collecting condensate.
Finding water by drilling
The final result can be obtained by exploratory drilling. He will put an end to all your doubts. To drill a well you will need a garden drill. Since we have already discussed the merits of water located dangerously close to the earth's surface, we will have to drill to a depth of at least 6 meters.
The only way to make sure that we have found the right place that we spent so much effort searching for is to drill into the soil and underlying layers of soil to see what is there
Let's say an aquifer is found. But, before you start digging the long-awaited well, you need to make sure that you have found water of good quality. To do this, send it to the sanitary and epidemiological station to study the composition and degree of contamination. Also
Using it, we will obtain the following information:
- thickness of the soil on the site;
- quantity and quality of detected water;
- depth of the aquifer;
- location of quicksand, stone blocks and slabs;
- the approximate amount we will need to build a well.
It is not at all a fact that the place you are scouting will be conveniently located relative to the proposed buildings on your site, but sometimes the owners are lucky.
Finding the right place five meters from your home is considered a great success. In this case, when installing an independent water supply system with automatic water supply, the section of pipes laid in the ground will be minimal. This means it will require less investment.
Conclusions and useful video on the topic
Watch the video below, it will introduce you to dowsing methods. You will see the practical application of the dowsing method. Geologists do not recommend using this method, considering it pseudoscientific. If the method itself is controversial, then the manipulations with the ring that you see in this video are more than questionable.
In our article, dowsing is mentioned solely for the purpose of providing the most complete information about all methods of searching for water that are actually used in practice.
The next video will present the principle of studying soils and their condition using drilling methods. This video clearly demonstrates the work of reconnaissance digging using a probe (bailer). This is a rather labor-intensive process that is difficult to perform alone, without using either a tripod or a gate.
In addition, there is a real danger of the well collapsing if casing is not used to secure it.
If you are looking for water for a well, you need to have an understanding of aquifers, how they are located underground and the influence of water depth on its quality characteristics.
Be observant during your search. Observe plants, natural phenomena and animals. Their behavior will help you determine if there is water in your area.
Folk means of finding water, as well as information received from neighbors, will also not be superfluous. In addition, they search for water using the dowsing method. The drilling method is considered the most effective, although labor-intensive. Armed with the information you have received, you can begin your search. If there is water in your area, you will definitely find it.
Please write comments in the block below. Please ask questions if you have any questions while reading the information we provide. Tell us and site visitors about your own experience in determining the location for a well on a suburban area.