WEDC Technical Brief No. 4: Lining a hand dug well

There are as many different ways of building a well as there are different sites.

Alternative methods:

1. Sinking caissons
2. Reinforced concrete or ferrocement cast in situ above waterline, concrete rings sunk below waterline.
3. Masonry lining of burnt bricks above waterline, caisson made of blocks with cutting ring below waterline.
4. Galvanized iron rings bolted together as a temporary measure for emergencies.

This Technical Brief concentrates on sinking caissons as one of the most useful methods. It is safe, efficient and economical where the cost of equipment, notably the steel moulds for casting the concrete rings, can be spread over several wells. The skill of the well-diggers will also build up with experience. A tube of rings is built upwards and is allowed to sink under its own weight to its final position as the sopil is excavated from within it.