Water Well Development

Below are a couple of shots of the development of a water well on a small island in Indonesia, 150 Km west of Irian Jaya. The island is home to about 500 people which farm coconuts, cocoa, and sago palm.  Their previous watersupply was obtained by paddling across a bay and ferrying freshwater home in dugout canoes. This water well has since been plumbed to a central reservoirin the village where all have access to it. I have learned that the well hassurvived the severe drought which has plagued southeast asia in 1997.

The well was sited based on topographic lineaments and fault mapping. Theisland is made up of two major rock types, andesite and peridotite in faultcontact. This well is located one of the major splays of this fault and wasdrilled with a small air track drilling rig. The water quality is excellentalthough a little warm by my standards.

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