History of Wells in Rashda Village …
213
of drilling (cubic metres per day) for government wells, and status of operations
(whether they are operational).
7
Table 2 shows the types of well classified by construction year. Among these, the
oldest type is Roman springs followed by local wells. These two types were the only
water sources that existed before 1959. Roman springs are popularly recognized as
dating back to the Roman era, although most of them are assumed to be 200 years
old or less. They had a depth ranging from 85 to 100 m. They have all dried up now.
Local wells (bir ahli) are exploited by local farmers, who dig them in the traditional
local way and own and manage them collectively. Most of them were initially dug
as artesian wells and had a depth of 85 m or less. However, most of these traditional
wells have dried up and been equipped by diesel pumps. There were 29 wells of this
type in Rashda, of which 13 were operating in 2009.
Besides local wells and Roman springs, all the wells in Rashda were drilled after
the New Valley Project began. The following three government wells were drilled in
1959: Well No.1; Well No.2; and Well No.3, and all three wells were drilled by an
Italian company that worked on the New Valley Land Reclamation Project. All of
these wells had a depth of 500 m.
Many wells were drilled after 1996 on the outskirts of Rashda (Fig. 3). During
1970 and 1995, only three new wells were drilled. In contrast, the drilling of new
wells increased tremendously during 1995 and 2004, with 14 new wells being drilled
between 1995 and 1999, and 26 between 2000 and 2004. This acceleration of drilling
was caused by the authorization of drilling in 1995, as was indicated in Sect. 4.2.
Surface springs grew remarkably in number between 2000 and 2004, with 17 new
wells being drilled during this four-year period.
The surface springs were the preferred type well of the villagers, probably because
of their low cost. As mentioned above, surface springs are shallow wells with depths
of 120 or 150 m. Therefore, they only need a small drilling machine and a small
submersible pump, so they do not require a huge amount of money. According to an
informant, the cost of drilling was estimated to be around 30,000 Egyptian Pounds
in 2008. Investment wells, which have a depth of around 500 or 700 m, require
approximately 300,000 Egyptian Pounds, an amount 10 times more than that of
surface springs.
5.2 Continuous Well Drilling 8
What does the shift from the traditional local wells to the governmental wells and
investment wells as well as surface springs imply? The modern technology enabled
the assurance of water discharge by digging deeper (government well) or digging a
shallow well more easily (investment well, surface spring).
7 See Kato and Iwasaki (2016: 184–186) and Kato et al. (2010: 17–18) for detail.
8 This section is based on Kato and Iwasaki (2016: 186, Chapter 10).
213
of drilling (cubic metres per day) for government wells, and status of operations
(whether they are operational).
7
Table 2 shows the types of well classified by construction year. Among these, the
oldest type is Roman springs followed by local wells. These two types were the only
water sources that existed before 1959. Roman springs are popularly recognized as
dating back to the Roman era, although most of them are assumed to be 200 years
old or less. They had a depth ranging from 85 to 100 m. They have all dried up now.
Local wells (bir ahli) are exploited by local farmers, who dig them in the traditional
local way and own and manage them collectively. Most of them were initially dug
as artesian wells and had a depth of 85 m or less. However, most of these traditional
wells have dried up and been equipped by diesel pumps. There were 29 wells of this
type in Rashda, of which 13 were operating in 2009.
Besides local wells and Roman springs, all the wells in Rashda were drilled after
the New Valley Project began. The following three government wells were drilled in
1959: Well No.1; Well No.2; and Well No.3, and all three wells were drilled by an
Italian company that worked on the New Valley Land Reclamation Project. All of
these wells had a depth of 500 m.
Many wells were drilled after 1996 on the outskirts of Rashda (Fig. 3). During
1970 and 1995, only three new wells were drilled. In contrast, the drilling of new
wells increased tremendously during 1995 and 2004, with 14 new wells being drilled
between 1995 and 1999, and 26 between 2000 and 2004. This acceleration of drilling
was caused by the authorization of drilling in 1995, as was indicated in Sect. 4.2.
Surface springs grew remarkably in number between 2000 and 2004, with 17 new
wells being drilled during this four-year period.
The surface springs were the preferred type well of the villagers, probably because
of their low cost. As mentioned above, surface springs are shallow wells with depths
of 120 or 150 m. Therefore, they only need a small drilling machine and a small
submersible pump, so they do not require a huge amount of money. According to an
informant, the cost of drilling was estimated to be around 30,000 Egyptian Pounds
in 2008. Investment wells, which have a depth of around 500 or 700 m, require
approximately 300,000 Egyptian Pounds, an amount 10 times more than that of
surface springs.
5.2 Continuous Well Drilling 8
What does the shift from the traditional local wells to the governmental wells and
investment wells as well as surface springs imply? The modern technology enabled
the assurance of water discharge by digging deeper (government well) or digging a
shallow well more easily (investment well, surface spring).
7 See Kato and Iwasaki (2016: 184–186) and Kato et al. (2010: 17–18) for detail.
8 This section is based on Kato and Iwasaki (2016: 186, Chapter 10).