Open Well Recuperation & What Your Well Can Give
Measures safe yield
Pump the well down and time how fast water rises back to get the recuperation rate, the volume recuperated and the safe daily yield to plan pumping and command area.
Open-well recuperation
Next: plan irrigation around ~509 m³/day — that is the volume the aquifer can refill, so a pump matched to 21.2 m³/h avoids running the well dry.
The recuperation (or recovery) test pumps the well down, then times how fast water rises back. Yield assumes the well recharges at the measured rate around the clock.
Open well recuperation — key facts
- Well area
- π × (diameter ÷ 2)²
- Volume recuperated
- well area × water rise
- Recuperation rate
- volume ÷ recovery time
- Daily yield
- rate × pumping hours
- 1 mm over 1 ha
- = 10 m³ (10,000 L)
- Test in
- lean (dry) season
- Method
- recuperation field test
- Privacy
- Runs in your browser; nothing uploaded
A bucket, a tape and a stopwatch read your well
A dug well only gives as much as the aquifer can feed back into it. The recuperation test puts a number on that: pump the level down, then time how fast the water rises again. The plan area of the well times the rise tells you the volume that flowed in, and dividing by the recovery time gives the recuperation rate — the true measure of how generous the well is, not just how full it looks on a wet morning.
This tool computes the well area, the volume recuperated, the recuperation rate, and the safe daily yield in litres and m³. Use it to size your pump, decide how many hours you can draw, and work out how much land the well can reliably irrigate. Pair it with the Borewell Yield, Pump Run Time and Tank Command Area tools to plan a dependable water supply.
Know the real yield
Measure dependable supply, not a full-well illusion.
Just a tape and timer
A simple field test gives the recuperation rate.
Size your pump
Match draw to how fast the well recovers.
Plan the command area
Daily yield sets how much land you can irrigate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a well recuperation test?+
It's a simple field test for the safe yield of a dug (open) well. You pump the water level down by a known depth, then time how long it takes for the water to rise back up. From that recovery you work out how fast the aquifer feeds the well, which is the basis for the well's dependable daily yield.
How is the recuperation rate calculated?+
The volume recuperated is the well's plan area × the rise in water level during recovery. Dividing that volume by the recovery time gives the recuperation rate — for example a 3 m diameter well (≈7.07 m² area) recovering 0.5 m in 1 hour recuperates about 3.5 m³ per hour.
How do I get the safe daily yield?+
The recuperation rate is the rate at which water flows in, so the safe daily yield is the recuperation rate sustained over the hours you can draw — commonly the per-hour rate scaled to your pumping window. This tool gives the rate and the daily yield so you can size pumping and the area you can irrigate.
How is the well area found?+
For a circular dug well the plan area is π × (diameter ÷ 2)². A 4 m diameter well has an area of about 12.6 m². The area matters because the volume of water stored per metre of depth — and the volume recuperated per metre of rise — both scale directly with it.
Why pump the well down before timing recovery?+
Lowering the level creates a head difference that drives groundwater in faster, so the recovery you measure reflects the aquifer's ability to feed the well. Recording the drawdown depth and the recovery time under that stress gives a more realistic dependable yield than watching a full, undisturbed well.
What is the difference between an open well and a borewell?+
An open (dug) well is a wide, shallow shaft that draws from the upper unconfined aquifer and stores a usable buffer of water; a borewell is a narrow deep bore tapping deeper aquifers. Open wells are tested by recuperation; borewells by yield/discharge tests — see the Borewell Yield tool for that.
How does yield guide my command area?+
Once you know the safe daily yield in m³ or litres, divide it by the crop's daily water need per unit area to find how much land the well can reliably irrigate. A higher recuperation rate supports a larger command area; a slow well limits you to high-value or low-water crops.
Does the recuperation rate change with the season?+
Yes. Open wells depend on the shallow water table, which falls through the dry season and recharges in the monsoon. Test in the lean season for a conservative, dependable yield, and re-test periodically — the same well can recuperate much faster after good rains than at peak summer.
Is this an exact measurement?+
It's a sound field estimate for planning, not a lab figure. Real recovery is affected by well condition, aquifer variability and how steady your timing is. Run the test a few times and use the lower, more conservative recuperation rate when sizing pumps and deciding how much area to irrigate.