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Appropriate Technology for Artificial Aquifers
Author(s) -
Helweg Otto J.,
Smith George
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1978.tb03215.x
Subject(s) - aquifer , infiltration (hvac) , environmental science , hydrology (agriculture) , petroleum engineering , water resource management , geology , environmental engineering , geotechnical engineering , groundwater , meteorology , geography
This paper suggests a labor‐intensive water‐supply technique that may be classified as appropriate technology in that it conserves energy and capital (scarce inputs in developing countries) and utilizes labor (an abundant input in these same countries). The problem of collecting rain during the wet season for use during the rest of the year is compounded by evaporation and infiltration losses. Lining a shaped reservoir in a slough or gully can eliminate the infiltration losses; filling the same reservoir with uniform sand and a gravel mulch can greatly reduce the evaporation losses. Thus one creates an artificial aquifer with an appropriate technology which can supply filtered water under gravity flow with minimal maintenance.