On a farm the well decides the pump, not the other way round. Casing, water level, yield and water quality, and how they turn into a pump size.
Farms around Al Ain and Liwa, and plantations in Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain, draw much of their water from wells. When a borehole pump fails or a new well is drilled, the question is always the same: which pump? The honest answer starts with the well, because a pump can only deliver what the well can give.
Start with the well
Collect these before anyone recommends a pump. The driller's log and any test-pumping record usually hold most of them.
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Casing inside diameter | The pump and its cable must fit with room to spare. A 6-inch casing usually takes a 4-inch pump; larger pumps need larger casing. |
| Total depth | Sets the deepest possible pump setting. |
| Static water level | Where the water stands when nothing is pumping. |
| Pumping (dynamic) level | Where the water settles while pumping. This, not the static level, sets the lift. |
| Safe yield | The flow the well sustains without the level falling away. The pump must not exceed it. |
| Water quality | Salinity and hardness decide pump materials and whether the water needs treatment. |
Working out the head
Total head is the lift from the pumping level to the surface, plus the height to wherever the water goes, plus pressure the system needs at the end, plus friction in the drop pipe and the main. Drip irrigation usually needs around 1 bar at the emitters, and filters add their own loss on top.
| Item | Assumption | Head |
|---|---|---|
| Lift from pumping level | Water settles at 60 m while pumping | 60 m |
| Height to the tank inlet | Ground tank with inlet 4 m above ground | 4 m |
| Friction | Drop pipe plus a 150 m main to the tank | 6 m |
| Total head | About 70 m |
If the well's safe yield is 6 m³/h, the pump should be chosen to deliver no more than that at 70 m. A bigger pump would only draw the level down faster, and a submersible that uncovers its intake runs dry and fails. For quick conversions between bar, metres and flow units, see the rules of thumb on our water pumps page.
Brackish water and pump materials
Much of the UAE's groundwater is brackish, and a well that is pumped hard can get saltier over time. Salt water attacks ordinary cast iron and lower-grade steel. For brackish wells, stainless steel pump ends and motors are the usual choice, with higher grades such as 316 where chloride levels are high. Cable joints must be properly sealed, because a failed joint under water stops the pump.
Date palms tolerate salinity better than most crops, but vegetables and greenhouse crops often need better water than a brackish well gives. In that case the pump feeds a water treatment stage and a tank rather than the field directly.
Cooling and protection
- Motor cooling. A submersible motor is cooled by water flowing past it. If the pump sits below the well screen or in a much wider casing, it needs a flow sleeve to force water over the motor.
- Dry-run and low-level protection, so a falling water level stops the pump before damage.
- Protection against voltage drop and phase loss. Rural three-phase supplies and generators vary more than city supply.
- A control panel in shade, rated for the heat. A panel in direct summer sun runs far above air temperature.
Powering a remote well
Where there is no grid, the choice is a generator or solar. Solar suits most daytime irrigation and tank filling, and removes the fuel runs. We compare the two in solar water pumps vs diesel.
What to send for a quote
Send the well depth, casing size, water levels, test yield, a recent water test if you have one, and the power available at the well. We supply and install submersible and borehole pumps across Abu Dhabi emirate and the northern Emirates. Ask for a pump selection.
