Both a deep well and a borehole are sunk using nearly the same system. The process involves an initial test for the availability of water, how deep that water is, before the drilling is carried out. This drilling can go as deep as 80-120 feet below.
However, the difference comes with the way water is got from below. For the borehole, there is a mechanised pump put at the top, which is connected to pipes that run up to the bottom of the well. When somebody pushes the pump handle up and down, water is pulled from the bottom through the pipes using a hydraulic system. However, for the deep well, there are several ways of getting the water. The crudest involves using a ‘shadoof’ system, where a bucket or half-cut jerrycan is tied on a long rope with a pulley. The bucket is dropped down, fills with water and then it is pulled up again. This certainly requires a lot of energy.
The second system involves dropping an underground electric pump into the water. The pump is attached to a power source on the top. It may be solar power, hydro-electricity or even a power generator.
The pump sends water up through pipes, either directly onto the farm or into a reservoir tank.
A complete borehole costs between sh5m and sh10m, depending on the depth of the hole, just like a deep well, including a pump.
