Borewell Survey Report - Andaman

Andaman Water Project Emmanuel Hospital Association eha-health.org

Bore Well Survey Report July 2008 - February 2009

by

Anand Kumar Dan Shetler & Abraham Dennyson K

Table of Contents Acknowledgement--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Background----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Objectives------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Methodology---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Discussions-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Mean Sea Level (MSL) Vs Water Table------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Surface Elevation Vs Water Table-------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Dry Well Vs Depth-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. Coastline Vs Water Table-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Soil Profile & Bore Well------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. 2004 Tsunami & Water Table------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Conclusion------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Annexure I. Survey Form------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------II. Soil Profiles of Wells Done by EHA--------------------------------------------------------------------------

7 10 12 13 15 17

18 19 20

Bore Wells--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Open Dug Wells---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

21 22

Soil Profiles of Wells – Data Collected-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Dry wells----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Anarkali & Kodyaghat------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Haddo--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Aberdeen Bazar---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Brookshabad & Beodnabad-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Delanipur----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kamaraj Nagar-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lilipur-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Minnie Bay-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pongyjang---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sanjeevan Colony & Sippighat -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wandoor ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mayabunder------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Diglipur------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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a. b.

III

1 3 4 5 7

a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o.

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Acknowledgement Andaman Water Project was first to undertake Bore Well survey in South, Middle and North Andaman. We are thankful to Mr. Jamal of Guru Bore wells for providing information on Bore Wells in different parts of the Islands. He was willing to travel with our research team to the bore well sites and provide the needed information. We thank Mr. Peter Shetler from US for helping us procure and put to use the ArcGIS Software which was used in the research analysis in the study. We thank Mr. Daniel Shetler who was coordinating the data collection and analysis along with Mr. Anand Kumar. It is because of their hard work it has been possible to undertake such a work in a very short duration. We also want to thank the bore well users who came forward to share the information with us. Last but not the least we thank the Staff Team and Volunteers for their cooperation without which this research would have been impossible.

Mr. Dennyson Abraham Project Manager.

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Background In June 2007 when Andaman Water Project was setup there was no data or research document it could get hold of with regards to groundwater status. There were range of confusing information going around from ‘no bore well existed’ to ‘no bore wells allowed’ in the Island. Some of the reasons attributed to were the tectonic activities and government land regulation in Andaman.

Central Ground Water Board also did not have data of ground water

resources of Andaman in its website. It was with this background Andaman Water Project decided to map and study the bore well that existed in the Island. The data from this study will be published and made available for general public and government officials so that they are little better equipped when dealing with groundwater status in their area. Drilling bore wells in the Andaman Islands is problematic for a number of reasons and many attempted borewells fail. The hope is that this research will help alleviate some of these problems.

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Objectives In 2008 the Andaman Water Project of Emmanuel Hospital Association initiated a study on the existing bore wells. This effort was to answer some important questions concerning the groundwater of the Andaman Islands. In order to accomplish this, an extensive survey of the bore wells was conducted. Through the survey information like bore well depth, groundwater table, soil profile, quality and approximate discharge of water along with construction and owner details were collected. Bore wells that were unsuccessful, dry or brackish water were also included in the survey.

A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used in the analysis of the data. A GIS is a very powerful tool for visualization and analysis in resource management. In a GIS, layers of information are used to create a digital map. These data can include satellite imagery, elevation data, databases, roads, rivers, buildings, city, populations, etc anything that has a geographic reference. The more information that is added to a GIS the more useful it becomes. This borewell data alone on a GIS might be elemental but in combination with other layers of data GIS full potential can be reached. Andaman Water Project will make available this GIS data, satellite imagery, and maps created other organizations working with GIS on the Andaman Islands on request. Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI) that is also putting together a GIS with watershed, land use, and population data under the direction of Dr. S. K. Ambast, Head Natural Resource Management. In corporation of these two data will result in a powerful tool than any on their own.

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Methodology There are only two borewell drilling companies in the Island. Help was sought from both these companies to locate and get data of the bore wells that existed or done by them. Mr. Jamal, Managing Partner & Technician of Guru Bore wells came forward to help with the survey. The project team along with him visited different bore well sites met the land owner and collected the needed information regarding the bore well. A Garmin GPS was used to obtain the coordinates and thus locate the bore well on the earth coordinate. The survey data was then maintained on a spreadsheet for analysis. The software ArcGIS® was used to combine the survey data with the GPS locations. SRTM1 data was used to find the altitudes of the borewells and thus the absolute depths of the bore wells, groundwater tables and soil layers. ArcGIS was also used to find the distance of the wells from the ocean. Google Earth was used to visualize the borewell distribution and the data was then analysed using ArcGIS and Excel. The datasheet Performa of the survey form is attached for reference (annexure 1)

1

SRTM is elevation data gathered by radar from the Space Shuttle or satellites.

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Discussions

Mean Sea Level (MSL) Vs Water Table The elevation of surface and groundwater table has a strong correlation between them [Graph 1]. The groundwater table roughly follows the surface of the earth at about 36 feet below the surface. Among the 182 freshwater bore wells, with respect to Groundwater Table (See Graph 1) 1. 10% of the instances groundwater table is found below MSL, rest 89% of times groundwater table was found above MSL 2. Only 1% of the instance groundwater table was found 50 feet below MSL. With respect to Yield or depleting aquifers (see Graph 2): 3. An alarming 64% of cases groundwater was extracted from below MSL 4. 10% bore wells deliver water from aquifers below 100 feet MSL 5. 35% bore wells deliver water from aquifers below 50 feet MSL.

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Elevations of Freshwater Borewells [Graph 1] 300

Surface Elevation Water Table Well Depth Mean Sea Level Dry Bore Well Dry Bore Well Depth Water Table Trendline

Elevation (ft MSL)

200

100

0

-100

-200

-300 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

130

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160

170

180

190

200

210

Wells

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Extraction Below MSL (Graph 2) 250

Surface Elevation

Well Bottom

MSL (Feet)

150

50

0

50

100

150

200

-50

-150

-250 Wells

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Surface Elevation vs. Water Table Groundwater Table (feet) Less than 40’ Less than 60’ Less than 100’ More than 100’ Dry Bore Wells

Bore wells (Numbers) 120 162 180 2 37

% of Freshwater Wells (182 Nos) 66% 89% 99% 1% -

Overall % (219 Nos) 55% 74% 82% 1% 17%

Studying the groundwater table with respect to the surface elevation reveals an interesting trend [Graph 3]. 1. The groundwater table being reached most often at 35’ below the surface. 2. At a depth of less than 40 feet, which is the depth that ‘hand driven bores’ are capable of there is fairly good chances of reaching water table (55%). 3. Only 1% instance table was found past 100 feet beneath the surface.

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Water Table (5' intervals) [Graph 3] 30 26

26 25

25

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N u m b er o f W ells

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14 12 11 10

10 8

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-5

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2 30

2 20

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1 90

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1 40

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Water Table Depth (ft Below Surface)

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Dry Well Vs Depth 1. 76% of the dry wells have been drilled past the MSL, 13% of the overall wells (Graph 3). 2. 78% of the dry wells are within 1000m of the coastline (see graph 5) Dry Well Elevation & Depth (Graph 4) 300

200 Surface Elevation Dry Well bottom

Feet above sea level

100

0 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

-100

-200

-300 Wells

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Coastline Vs Water Table The correlation between the distance from coastline and groundwater table [Graph 5], shows that proximity to the ocean cannot be used as an indicator for groundwater table. However majority of the yielding wells are within 1000m of the coastline. Not many bore wells were found within 100-meters of the coastline. It should also be noted that no bore wells in this dataset were found to produce saline water, so a correlation between the proximity to the coast and striking a saline aquifer could not be made. From Graph 5 it can be seen that most of the bore wells surveyed were within 2 km of the coast. This is because urban population in Andaman live near the coast. Also at the widest point the Andaman are only about 30 km across so one cannot get more then 15 km from the coast. 1. 62% of the total bore well are within 1000m (1Km) of the coastline. 2. 78% of the dry bore wells (13% overall) lie within 1000 of the coastline

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Freshwater Table Vs. Coastline [Graph 5] 300

Water Table Mean Sea Level Dry Well Bottom

200

F eet M S L

100

0

-100

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

-200

-300

Distance from Ocean (m)

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Soil Profile & Bore wells The data that is available indicates the tops soil surface runs up to an average depth of 20 feet (see graph 6). Top soil is mostly light yellow colour and it is good mixture of clay, silt and sand. The subsurface is mostly marine sedimentary deposit which grey or black in colour.

The compressed sedimentary deposit in many cases forms aquiclude or

aquitards which retards the seepage of water beneath. 1. 90% of dry wells have such soil formation; compressed sedimentary deposits resulting in soft 0r hard slate 2. Rocky sub soil formation tend to be more successful bore wells in comparisonf The project experience has been that the bore wells drilled in North and Middle Andaman has not been very successful in comparison to bore wells in South Andaman. Soil profile of the bore wells and the open dug wells done by the project has been attached for reference.

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Soil Profile (Graph 6)

300

200

Elevation (MSL)

100

0 1

13 25 37 49 61 73 85 97 109 121 133 145 157 169 181 193 205 217

-100

-200

-300 Surface Elevation

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Well Bottom

Top Soil

Subsoil

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2004 Tsunami & Water Table One of the objectives of this survey was to find any changes in the groundwater table after the tsunami. No borewells in the survey were reported to produce saline water or the amount of water produced changing after the 2004 earthquake and tsunami. However there is difference in the average depth of the groundwater table found in borewells constructed before and after the earthquake. The average depth of the groundwater table found in borewells constructed before December 2004 was found to be 49 feet after December 2004 the average depth was only 33 feet. This finding corresponds to other research2 that indicates that the 2004 earthquake thrust the northern islands up and caused the southern islands to sink. Since most of the borewells in this survey are located on the southern islands this change in the average groundwater table elevation may indicate that the absolute water level stayed the same as the ground sank around it causing the observed difference.

2

Tony Lowry “USU Geophysicist says Fault Movement Continues Since 2004 Tsunami” (accessed Feb 18, 2009).

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Conclusion There are approximately 2000 borewells on the islands. Only 10% or 220 borewells were covered in this survey. If more borewells are added to the survey the reliability of the data will increase and thus be more useful. Also adding these data to other data sets will increase the functionality as a water resource management tool. The bore well survey also focused on the South Andaman area.

This is partially due to the greater number of

borewells drilled in this urban area. Bore wells are clumped in populated pockets and thus evenly spread data will not be available.

However it is assumed that there will be lot of similarity between these Islands and the result and

findings of South Andaman Islands can also be applied to other Islands. Given the fragile eco system and high tectonic activity in Andaman it is absolutely imperative to do a detailed study of the groundwater status and also regulate groundwater extraction. This survey is only the beginning and much more work needs to be done and this work has the seed for such a detailed study in the future. -

Jai Hind

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Soil Profile of Wells done by EHA Between 2007 - 2008

Annexure

Bore Wells South Andaman Feet Carbyn's Quary

Middle Andaman

North Andaman

Carbyn's Quary 2

Attam Pahad

McCarty Valley

Kattakhari

Rochlachang

Pailoon Nallah

Bhadur Tikrey

Bhadur Tikrey 2

Lalit Katai

Fresh *

Fresh *

Fresh #

Fresh #

Saline #

No Water #

Saline #

Dry *

Saline #

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 Fresh * * #

Machine Bore Hand Driven Bore (all ended with hard formation)

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Open Dug Wells North Andaman Srinagar

Depth (Feet)

Parangara

Navin nagar

Narayan Tikery

Ramnagar

Keralapuram

Milangram

Swarajgram

5 10 15 20 25 30 35

3 no. slope Foester Depth (Feet) Kadamtala valley

Middle Andaman Kaushilaya TV Center, Bakuntala Nagar Rangat

Rangat Bay Yerrata

Deep Nagar Hari Nagar

Laukui Nallah

5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Mayabunder Island Fisher Man Colony

Feet

Lucknow

5

Lataw

Rampur

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

10

c

Black Sedimentary Clay

15

Soft Slate Hard Slate

20

Soft Rock Hard Rock

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Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Bamboo nallah1

Feet

Bamboo Nallah 2

Baratang Island Krishna Roclachang Nagar

Flat Bay

5 10 15 20 25 30 35

South Andaman Island Nayagaon

Feet

Bada Balu

Bada Balu 2 Brokshabad

Attam Phard

5 10 15 20 25

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Soil Profile of Wells - Data Collected

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Dry Wells

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Anarkali & Kodyaghat Dry

Dry MSL ft 180 175 170 165 160 155 150 145 140 135 130 125 120 115 110 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35 -40 -45 -50 -55 -60 -65 -70 -75 -80 -85

Anarkali

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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c

Dry

Dry Kadyaghat

MSLft

125 120 115 110 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35 -40 -45 -50 -55 -60 -65 -70 -75 -80 -85 -90 -95 -100 -105 -110 -115 -120 -125 -130 -135 -140 -145 -150 -155 -160 -165 -170

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Haddo Dry

Dry

Dry

Dry Haddo

MSL ft

220 215 210 205 200 195 190 185 180 175 170 165 160 155 150 145 140 135 130 125 120 115 110 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35 -40 -45 -50 -55 -60 -65 -70 -75 -80 -85 -90 -95 -100 -105 -110 -115 -120 -125 -130 -135

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Aberdeen Bazar Dry

Dry

MSL ft

110 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35 -40 -45 -50 -55 -60 -65 -70 -75 -80 -85 -90 -95 -100 -105 -110 -115 -120 -125 -130 -135 -140 -145 -150 -155 -160 -165 -170 -175 -180 -185 -190 -195 -200 -205

Dry

Dry

Aberdeen Bazar

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Brookshabad & Beodnabad Dry MSL ft

Dry Burshabad

240 235 230 225 220 215 210 205 200 195 190 185 180 175 170 165 160 155 150 145 140 135 130 125 120 115 110 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35 -40 -45 -50 -55 -60

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MSL ft

Beodnabad

80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35 -40 -45 -50 -55 -60 -65 -70 -75 -80 -85 -90 -95 -100 -105

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Delanipur Dry

Dry

230 225 220 215 210 205 200 195 190 185 180 175 170 165 160 155 150 145 140 135 130 125 120 115 110 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35 -40 -45 -50 -55

Dry

Dry

Delanipur

MSL ft

NA NA NA NA

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Kamaraj Nagar Dry MSL ft

205 200 195 190 185 180 175 170 165 160 155 150 145 140 135 130 125 120 115 110 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5

Kamraj Nagar

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Lilipur Dry

Dry MSL ft

200 195 190 185 180 175 170 165 160 155 150 145 140 135 130 125 120 115 110 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15

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Lilipur

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Minnie bay Dry MSL ft

125 120 115 110 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35 -40 -45 -50 -55 -60 -65

Minibay

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Pongychang Dry Pongychang

MSL ft

70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35 -40 -45 -50 -55 -60 -65 -70 -75 -80 -85 -90 -95 -100 -105 -110 -115

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Sanjeevan Colony & Shippighat Dry MSL ft

Dry

Sanjeevan Colony

210 205 200 195 190 185 180 175 170 165 160 155 150 145 140 135 130 125 120 115 110 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand

MSL ft

Shippighat

105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35 -40 -45 -50 -55 -60 -65 -70 -75 -80 -85 -90 -95 -100 -105 -110

Bouldres/ Splinters

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Wandoor Dry Wandoor

MSL ft

75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35 -40 -45 -50 -55 -60 -65 -70 -75 -80 -85 -90 -95 -100 -105 -110

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Mayabunder Dry

Dry

Dry

Mayabunder

MSL ft

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35 -40 -45 -50 -55 -60 -65

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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Digilipur Dry Subhashgram, Digilipur

MSL ft

100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 Dry RK Gram, Diglipur

MSL ft

20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15

Legends Silty Clay/ Loamy soil

c

Black Sedimentary Clay Soft Slate Hard Slate Soft Rock Hard Rock Sand Bouldres/ Splinters

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