Artesian Well Anyone?

[BuckarooBanzai]

I have been thinking about putting in an artesian well on our property. The thought of a continuous supply of water for a pond sounds very attractive. We live south of Surin on the slope of the Korat plateau which I believe may be a good area for this type of well. I also understand that there are some artesian wells in Buri Ram which if true adds credence to the potential for success.

However, no Thai I have asked about this has any idea of what an artesian well is - much less who can drill one and about how much "approximately" they cost perhaps using wells in Buri Ram as a benchmark. Does any one here on TV have experience with these types of wells in Thailand and can take the time to enlighten me. I would be grateful.

[dumball]

You cannot just 'Put in ' an artisian well , either all the requirements are in place naturally or they are not , I had two properties in different provincies in Canada on which I was very fortunate to have artesian wells already opperative , both had practically no contaminents (0.003) , both were on rocky formations on high ground .. It is the most pure form of water available .

Good hunting .

[BuckarooBanzai]

Dumball -

Thank you for your response but you seem to be referring more to a spring than an artesian well. Both are pretty beautiful and magical items but quite different in formation - a well by natural crevicing and an artesian well by a pipe. You can indeed just "put in an artesian well" given the will to sink a pipe some 100 plus meters in search of a sub-level water table under pressure. I had five wells on a property I resided on in Michigan. Water tables, unlike oil, are quite common and therefor the chances for success are much more likely than you seem to indicate in your post. Of course their is always the possibility of failure but a gamble of this type, depending on cost, is perhaps worth the try.

It does sound to me that you miss that pure water as much as I! Will keep trying anyhow. Thanx again for the post.

[Boksida]

Artesian wells are rare in Thailand, particularly in the north-east. There was a USAID funded project in the 60s which resulted in a publication called "Groundwater Water Resources of North-east Thailand". Several thousand water wells were drilled on the Khorat Plateau and my recollection (I've lost my copy) is that only two places had artesian conditions (flow to the surface without pumping), the majority being sub-artesian. I think one of these had a salt water flow. Not surprising considering that vast areas of the Khorat Plateau are underlain by rock salt.

The Groundwater Division of the the Department of Science and Environment will have an office in your provincial capital with records of wells in your area showing depths, water levels, water chemistry etc.

I have attached a couple of scanned laminated photos of artesian flows in northern Thailand - one while drilling and one after completion. The water was not drinking quality but OK for industrial use.

[kropotkin]

We just had an artesian well made for us.

Chanthaburi though.

Actually,.....2..... since the first one struck rock.

All done by hand (amazing!)

About 1,5 meter diameter.

Price: 1.000 baht per meter, plus 3.000 for concrete if needed - we did not need concrete since the soil is hard sandstone.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Thanks Boksida for your very thorough albeit somewhat disappointing information. As to the photos - is this the source of the Chao Phraya river - I have never seen such a flow from an artesian well before. Back in Michigan I had some really small ones 2 inch or so that only put out about a gallon a minute. I guess I will have to do some further research. I do remember it mentioned that there were some in Buri Ram as mentioned in previous post but maybe just rumor. Thanks again.

Kropotkin:

We just had an artesian well made for us.

Chanthaburi though.

Actually,.....2..... since the first one struck rock.

All done by hand (amazing!)

About 1,5 meter diameter.

Congratulations Kropotkin, I envy you. Again, a meter and a half well is greatly more than I was envisioning. What kind of flow do you get and how deep may I ask?

[kropotkin]

Thanks Boksida for your very thorough albeit somewhat disappointing information. As to the photos - is this the source of the Chao Phraya river - I have never seen such a flow from an artesian well before. Back in Michigan I had some really small ones 2 inch or so that only put out about a gallon a minute. I guess I will have to do some further research. I do remember it mentioned that there were some in Buri Ram as mentioned in previous post but maybe just rumor. Thanks again.

Kropotkin:

We just had an artesian well made for us.

Chanthaburi though.

Actually,.....2..... since the first one struck rock.

All done by hand (amazing!)

About 1,5 meter diameter.

Congratulations Kropotkin, I envy you. Again, a meter and a half well is greatly more than I was envisioning. What kind of flow do you get and how deep may I ask?

3.5 meters deep.

flow: more then enough for my wife and I plus vegetable garden and some rambutan / durian trees

we use a pump (3.000 baht) and stock the water 4 meters high in a 1.000 liter tank.

[kropotkin]

[stevehaigh]

in thailand i think the well you are talking about is usually called a deep well, i.e.more than 60m deep. in thai its call 'bor ba-dan'. you will need a permit to drill it and you should check the water for arsenic, etc.

its usually drilled by a big drilling rig and is typically about 6 to 8" diameter and usually costs about 100 to 200k

the other poster that was talking about digging a 1.5m dia well by hand is a totally different thing.

deep wells are very common on Samui and Phangan but i don't know anything about other areas.

FYI, a real artesian well actually pushes the water up to the surface from underground pressure. deep wells have pumps.

Edited February 24, 2011 by stevehaigh

[tomhuayyai]

in thailand i think the well you are talking about is usually called a deep well, i.e.more than 60m deep. in thai its call 'bor ba-dan'. you will need a permit to drill it and you should check the water for arsenic, etc.

its usually drilled by a big drilling rig and is typically about 6 to 8" diameter and usually costs about 100 to 200k

the other poster that was talking about digging a 1.5m dia well by hand is a totally different thing.

deep wells are very common on Samui and Phangan but i don't know anything about other areas.

FYI, a real artesian well actually pushes the water up to the surface from underground pressure. deep wells have pumps.

This is pretty much spot on. I have had 5 deep wells put in (I call them bore holes) in the last 18 months. Basically they bore or drill down to 60m and then suspend the pump (a Dutch built pump) around 35m out of any silt/sand etc. This then pumps the water up and out about 50m+ (certainy far enough around a construction site for a new house). When the construction of the house is finished, it is pumped straight into a tank with an electronic ball cock which switches the underground pump on and off as water is needed.

Here in Huay Yai, they hit bed rock (granite) around 21/22m. The cost is usually around B70k (including the submersible pump) but they arey are based about 1km from where I live here in Huay Yai so no doubt more elsewhere. They do travel around a bit but I have no idea if they would go as far as you. It is quite a set up, in total about 4 vehicles with a large truck mounted compressor to pump compressed air down into the hole. It might be worth noting they make a bit of a mess when working from water and ground up rock being discharged from the hole.

Hope this helps

Tom

[tomhuayyai]

PS

If you want to watch one being put in, we will be putting in another one within the next week or so

You are welcome to watch etc

Tom