Man digs for water in residential complex

• Source: Global Times
• [08:35 August 02 2010]
• Comments

By Zhou Ping

Experts have warned people against trying to save money by digging their own wells to extract ground water following a report that a man dug a well in his residential complex.

The resident of the Bolanhuayuan compound in Songjiang district uses water from the well he dug to wash his clothes, floors, toilet and even vegetables, Xinmin Evening News reported Saturday. Despite being asked by the property management company to stop using the well, the man still uses it, according to the report.

Neither the resident nor the property management company of the compound was avail-able for comment Sunday.

Lu Yukang, a property management staffer at a residential compound in Minhang district, said that it is not unheard of for people to dig their own wells in the city.

"Farmers who relocate to residential complexes sometimes try to dig wells to save money and because it is a part of their tradition," Lu said. "I once stopped people from digging an 80-centimeter-deep pool to raise fish in our compound. Improper digging might damage underground electric cables."

Li Yang, who has run an excavation company in Shanghai for over 20 years, told the Global Times Sunday that his team has helped dig wells for both companies and families.

"A hand-dug well reaching a depth of four meters and supplying two to three tons of water per hour costs less than 2,000 yuan ($295.2), while a machine-dug well reaching a depth of 40 meters or more and supplying water around the clock costs at least 5,000 yuan ($738)," Li said. "Although it's forbidden to dig an unauthor-ized well, no authorities supervise the matter and none of my clients has ever been caught."

Meanwhile, experts have expressed concern over privately-dug wells.

"While digging wells of less than 10 meters in depth won't affect surrounding structures, the water will be permeated with rain and sewage, and therefore undrinkable," Dai Xingyi, a professor at the environmental science department of Fudan University, told the Global Times Sunday. "Extracting too much groundwater can also lead to damage to the subsurface structure."

According to national regulations to protect groundwater, factories and individuals in need of a well must apply to the authorities before digging one. An application to dig a well in areas where tap water is available is likely to be rejected.