Category: General

The ever-increasing population, urbanization, industrialization and rise in agricultural activity are major reasons for growing water demand. Rapid decline in the water table can be attributed to over exploitation of ground water resources for meeting these demands.

The basic purpose of artificial recharge of groundwater is to replenish water into aquifers that have depleted due to excessive groundwater extraction. Artificial groundwater replenishment systems involve techniques that modify the natural movement of surface water and use civil construction methods to enhance the sustainable yield of groundwater in areas where over extraction has depleted underground aquifers.

SILVERON’s dedicated team led by Sunil Sharma started experimentation to determine the various factors affecting groundwater conditions such as thickness of alluvium, depth to rock, the extent and depth of aquifer and quality of ground water. The team conducted several Geophysical Vertical Electrical Soundings  in the targeted areas.                                          

In our earlier blog Geophysical Survey: An essential tool for Rainwater Harvesting, we discussed the importance of variations in soil formation and presented sample data from our records showing major variations in ground strata.

Geophysical measurements are based on the fact that subsurface consists of a sequence of distinct layers of finite thickness. Each layer is assumed to be electrically homogeneous and isotropic and the boundary planes between layers are assumed to be horizontal.

Lessons from Field Experiments

Based on the Geophysical Survey and analysis of soil samples obtained from various depths while drilling trial bores using a Rotary drilling machine, it was observed that the changing compositions of soil components are very diverse. The soil strata keeps changing as we drill deeper into the earth and we are likely to encounter some layers that absorb more water, some which absorb less and some which absorb no water.

Since it is impossible to modify this naturally occurring soil strata, hence the research team came to the conclusion that for rain harvesting, Diameter of the recharge bore has less meaning while its depth is more important.

Team SILVERON also studied existing rainwater harvesting designs and observed that most structures had worked well in the initial months but gradually their efficiency reduced, and water started stagnating in the structures. This happened as most existing structure designs were not in line with natural laws but rather attempted forcing water absorption against natural processes.

The conclusion drawn was that for rain harvesting, supporting natural process is a sure path to success while going against nature is a recipe for failure.  

In view of the above valuable lessons, Sunil Sharma and his team started experimenting with multiple design ideas to be able to develop an Eco-friendly shaft design which would recharge the ground water in a sustainable way closest to the natural recharge process.

The Vision

SILVERON’s dream was to create a Rainwater Harvesting System that recharges ground water aquifers and simultaneously enriches the root zone with moisture supporting trees, shrubs and foliage. The vegetation generated by this enriched root zone forms a network of roots, binding the soil together to check soil erosion and provide fodder for animals.

Increased moisture content in the top soil and vegetation raises the humidity in the air that in turn helps in the survival of diverse interdependent friendly organisms like bacteria and earthworm etc living both over and below the soil surface.                                   

The conceived design would allow water to flow down an unlined borehole in direct contact with soil starting from the root zone. This matches the natural process where the rainwater is not flowing through artificial ducts such as a failure-prone slotted pipe system .

An Ingenious Design

We had determined that the soil profile is not uniform and there are layers of varying composition, porosity & permeability. It is conceivable that in the natural process, rain water on the surface would runoff since it was the easiest path and droplets which percolated into the ground due to gravity encounter other obstacles in the flow that may delay movement and point of contact with groundwater.

To facilitate both vertical and horizontal flow of water across the varying permeability of soil strata, SILVERON shaft depth was planned in a way that pierces through all layers and provides easy passage for the flow of water. The shaft’s bore hole is filled with material of high permeability providing an automatic connection between all layers in the ground.

It was observed that the recharge shaft had its own absorption (or intake) speed and any excess quantity of water reaching it would tend to runoff on the ground surface.

Encouraged by the success of recharge due to the vertical inter-connectivity that the shaft provided through natural formations inside the ground, it was decided to interconnect the adjoining recharge shafts by PVC pipe at the top so that the excess water entering the shaft could reach an adjoining recharge shaft without evaporation losses. This would help in avoiding flood hazard during storm showers by capturing the rainfall run-off which would otherwise overwhelm sewer or storm drains and also results in soil erosion.

The team while examining choked recharge structures observed that most rain water harvesters focused entirely on silt removal before the water was allowed to enter the recharge structure.  SILVERON recognizes that silt is the finest particles of soil, suspension of silt in flowing rain water is natural and since the turbulence is high during monsoon season, silt does not get time to settle making the water appear murky. 

The challenge is not only to ensure unhindered recharge performance in condition of normal silt naturally flowing into the structure but also to incorporate design features that would make silt removal and cleaning an easy & cost effective process.

SILVERON designed recharge shafts such that the silt which enters the shaft in the previous monsoon is removed easily by back wash arrangement before onset of next monsoon, at almost negligible cost and as simple process.

SILVERON shaft was designed conceived that rain water transported from roof tops, paved surfaces or low-lying areas to the recharge shaft would percolate and make the soil wet all around the entire depth of the borehole.

This in turn would attract naturally percolating rainwater coming from any direction, any distance and at any depth – since the shaft column is available to provide easy downward flow passage. The main design principle was to let nature develop an inter-connected network of streams below ground howsoever minute, since once created these channels would remain available as a path for water to flow when it rains.

The SILVERON Edge

We at SILVERON, understand the importance of considering all natural factors when designing a rainwater harvesting structure. These variations make the scope of work differ from location to location. Site specific work of such magnitude calls for years of experience and understanding on the part of the harvester.

Ingenuity, untiring efforts, trials, determination to succeed and decades of experience stand behind the performance of SILVERON Rainwater Harvesting Systems.

The wide acceptance and appreciation of the performance of SILVERON recharge shafts makes SILVERON the first choice in the field of water conservation.

Experiencing nature gives us immense joy & pleasure. Be it in walking along a park trail lined by lush green trees, seeing vast green spaces or perhaps even seeing puddles and little streams after a rain shower. We love the sound of the humming birds, enjoy the weather and the fresh cool breeze. We love the sight of bright flowers all around and the squirrels crossing our path.

Does anyone spare a moment to think about the earth under their feet?

The world continues to move from the stone age to the space age because the principles of physics remain the same. It is only as we understand them better and experiment do we make advancements that benefit our lives.

We know more about the Sun, Moon and other planets in space but hardly know our Earth. Ever wondered how we can accurately predict solar and lunar eclipses but are caught off guard by disastrous flash floods, earth quakes, tsunamis and landslides?

The earth underneath us is so diverse and alive that the more one thinks about it, the more magical and mysterious it appears. It is the place where at each moment every law of physics is in action and which is holding within it the entire periodic table, innumerable organic and inorganic compounds and minerals and air and water and the living and the decomposing.

The core of the earth is about 6300 Km. from where we stand but humans have not been able to drill below 12 km (see ref). Most people do not even know that the ground well below our feet is may be hotter than the surface of the sun.

The layers of earth based on chemical variations from shallowest to deepest are:-

1. Crust: Earth’s crust is the outermost layer of earth and ranges from 5–70 kilometers in depth.
2. Mantle: Mantle lies between Earth’s crust and dense super-heated inner core and is about 2,900 km. thick.
3. Outer Core: Earth’s Outer Core is largely liquid iron layer of the earth that lies below the mantle. The outer core is about 2,300 km. thick.
4. Inner Core: Earth’s inner core is the innermost geologic layer of the Earth. It is primarily a solid ball with a radius of about 1,220 km. The inner core is believed to be composed of an iron–nickel alloy with some other elements.

Our aim here is to give some insight to our readers that our earth is magical and that the earth’s resources are major components which impact the environmental factors which make planet earth habitable.

We do not wish to wade into a theoretical discussion about permeability or porosity of soil or about range of validity of Darcy’s law or velocity of flow of water. We would restrict our discussion to shallow depth of the earth’s crust since no man has ever explored the other layers in person – in fact at a maximum depth of 12kms, our civilization has barely scratched the surface.

The most common components with varying percent found in composition of the soil.

Capacity	Sand	Clay	Silt
Aeration	Good	Poor	Medium
Water-Holding	Low	High	Medium
Compact-ability	Low	High	Medium
Drainage	High	Slow	Medium
Leakage-prevention	Poor	Good	Poor
Result of tilling after rainfall	Good	Poor	Medium
Erosion by water	Medium	Low	High
Erosion by air	Medium	Low	High
Capacity to hold plat nutrients	Poor	High	Medium
Capacity to shrink or swell	Low	High	Low
Decomposition of organic matter	Fast	Small	Medium

Sand has pockets which hold air hence aeration is good and the voids are interconnected hence water holding capacity is low and drainage rate is high. This causes the compact-ability to be low and its use as a sealer to prevent leakage is not advisable.

This is the reason why it is beneficial to till the sandy land after rainfall. Planting of trees and bushes and construction of check dams are recommended to prevent soil erosion by air and water.

Some form of clay when added to sandy soil, enhances the cultivation output because it reduces soil erosion both by air and water and increases the compact-ability, water retention capacity & plant nutrient holding capacity of the soil.

If we explore the properties of soil we come across a list which is unending.

• Soil not only serves as an anchor but also provides the required minerals and water to the plants. In fact this resource provides 99% of the food consumed by human beings.
• Soil is a major raw material required for manufacture of many types of building materials. Soil is the foundation of construction projects.
• Soil absorbs and cleans rainwater as it percolates through it and also holds it in the aquifers. This quality of soil not only serves as a source of ground water when needed but also protects us from floods and in time of droughts.

Interestingly, it has been observed that many animals deliberately ingest soil as it absorbs toxins, and facilitates digestion and checks diarrhea and it is also a source of rare minerals. The practice of eating soil is referred as Geophagy

Soil protection and conservation is very important since soil is the home for many organisms living in such interconnected harmonious diversity both inside and outside the soil like earthworms, snails, slugs, millipedes, centipedes, potworms, nematodes, bacteria, fungi and algae, to name a few. Aerobic processes of soil have a major role to play in waste management while handling effluent from septic tanks and elsewhere.

It is estimated that soil restoration will offset the effect of increases in greenhouse gas emissions and slow global warming. About 60% of the biotic content is carbon and this makes the Biological component of soil is very important. Even in desert crust, cyanobacteria which are microorganisms related to the bacteria but capable of photosynthesis, lichens and mosses capture and hold a good quantity of carbon by photosynthesis.

When we talk about water conservation, it is intricately tied to soil conservation as well. Preventing the erosion of soil through water conservation, rain water harvesting, green-belt development, responsible agricultural and industrial practices therefore has many inter-linked benefits – from improved soil quality to reducing the effects of global warming.