The search for ground water in Zimbabwe

Borehole siting is the first most important step in the process of searching for groundwater occurrence to enable Borehole Drilling. This process has its Quality, and the Quality determines the result. Siting boreholes and wells successfully require a good understanding of where groundwater is found and how it behaves in the local environment.

Developing this understanding starts with a reconnaissance process, which is further refined by hydrogeological fieldwork and geophysical surveying.

Reconnaissance

The first step in Borehole Siting, Reconnaissance is a critical first step in decoding groundwater resources and identifying new borehole sites Defined as a desk study or secondary research: it is the gathering of any available relevant maps and information (e.g. from existing reports, academic papers, etc.) on geological and hydrogeological conditions of the area in perspective.

Hydrogeological Fieldwork

This constitutes of making primary field observations of the local geology, hydrogeology, and existing water sources, and gathering information from sources such as engagement with the local community. Community water sources should be visited and analyzed, more information should be sought from the community regarding the behavior of these water sources throughout different seasons of the year in Zimbabwe.

To fully understand the geology and rock formation of the areas, cliffs, river cuttings and Deep wells must be analyzed.

Equally important is to observe any potential sources of pollution, such as toilets, graveyards, cattle pens, or market areas. This helps to understand areas that can potentially Yield clean water for drinking purposes.

This process is time-consuming and must be carefully executed to broaden the understanding of different areas. Both information gathered in the first two studies is essential in profiling the occurrence and behavior of groundwater in targeted areas. Note that these processes can only be conducted if your borehole sitter is trusted and really knows what they will be doing. This article tells us how to choose the best borehole sitter company in Zimbabwe.

Geophysical Surveying

This is often the most noticeable part of Borehole Siting to Customers. Or what in most cases Borehole Drilling companies refer to as Borehole Siting. This process is meant to support or validate whatever information that would have been gathered in the preliminary area research. Often this is meant to plug the gaps that may not have been addressed already to be more precise about drilling sites.

Geophysical surveying is a massive and broad topic and However for the purposes of this article only a very brief introduction is given here.

The process of Geo Survey involves many different techniques and different types of equipment from an array of suppliers globally. Two of the major geophysical techniques applied in borehole siting are electrical resistivity and ground conductivity using FEM (frequency domain electromagnetic).

It is paramount to know that geophysical techniques are carried out and interpreted diligently by well-trained personnel to get quality predictions. If surveying is done wrongly or survey results interpreted wrongly, at best the information given will be of no help, and at worse, it can lead to expensive mistakes in the borehole construction process. That’s why it is recommended to choose a credible borehole sitter.

This process is as important as the first two steps. In our next Article we will discuss if it is possible to guarantee water when siting a borehole?