Feasibility Study of Boreholes Hand Drilling in Senegal—Identification of Potentially Favorable Areas

Abstract

Drilling techniques commonly used in Africa are rather well suited for areas where geologic formations are hard and groundwater is not located at higher depths. Thus, for a large number of people living in rural areas, access to improved drinking water sources is often limited, due to the high cost of drilled boreholes that is closely linked to geographical, geological and hydrogeological factors. The analysis of various contexts has revealed that, in order to improve access to safe drinking water for underserved communities and populations, it is possible to consider less costly alternative solutions, compared to current options for water supply which are still expensive. In this paper, a simplified drilling technology at a very low cost has been demonstrated: "the manual or hand drilling", which is a practical solution for less than 40-m deep water points in alluvial terrains or low resistance rock formations. The feasibility study of manual drilling in Senegal has revealed that, even if it is not practical in all geological formations of the country, manual drilling remains an alternative solution for reducing costs and improving accessibility to drinking water in several areas in Senegal, particularly in the Senegal River Valley, along the northern coast, in Fatick and Casamance coastal zones. This study was used to set up map of areas suitable for manual drilling boreholes; it aims to strengthen the local private sector capacity to meet growing drinking water needs in rural areas.

Classifying zones of suitability for manual drilling using textural and hydraulic parameters of shallow aquifers: a case study in northwestern Senegal

“…increasing the scale of detail and the reliability of the interpretation by validation with real stratigraphic and hydraulic data) the previous map of suitable zones in this country (Kane et al 2013). During the research, a specific software (TANGAFRIC) and a structured method to carry out a semi-automated analysis of stratigraphic information through organization, codification and processing of existing borehole-log data have been developed.…”

“…1), and covers 24,874 km 2 . It was selected in order to target zones with different shallow hydrogeological features and different suitability for manual drilling, as obtained from the existing study in the framework of the UNICEF program (Kane et al 2013).…”

Groundwater Distribution in Urban Settlement

“…The primary function of a borehole is the extraction of water, though; it could serve other purposes (mineral exploration, site evaluation, irrigation farming, and stratigraphic research). A water borehole isn't simply a hole within the ground because it has got to be properly designed, professionally made, and thoroughly perforated [15]. Boreholes for extracting water consist primarily of a vertically pierced hole, a robust lining to stop the collapse of the walls, screening to permit clean water to enter the borehole, surface protection, and a way Advantages of the drilled borehole Drilled boreholes that are adequately constructed and maintained; • are less susceptible to drought or drops in water level when bored into deep water-bearing formations • can be designed to draw from more than one aquifer (when individual aquifers are vertically separated and not hydraulicly connected)…”

Mapping the Viability, Time, and Cost of Manual Borehole Drilling in Developing Regions

“…National-scale maps for drilling manual boreholes have been developed for different African countries in recent years [34][35][36]. Other authors narrow down the geographical focus, thus attaining a higher spatial resolution in the results [37,38].…”