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Monday, June 2, 2014

Water analysis of our borewells

Although this summer has not been the hottest, yet the summer effect was felt due to its dryness. June was a dry month with no rains at all. We have started keeping rain records from last monsoon and almost every month we have experienced light showers or drizzle from last August through May.

Fortunately, our underground reservoirs are in good health with static levels at 15 - 25 ft. After pumping for a couple of hours continuously, level dip down to 100 - 150 ft. However, the recuperation rate is excellent and the original level is attained in 2-3 hours.

While the quantity of underground water has been excellent, quality of a couple of our bores is not upto the mark, with high levels of Sodium and Chloride.

pH of all bores are between 7 and 7.7, which is considered normal. EC is between 1 and 1.6 dS/m , which is considered light saline. TDS range from 200 to 1200, below 500 is considered ideal. Chloride levels range from 3 to 14 meq/L, above 10 is considered injurious to plants.

High levels of chloride has detrimental effect on plants, affecting intake of other nutrients from soil. I will be posting the effect of chloride toxicity on plants in the coming weeks.

It would be great to hear from people in the forum on how to reduce high levels of chloride either at the source or at the tank level. Ideas and suggestions are welcome.