Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

A study was undertaken to install a shallow tube well in dry river bed of river Mahanadi for lifting irrigation water at the Ekdal village of Narasinghpur block of Cuttack district of Odisha. Besides studying the feasibility of shallow tube well in that area, techno-economic evaluation study of the tube well was also carried out to check economic viability of the project. Water requirement of the crops grown on that area was computed by CROPWAT model. Pumping test was conducted to determine various hydraulic parameters by Theis's recovery method. The base flow was computed using these parameters by Darcy's law and found to be more enough to meet the water requirement of crops. Design and installation of submersible pump and tube well i.e. casing pipe, slotted pipe (with gravel pack) and blind pipe were done basing upon this water requirement. The various economic indicators were worked out. The net present worth (NPW) was found to be Rs 24806749/- with a benefit cost (BC) ratio of 1.48. Values of economic indicators and estimated value of base flow, revealed that installation of a shallow tube well in dry river bed is techno-economically feasible in the study area.