Groundwater

Dew. There should be dew in the morning - there is more dew where the water comes closer to the earthling. In theory, the more dew, the closer the water. Well, I don’t know how to count by meters. In the old days they looked for water with a vine, you can try it too, or with a pendulum, or with a frame if you know how... even if you don’t know how, you can try.

Dew is formed because the closer the water comes to the earthling, the better it cools, and when cooling, condensation forms from the air on the surface of the earth. This is well known.

Here's some more useful information:

WATER ON YOUR OWN LAND: WHERE TO DIGG A WELL?

This question often arises when you always want to have water on your property. What you will do: a well, a well with a pump - is a secondary matter. First you need to determine whether there is a water-bearing sphere at all and where it is located.

If possible, do geological sounding. But you can also use simple folk methods, which also almost accurately determine the location of water-bearing spheres, and at very great depths.

An aquifer is not a sea or a large river. It almost never comes into contact with the surface layer of soil, and on the plain its depth is the same, and in the lowlands it is much shallower. In addition, the water in the aquifers is in constant motion. If, say, you throw a safe dye into one well, then after a while it will certainly end up in the neighboring ones (downstream).

There are often two or three water-bearing spheres in the ground. The depth of their horizon is also different. In a dug well or well, the water will rise only to the level of the aquifer. Then you need to get it out mechanically.

The most accessible water is from the first aquifer. This is the so-called subcutaneous water, which is suitable only for household needs and for irrigation. The water of the second horizon is comparatively better in quality and is completely suitable for consumption. But the most valuable water is the third aquifer, which mainly lies at a depth of 30-40, and often 50 meters and, as a rule, under hard rock that is not easy to break through. But it is rich in mineral salts, various chemical compounds, and has high taste.

All this must be known and taken into account when building a well. But the main thing is to determine where exactly the aquifer passes.

Well-known folk methods of searching for water are conventionally divided into three groups: determination by indication, with the help of indicator plants and by the behavior of animals, birds, and insects.

When using an indication, use pieces of aluminum wire or a fork from a wooden branch of hazel, willow, or viburnum.

In the first case, take two aluminum wires up to one meter 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 this: the indicator wires are turned horizontally by 1800. When a person, walking along the site, comes across a water-bearing ball, 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 water-bearing ball. 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.

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 pre-bent, 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 water-bearing ball 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.

The second method is using indicator plants. Long-term observations have proven that where the aquifer lies, sedge, horse sorrel, coltsfoot, horsetail, nettle, foxglove and other moisture-loving plants grow well. Their presence on the site indicates that the aquifer is located at a shallow depth.

Trees can also be indicator plants. Willow and alder grow well above the water-bearing spheres, leaning towards the flow. And vice versa, apple, plum and cherry trees here get sick and dry out.

The third way is to observe the behavior of animals, birds, rodents, and insects. Let's say a horse, when it wants water, sniffs the ground and hits with its hooves where it senses the presence of moisture. A dog will never lie down, even on a bedding, in a place where groundwater is close. A chicken will not lay eggs in sedge, but a goose and duck will not lay eggs. Mice make nests in damp places even on tree branches or in weeds, but not in the ground.

Mosquitoes and ants are also good indicators of the presence of groundwater. Where there are water veins, even though the surface is dry, after sunset, as a rule, you can see hordes of mosquitoes. Ants will never build an anthill when they sense water nearby.

There are other folk methods. An inverted jar of water or a pot above the water-bearing sphere will certainly become covered with dew, and a bunch of salt will get wet in dry weather. In the evening and morning, fog spreads low over such places. In winter there will be patches of snow here. These and other signs and methods have long been used by people, supplemented and improved from generation to generation. They were always needed when the question arose: where to dig a well.

G.A. Skoryak
Magazine "Home.Garden.Vegetable Garden." 1993

Best regards, Tanya Madison

Being the owner of your own country plot and not having your own well is probably not the most successful option. Yes, of course, some holiday villages are equipped with a centralized water supply system, but it’s still better to be completely independent from the “whims” of public utilities. The well will become a source of clean drinking water, satisfy all household needs, and provide irrigation for the garden plot, but only if it will be arranged correctly.

— materials and tools for carrying out waterproofing work.

Most modern wells are made of reinforced concrete rings. It is best to purchase products that have a “quarter” locking part for centered and tight fit of the rings to each other. The standard ring size is 1000 mm - internal diameter, 1160 - external, wall thickness - 80 mm, maximum height - 900 mm. Such a product (KS-10-9) weighs 600 kg. If necessary, you can purchase rings of the same diameter, but of a smaller height - 300, 500 or 600 mm. On the walls of such rings there are holes for inserting slings when hanging and lowering them into the shaft.

You should immediately warn against purchasing low-quality, illicit rings that are damaged or have already been used. Such savings here are not only inappropriate, but can also be dangerous, since the practice of arranging wells knows many cases of rupture, distortion, and bursting of rings with all possible consequences.

How many rings are needed is an individual question for each specific place. It is worth finding out from your neighbors how deep their well is; this figure should not change much. At the same time, the structure of the well itself is taken into account - the height of the water-bearing part itself, the trunk and the head.

Digging a well and installing rings

• Work begins with markings on the soil surface. For these purposes, as well as to control compliance with the dimensions of future penetration, you need to build a simple device - a cross of two slats, with a length equal to the required diameter of the shaft.

Cross - a template for further work

If the ring has an outer diameter of 1160, then the shaft should be marked approximately 200 - 300 mm wider, i.e. Ø from 1350 to 1450 mm with the open method of constructing a well (more on this below). With the closed method, the minimum required gap is left - so that the ring fits into the shaft without distortion.

• Remove the top layer of soil from the turf and begin to delve into the dense layers of soil.

All selected soil must be located at a distance of at least 3 meters from the pit from the work site. You can even immediately take it away, for example, to a place where it is planned to build an “alpine slide”. When the clay layer begins, it is better to store the selected clay separately - it will be useful in the future for waterproofing the well.

• After going deep to the height of the first ring, install a tripod or other structure on which lifting mechanisms are mounted, and further work can be planned in different ways:

1. You can install the first ring exactly and continue to dig under it - it will fall under its own weight.

As the settlement progresses, the next ring is installed on the first one, and they are fastened together with brackets - and so on until the aquifer. This method is called “closed”, and is more relevant on problematic, shifting soils, with quicksand, underground “rivers”, etc. Thus, the excavator always works in a concrete ring, which lowers with him as the soil is removed.

This method is not considered optimal, as it has many disadvantages. Thus, a big problem during excavation can be a large boulder caught under the wall of the ring - removing it will not be easy, and sometimes even impossible. But on the other hand, installation of subsequent rings does not require complex lifting equipment, since it is always carried out at the top.

2. The second method is called “open” and involves digging a shaft to the entire required depth and then installing rings. Disadvantages - a much larger volume of selected soil, difficulties with installing and fastening the rings (the work is carried out at a considerable depth), there is always a danger of shedding or even collapse of the mine walls, especially when unstable aquifers begin or quicksand breaks through the wall - the source of “overwater” .

3. Based on the above, the optimal method will probably be a mixed method. Initially, the work is carried out using the open method, but until the first sign of instability of the walls or the appearance of signs of perched water. Then reinforced concrete rings are immediately lowered to the excavated depth, and further soil excavation is carried out using a closed technology, with the deposition of an extendable well shaft. This is the approach most often used in practice.

• The work becomes more complicated once the aquifer is reached - according to the rules, it is necessary to settle the trunk on at least one more, and better yet, two more rings. Often it is necessary to ensure constant pumping of incoming water. Before entering this layer, the joints of the lower rings must immediately be sealed with special cement-containing compositions.

• The well shaft is extended in such a way that the top ring protrudes approximately 500 mm above ground level. In the future, this head can be formed by a frame or in another way; a crank mechanism is installed above it to lift the bucket.

Video: methods of digging wells from reinforced concrete rings

After completely tearing off the well along its entire depth, it is necessary to pump out all the water and silt from it in order to install a bottom filter.

Well bottom filter

Without this element, the water in the well will not have the purity that the owner probably expects. The springs gushing at the bottom of the well can raise turbidity, sand, and in the case of quicksand (extremely saturated with water flowing sand) it will simply become overgrown and shallow very quickly.

The choice of bottom filter depends on the condition of the bottom - what kind of soil forms it:

• If the bottom is dense clay through which springs flow, then, as a rule, the water will be clean, and there is not even a need for a bottom filter. Moreover, its installation can even reduce the debit of the well. Light turbidity, if any, can be easily eliminated with a regular household filtration system.
• If the bottom is formed by soft clay, then it will be constantly eroded by streams of incoming water. The water becomes excessively cloudy, and it can only be taken from the top layer. To eliminate this drawback, you will need a direct bottom filter.

To do this, large stones or crushed stones are placed at the bottom, with a maximum size of up to 150 — 200 mm. Then a layer of medium-sized gravel (fraction 20-30 mm), up to 150 mm thick, is poured. And a final layer of clean river pebbles, also up to 150 mm thick, is laid on top. The total thickness of the resulting filter reaches half a meter.

• The sandy bottom through which water seeps in poses another danger. Any impact on it (for example, a lowered bucket) causes a rise in the sand mass, which rises to the top along with the water. It is impossible to install pumping equipment in such a well - sand will quickly disable it. However, everything can be solved by creating a reverse bottom filter that will prevent grains of sand from rising from the bottom.

In this case, washed river sand is first poured onto the bottom. The second layer is river pebbles or gravel up to 10 mm in size (shungite can be used). And the top layer will be large gravel or pebbles ranging in size from 50 mm. The thickness of each layer is at least 150 mm.

• The bottom is a pronounced quicksand - which means you can’t do without a special wooden shield. It is knocked together from aspen or oak boards and cut exactly to the size of the bottom of the well. A large number of holes with a diameter of 10 mm are drilled into the shield. It is then wrapped in geotextiles and placed on the bottom.

To prevent it from floating up, they press it down with large stones. At least a 200-300 mm layer of small pebbles or gravel is laid on top.

What safety measures are required when digging a well?

The work of digging a well is very specific and dangerous and requires special precautions.

• First of all, the area should be fenced off and strangers, and especially children, should not be allowed into the work site.
• You cannot store the selected soil closer than 3 meters from the mine, or even better, immediately take it to a safe distance. Within the same radius there should be no foreign objects or unused tools at all near the shaft.
• All lifting mechanisms - construction sites, tripods, winches installed on them, gates, hoists and etc.. must be checked daily before starting work. The condition of ropes, slings, and rigging hooks is also carefully monitored. All lifting devices must have a reliable brake and locking system.
• Buckets (tubs) for extracting soil must be tightly tied to ropes, and when working at a depth of more than 6 meters, they must also have a safety end.
• Working at depth may be accompanied by the accumulation of gases in the mine, which can cause suffocation for the excavator. Before lowering it into the mine, the air quality must be checked - a burning candle is lowered into it. If it goes out, forced ventilation must be carried out, and then the test is repeated.
• If there is a lack of oxygen during work, it is necessary to create conditions for forced ventilation. For these purposes, you can use a compressor, fan or other air blower (sometimes even a powerful vacuum cleaner), or install a metal furnace near the shaft, the vent of which is connected to a pipe lowered to the very bottom of the shaft.
• It is imperative to warn the excavator by voice about objects being lowered or raised. A worker in a mine must wear a safety helmet, and the possibility of emergency evacuation must be provided.
• When working using the ring deposition method, the upper unclosed edge of the shaft should not be more than 1 meter. If there are signs of instability of the shaft walls, work is immediately stopped until the cause is determined and the possibility of eliminating it is determined.

Typically, work on high-quality digging of wells is carried out by teams of experienced professionals who have their own specialized equipment. It is almost impossible for a beginner to cope with such a task - there are too many nuances familiar only to masters, and the work is fraught with too many dangers.

Video: Tips from a professional for digging wells

At this point, the construction of a well on a suburban site is far from completed. There is still serious work to be done on waterproofing, insulation, installation of a clay castle, concrete blind area, installation of water pipes, head equipment and other stages. They will be discussed in more detail in other publications on our portal.

Many summer residents are thinking about getting their own well on their property. Experts call the end of summer - beginning of autumn the most optimal time for digging a well. Where to choose a place for a well, how to use it and how to care for it, what not to lose sight of when preparing for work, how much it can cost, the correspondent of the portal “In the Moscow Region” found out.

In the right place and at the right time

Many well builders claim that wells can be dug at almost any time, with the exception of spring floods. And yet, summer residents are advised to start constructing a well in the summer, preferably in August-September. Firstly, the aquifers into which well diggers strive to “get” have their lowest levels at this time. Therefore, there is less risk of not digging the well, having reached the horizon raised by rain or melting snow, which in dry summer weather will simply dry out and the well will remain empty. Secondly, summer is also convenient because summer residents spend a lot of time on their plots, and it is easier for them to control the arrangement process.

The second important issue is the choice of location for the well. It is believed that it is important to dig a well where the aquifer is closest to the surface of the earth - this will reduce the amount of work. How to find this place? Most experienced well drillers recommend not using the method of determining water depth using rods, metal frames, etc., since they are not accurate. Meanwhile, expert advice sometimes contradicts each other, which suggests that each piece of land is individual, and a number of factors must be taken into account when choosing a location. Even the popular belief that it is more reliable to install a well in lowlands and areas with lush vegetation is not always true. The lowest or wettest place on the surface may not always be the cleanest.

An experienced gardener knows what kind of soil he has on his site at a depth of one or two meters, but water at such a shallow depth is not used for drinking - here the count goes to tens of meters. Obviously, it is impossible to independently determine where on the site the water is closer and better in terms of soil quality. In this matter, it is worth listening to the opinion of a specialist. There are other equally important factors for choosing a place for a well:

Interview neighbors who already have wells: how deep they are, what problems they encountered during their construction, what kind of soil is on the site, this information may be useful;

Take into account not only the current appearance of the site (the well must fit into the landscape), but also the changes planned in the near future, because the well cannot be moved a couple of meters to accommodate the construction of a gazebo or bathhouse;

Consider the optimal distance from home.

How to Determine Depth

The depth of the future well is difficult to determine in advance. If your neighbors have a well dug on their property, its depth will serve as a guide, but only approximate. According to experts, two wells dug at a distance of five meters from each other can have completely different depths and “characters.”

According to the head of the School of Well Masters, Grigory Petrovich Balabanov, in the Moscow region the average depth of wells is 8-12 reinforced concrete rings. So, in the Orekhovo-Zuevsky, Shatursky, Taldomsky, Solnechnogorsky districts, the depth is less, since there are flat floodplain areas. And in the Dmitrovsky and Sergiev Posad regions you have to dig deeper, 30 meters or more.

What does the cost consist of?

A number of factors influence the cost. First of all, the depth of the well. Most often, reinforced concrete rings are used in construction, the price of which can vary from approximately 1,500 to 3,000 rubles. Burying one ring in the ground costs from 2,000 to 3,500 rubles. The bulk of the costs come from these two items. However, you should be prepared for the fact that a number of difficulties may arise in the process. For example, workers may run into a block of stone that cannot be pulled out, and they will have to dig in another place. Complicating the work is also the encounter with “quicksand” – water-saturated soil.

Therefore, you need to discuss in advance with the team of workers the question of whether wages increase in such cases, and if so, by how much. If a company enters into an agreement with you, check whether such nuances are agreed upon so as not to incur unexpected expenses. Also pay attention to whether the company’s responsibilities include service support of the well, inspection and troubleshooting in case of customer dissatisfaction, etc.

So, if your well is ten rings deep, its basic cost can start from 35 thousand rubles (the price of ten rings plus the cost of the crew’s work). Some summer residents, wanting to save money, limit themselves to a well “for watering the garden” or other household needs and bury about three rings, this reduces the cost; a well can cost about 15 thousand. However, water from such a source cannot be used for drinking or cooking.

It is important to tell the crew in advance what you need the well for. If only for drinking or watering - this is one option, simple and cheaper. And if, for example, water from it goes to the washing machine and the bathhouse, and is also used in winter, this will require the creation of a more complex system for supplying and protecting pipes, and accordingly, will affect the cost.

Often, both a pump and an over-well house with a shaft and a bucket on a chain are installed in wells - it will come in handy in case of a power outage and will simply add color to the well. The cost of the pump depends on the model and power (prices range from 6 to 20 thousand rubles), and the cost of the house depends on its size, material, and design. This is another 6 - 10 thousand rubles or more.

An additional cost item, if desired by the customer, may be the service of removing soil from the site. After all, all the earth dug up during work will end up on your six acres. If you don’t want to remove it yourself, ask the workers in advance if they will remove it and for how much.

Well formation stage

When a well is dug, it is left alone for a while - the soil must settle, the water must make its way, etc. According to well masters, a well in a state of rest “tells its own story.” For example, many owners are scared if the bottom ring of a well dug in clay quicksand is covered with clay. But in fact, in this case, you need to make allowances for the peculiarities of the soil and just not “disturb” the bottom of the well, try not to draw water at the maximum depth.

An important step in the formation of a well is the installation of a “clay castle”. This is a layer of crumpled compacted clay, which serves as a barrier to the entry of high water, unsuitable for drinking, into the well. It is poured along the outer wall of the well to a depth of about two rings and about a meter wide and raised above ground level.

During the first year, soil settlement and well formation continue. When this process is completed, you can make a blind area around the well, which is needed for additional protection from melt and surface water.

In order to be completely confident in the quality of water from a well, it is recommended that after the well is formed and the water has settled, determine its quality using “folk methods” (taste, smell, loss or absence of sediment after settling and after boiling) or submit the water for examination .

How to monitor a well

According to Grigory Balabanov, one of the biggest mistakes made by summer residents is the complete pumping of water from the well, which some do for preventive purposes. In fact, this procedure “traumatizes” the well and forces it to form anew. It is recommended to take water from the well as needed. In some cases, you should not pump out more than half of it, in others - no more than 15-20% (especially when the well is built on quicksand). If you know such details, you can avoid cloudy water and some other problems.

The well is prepared for winter depending on its complexity - the simplest ones are only covered with insulating covers, and the above-ground pipes are drained so that they do not burst. Well owners must be prepared for the spring deterioration in water quality, which is often accompanied by an increase in its level. In some cases, it is pumped out in small portions, in others they simply wait a week or two until the water drops.

Also, the well will last longer if you carefully monitor the condition of the clay castle and the seams between the rings and carry out repairs in case of damage. It may be necessary to clean the well, which also needs to be done in a timely manner. In order to carry out such work effectively, it is worth asking the company or team, even before the start of construction, under what conditions they will accompany the dug wells in the future. After all, it is better for the well to be maintained by the same people.

Svetlana KONDRATIEVA

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Finding water for a well is the most crucial moment. After all, the future source of clean water can be used not only for domestic purposes, but also for cooking. The structure provides water to both the house and the garden, so the well must be located according to all the rules. The chosen location should fit well into the surrounding landscape and be located on an aquifer. The well should be built at a shallow depth - up to 5-8 meters. There are several ways to find water for a well.

Nature's clues

How to choose a location for a well if there is not enough experience in this matter?

1. It's best to just take a closer look at the soil after a hot day. In areas where water is close to the surface of the earth, a light haze forms in the air after the heat. Evaporation flowing upward indicates that there is a water flow underneath. Fog above the ground is a faithful assistant if the owner of the site does not know how to find a place for a well.
2. Another way to choose locations for a well is to carefully study the area. The presence of a lake near the garden plot indicates that it will be quite easy to find an aquifer on the territory. Initially, you need to measure the pressure on the shore with a special device. Then, with the same device, you should go to your site. If it shows a deviation, it means that water is located in this particular formation.
3. Nature also gives such a hint - an oak tree often grows in the area where water flows intersect. Bent birch, willow, and alder trees can indicate the presence of water in the area. The branches of trees bend towards the water - plants pull their roots towards the water vein in order to be saturated with underground moisture.
4. Using a pendulum will help you find water for a well on your site. How to determine where to dig a well using a pendulum? For this purpose, take a gold ring, tie it to a thread and, bending your elbow, hold the pendulum vertically down. Having tuned in mentally, you need to go around the entire area with a pendulum. When a vein of water is detected, the pendulum begins to swing back and forth.
5. Folk signs also often suggest how to find a place for a well. Horses sense water very well. The search for water for a well must begin after careful observation of the animal. In the heat, the horse begins to kick hard in the place where the underground water vein flows. Dogs can also help you find a stream of water. In hot weather, the dog digs a hole in a place where there is water between the layers and lies down in it. It is better to dig a well in places where there is a large concentration of midges - insects swarm in places with high humidity. This sign will help determine how to find a place for a well on the site. If midges accumulate in only one zone, then the water vein will certainly be located there.
6. To successfully find a water vein, you can take a closer look not only at insects, trees and plants, but also at the topography of the earth. The topography of the soil will also tell you where it is best to place the well on your plot. The proximity of the water flow is indicated by pits and depressions of natural origin. The soil in these places is not very stable and sags over the years.

Using Frames

To ensure that the well on the site is located in the right place, you can use a frame. It is made from metal rods or wire. The frame must have a handle. This makes it more convenient to hold the device and look for water flow. It doesn’t really matter what metal the frame is made of. Use wire that is not too light. Its ends should be bent at an angle, after which the rods are inserted into the handle. The material should be strong enough and not sway in strong winds. In the device, the wire swings freely, but does not fall out of the handle. To search for water, you should use two frames.

The location of the well on the site is determined using a manufactured frame as follows:

1. Take the frames by the handles with bent hands.
2. The entire area is inspected using equipment.
3. If the frames diverge to the sides, there is no water in this place.
4. If the frames intersect, dig a well.

Application of silica gel

One of the additional ways to find where to place a well on a personal plot is to use silica gel. The gel granules are well dried in the oven, the mass is weighed, placed in a clay container and buried in the ground. After a day, take out the clay container and weigh the gel granules again. Silica gel quickly absorbs moisture if it is in the soil. Using this material, they determine where to dig a well on the site. Experts recommend burying containers of granules at least half a meter deep in the soil. Within a day, the material is completely saturated with moisture present in the soil.

Test drilling

The test drilling method using hand tools will quickly help determine the choice of location for the well. How to find water on a site using a drill? To do this, a test well is drilled in a place with an expected water flow. To determine the location of the well, weighed red bricks are first buried in the soil. A day later, the material is removed from the ground and the weight of the bricks is checked. The heaviest brick will absorb moisture more than others. This means that it is in its place that we need to drill.

Location determination

In addition to the presence of an aquifer, when constructing a well, it is important to comply with sanitary standards. Certain rules allow you to avoid mistakes in this matter - how to determine the location for a well. Various contaminants should not enter the water flow. The potential source of drinking water must be reasonably clean. It is recommended to dig a well in an area that is never flooded with melt water. This way you can avoid contamination.

The site for the well should not contain plants that have been treated with nitrates, chemicals and fertilizers. Some crops may be potential sources of disease. In agricultural work, various salts and acids are often used, which can get into the water and harm human health. When choosing a location, you should not build the desired structure near the plants being treated.

When to dig a well?

How to choose a place for a new well so that the well can be used for a long time? You should not dig a pit in the spring, when the snow is melting, or during the autumn rainy season, when groundwater is closest to the surface. In hot weather, such a well may turn out to be dry. The optimal period for constructing a well is from August to October. Groundwater goes deeper into the soil, which makes it possible to avoid accidental flooding.

How to choose a place for a well to protect it from dirt? Household dust should not penetrate the water. To do this, the upper part of the structure is raised high above the ground. A flat cemented area must be built around the structure. It will provide the necessary protection from water and dust. A special blind area is formed from bricks.

It is necessary to dig a well after accurately determining the location of the water. It is important that water does not seep from the top layers of soil into the mine. The well is reinforced with durable materials. If the structure is built from wood, then wood that is resistant to rotting is used.

For beginners who do not know how to search for water, several methods can be used simultaneously. The search for an aquifer should not stop at using any one method. When you need to build a well, experienced specialists will tell you how to quickly find water. Usually the dowsing method is used using a metal frame. A barometer can also indicate the desired layer.

Devices

The location of the well on the site requires the use of special instruments. Mechanisms for searching for underground water can be domestic or imported. If you don’t know how to use the device to find a place for a well on your property, pay attention to the mechanisms described below. Thus, the simple “Pulse” device has proven itself well in operation. The electrodes of this device are buried to a certain depth in the soil and the indicators are looked at. If the device shows a high value, then the formation is aquiferous.

The use of modern instruments will allow you to correctly determine the right place for drilling. However, this method is not always available to many land owners. Some people prefer to use grandfather’s methods in finding water. Sometimes such a proven method can be more accurate than the readings of the most advanced device. It is better to search for water after first weighing and evaluating all the possibilities and nuances.

The most reliable way to search for water on a site is to involve specialists of the appropriate profile. But it is not always possible or willing to turn to hydrogeologists. In this case, it makes sense to remember the ancient methods of searching for water.

Old-fashioned way

In rural areas, dowsing is often used to find water. Previously, dowsers found water using a V-shaped branch of willow, viburnum or hazel. Now, armed with psychic terminology, they often use aluminum wire, which is inserted into a tube of elderberry. The dowser holds his "finding tool" loosely and the twig or wire frame is rotated to point to the aquifer. There are no scientific explanations for this phenomenon, but dowsers usually find water.

Nature's clues

A more reliable indicator of the presence or absence of water in an area are plants. For example, if there are plants on the site that love moisture (willow, cinquefoil, foxglove, hemlock, coltsfoot, horse sorrel, sedge, horsetail, nettle, reed, etc.), and their foliage has a rich green color, then the water clearly lies somewhere not too far from the surface.

Good indicators of the presence of groundwater are evening fog spreading over the ground, as well as columns of midges and mosquitoes. These insects gather in places where water comes close to the surface of the earth. But the presence of numerous anthills of red ants on the site means that the “top water” most likely lies quite deep, or maybe even absent altogether.

Our ancestors considered its location in a valley, surrounded by hills, to be a guarantee of the availability of water on the site. It is also believed that with a high degree of probability there is water on the slope of the slope if there is a source at the foot.

Cleanliness and health

But, of course, the most reliable thing is to invite a hydrogeologist to conduct surveys and carry out exploratory drilling. Especially because it may turn out that there is water on the site, but its quality is such that it is impossible to use even for watering the garden. If you decide to search on your own, ask your neighbors about the quality of the water, whether it can be used for domestic needs or only for household needs, how they purify it - after all, most likely, you will be “connecting” to the same underground source.

Indicator plants and aquifer depth
Plant	Depth aquifer, m
Licorice naked	1.5–5 (possibly up to 10)
Cane
Alder gray and black
Meadowsweet
	1–3 (possibly up to 5)
Sandy wormwood	3–5 (possibly up to 10)
Alfalfa yellow	1.4–2 (possibly up to 10–15)