Many hand dug wells dry up at the end of the dry season, because more water is taken out than is coming in by the natural recharge. Reasons of limited groundwater recharge are heavy rainfall in short time, (climate change) compact topsoil layers, erosion because of loss of vegetation, etc. Options to increase the recharge of ground water are above or underground dams, the planting of trees and plants such as vetiver grass, making contour canals etc. Another option is the so called “Tube recharge”. This low-cost option combines a manually drilled hole with a drainage tube, a filter and a small pond. Rainwater, that otherwise would run off to rivers or evaporate, thus penetrates into the ground and reaches the first aquifer.
Get the free tube recharge manual at: http://jacana.help/resources/water#recharge
Or download a free more general manual from MetaMeta at www.metameta.nl/publications
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