John's Well

If you live a little way from the town in Monze a well provides a reliable water source for growing crops and drinking.

John told me that all he needed to dig his well was a pickaxe and a shovel. I was a little sceptical, but a friend offered to fund the project (about £15 if I remember correctly).

After a week or so J appeared again! He had dug down about 6 foot. Now at this depth you hit an issue – getting out of the hole.

There is however a solution. You need a windlass, which is a device with a wheel and handle. If you think of the top of a mine you will get the idea.You pass a rope over this wheel and attach a bucket. The bucket is used to take the soil to the surface. Oh, and to lower and raise J so he can continue digging!

It just happened that this was not my first well digging project and Jennipher had a windlass that John could use. So sorted!

The windlass is hand operated, so now we needed someone to operate it. John had a friend who was willing to do this work. He would just need to be fed.

So onwards and upwards – or more accurately dowmwards!!

All went well (no pun intended) for a while. Then John came to me to say he was worried, he had dug down to 50 or 60 feet. During this time the equipment had been well tested and the rope was showing it! John said that it was fraying and he was worried.

At this point I began to wonder whether I should be involved! Anyway we obtained a new rope and John continued to dig.

Eventually John hit water. The test is that when you are lowered (perhaps 100 feet) into the hole you bail out enough water to fill two large barrels. At this point you can stop digging and you have your well.

However we now have a very deep hole. It is towards the end of the dry season, but the sides could still fall in – when the rains arrive the well will be in trouble!

The solution is to line the well with concrete rings or bricks. We decided therefore to buy 2,000 bricks to line the well – oh and a bit of sand and cement to make the mortar.

Before John's well I had a very bad experience when a little girl fell down a well. It was very important therefore that John's well was capped.

The usual way of getting water is by dropping a bucket into the water. However this allows the water to become contaminated. Each year in Monze they have a show which gives various organisations to exhibit their products. Many years ago I was impressed by a “rope pump”. This goes over a well and produces a sealed system which prevents contamination.

I decided to get John a rope pump to complete his project.

The moral of this tale is that when someone tells you they only need a pick-axe and a shovel to build a well be wary.

Schedule of items for building a well:

pick

shovel

windlass

rope

bucket

food for man 2

second rope

2,000 bricks

sand

cement

pump

The well was built just before John decided to move. I never found out what happened to the pump! Unfortunately I haven't got a picture of the well so this is a different well!

Please help us complete the science block at PIZZ School  PIZZ Science Lab 

 

Chris