Hydrodynamic Study of Weathered Zone of Hardrock Aquifers Using Dugwell Data

Abstract

The present study discusses a technique of locating high-discharging dugwells in Precambrian metamorphic rocks in Balarampur, Purulia district, West Bengal, India and describes the hydrodynamic properties of hardrock aquifers using bedrock joints/fractures, lineaments and weathered zone. Dugwells with higher discharges are mainly concentrated in metapelites, rich in biotite. In groups of dugwells, high-discharging wells exhibit linear spatial distribution, denoted as “well-line,” and consistently show high well discharge along each well-line in every dugwell group. The spatial distributions of high-discharging wells are associated with thick weathered-zones. Well-lines, comprising abruptly high-discharging wells, are spatially correlated to the lithostratigraphic contacts and lower elevation zones.