Well and Tubewell Irrigation

The moving of water across the surface of the agricultural land is known as irrigation. Irrigation is of four types. They are surface irrigation, subsurface irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, and drip/trickle irrigation. Reservoirs, tanks, wells are the commonly used irrigation systems in India. The tubewell irrigation system is the type of irrigation that is the most popular irrigation method followed in India. In 1930, the first tubewell irrigation was operated in Uttar Pradesh. Now, more than fifty lakhs of tubewell irrigation are in operation in different parts of the country. 

This article will provide all the well irrigation information along with details about the wells and tube wells and shallow tubewell irrigation systems. 

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Wells and Tubewells

The well irrigation system and tubewell irrigation system will play an important role in making the green revolution successful in India. Most of the parts in India, which cannot access water from natural reservoirs, utilized open well irrigation and tubewell irrigation for agriculture.  In India, Uttar Pradesh is the largest state in India, which is utilizing most of the areas in well irrigation.  Followed by Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Bihar are on the list that has the highest tubewell irrigation state in India. 

Types of Wells 

The process of utilizing the underground water through digging wells for agriculture is known as well irrigation in India. Usually, the wells are of three types, they are drilled well, dug well or bored well, and driven well. The dug well or bored well is one of the shallow wells that have a bottom in the great depth below the water table. So, the water from the surrounding area will accumulate in the well through the aquifer. Sometimes, the water in the well can be lifted from the ground surface through a water lifter.  About 20% of the masonry wells are operated by the Persian wheel. The remaining wells are using animal power with leather or metal buckets to lift water. Usually, these wells can be utilized for limitedly discharging water. Because it requires a high cost of labor and drudgery for taking out the water. 

Shallow Tube Well Irrigation 

The shallow tube well irrigation systems are usually dug with a length of about 30m. They are drilled to penetrate a shallow aquifer. Farmers are using the small centrifugal pumps for taking out the water from the shallow tube wells. The farmers in the deltas of Kaveri river are utilizing the shallow wells in their farmlands.  Each farmer will have their own shallow tube well irrigation systems for better agriculture. Farmers are using electric or diesel motors to drive out the water using pumps. They are also using centrifugal pumps for operating suction mode. On average, it is possible to take out 7 liters of water per second through the pump. 

Deep Well Irrigation 

The depth of the medium tube wells is about 45m. The depth of the medium tube wells completely depends on the depth of the aquifer and the capacity desired. The diameter of the medium tube wells is small and is also known as the submersible tube wells. The centrifugal pumps are used to take out water from the depth. Usually, the water distribution from these wells is mainly through small unlined channels. The masonry wells are at the depth of 30 meters, the shallow tube wells depth is about 200m and the medium tube wells length is about 400m. 

The diameter of the deep tube wells is large compared to other tube wells. The average depth of the deep tube wells will vary from 40m to 300m.  Usually, the pumps are sunk inside the well for initiating the force. The submersible electric engines or the shafts connected to the engines will get driven through the force. The deep tube wells can discharge large amounts of water. On average they can take out 40 to 80 liters per second. As these wells have high discharge capacity, the length of the water distribution channels will also get increased accordingly. 

Drilled Well

Drilled well is a type of well that was constructed by drilling the rocks to access water from a great depth. The length of the drilled well will go far down below 1000 feet. Can use a pump to observe the water from a great depth for accessing water. The height of the drilled wells can be maintained by using pipelines, concrete, or clay sealant surrounds for preventing further contamination. 

Benefits of Well and TubeWell Irrigation in India

• The well and tubewell irrigation system played an important role in expanding the Green revolution throughout the country. 

• Due to the well and tubewell irrigation systems, farmers became self-dependent to plant their crops in their land. This minimized the farmer’s compulsion to dependence on the government systems and canal irrigation system. 

• This irrigation system decreased the expenditure of farmers on the spending and maintenance of the irrigation system. 

• This method also decreased water wastage in the agricultural field. 

• The major problem faced by the farmers in the canal irrigation systems is the deposition of silt and sand in the path of water. The shallow tubewell irrigation system helped a lot to overcome this problem. 

The well and tubewell irrigations played an important role in the success of the Green revolution system in India. Knowledge of the types of well and tube well irrigation systems, the importance of well and tubewell Irrigation in agriculture, and how the tubewell irrigation system supported the backbone of India is important.