Czech pages, ceske stranky
Environmental protection and remediation services,
hydrogeology and geological engineering

Technological Equipment for Drinking Water Supply in Mandalgobi, Mongolia

The project Technological Equipment for Drinking Water Supply in Mandalgobi was given approval by the Government Decree of the Czech Republic No. 436/2000 on the plan of the granted development aid for 2002. It will be implemented in 2002 - 2005; it complies with the bilateral interests in the further development of mutual relations, with the conclusions of the 1st conference of the Czech - Mongolian Joint Commission and the negotiations of delegations of both parties.

Map of Mongolia

The Czech gestor section is the Ministry of Industry and Trade; the counterpart is the Ministry of Infrastructure of Mongolia. The implementation co-ordinator on behalf of the Czech Party is the company GEOtest Brno, a.s.; and AZAS INVEST s.r.o. is a co-operating Czech company. The implementation co-ordinator on behalf of Mongolia is the company Er-Shi-Ju, Co. Ltd. Ulaanbaatar.


Main objectives of the project:

Year 2002

Hydrogeological investigation of the Dundgobi aimak and the vicinity of the town of Mandalgobi, i.e. field mapping, sampling and analysis of groundwater samples.

Year 2003

Detailed hydrogeological mapping in the vicinity of the town of Mandalgobi, completion of the mapping of the Dundgobi aimak, geophysical survey in the town of Mandalgovi, drilling works, and hydrodynamic testing.

Year 2004

Delivery of a water treatment station, pilot testing, preparation of the documentation for the reconstruction of water supply system, interconnection of the new water resource with the existing water main, construction of the hydrogeological map of the Dundgobi aimak at a scale of 1 : 500 000 and of the vicinity of the town of Mandalgobi at a scale of 1 : 10 000.

Year 2005

Putting the typified part of the water supply system into operation.



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Czech-Mongolian specialist team,
waiting for the customs clearance
at the Ulaanbaatar airport

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Documentation of the bottom
of a dry lake in the
Dundgobi aimak

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Preparation for departure


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Hydrogeological documentation
of wells around Mandalgobi

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The working conditions were
not easy

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Hydrogeological documentation
of a dug well in a steppe region
of the Dundgobi aimak


The works carried out by the company GEOtest Brno:



Interpretation of satellite images

Interpretation of Landsat-7 satellite images was the starting basis for orientation concerning tectonics as well as hydrogeology.

Hydrogeological mapping of the wider vicinity of the town of Mandalgobi was conducted within the extent of Sheet L-48-81 (Mandalgobi) on a scale of 1:100 000, which was divided into 4 sections (A, B, C and D) on a scale of 1:50 000 for field investigation. Within these sections, all hydrogeological (wells, boreholes, etc.) and hydrological (springs, streams, lakes, etc.) structures were mapped.


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A spring of water below a granite
rock ridge south of the town
of Mandalgobi Mandalgobi

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A well in the somon of Deren
(Dundgobi Aimak)

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Waiting for water in the somon of Erdenedalay (Dundgobi Aimak)


Geophysical work was performed at the selected sites inside the urban area of the town of Mandalgobi and about 5 km south of the town of Mandalgobi. It delineated a pore-permeable aquifer of the Cretaceous Age and verified tectonic zones of a granite massif.

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End of a geophysical profile
in the suburb of Mandalgobi

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A 3D model of a basin beneath
the town of Mandalgobi

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Work on a geophysical profile
in the town of Mandalgobi


Within the drilling work, 3 hydrogeological wells GS 6001 to GS 6003 were installed to depths of 118, 75 and 175 m respectively. The wells passed through sediments of a Cretaceous basin and were drilled into the granite bedrock. Two of them were located inside the urban area of the town of Mandalgobi, well GS 6002 4.5 km south of the town.

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Drilling of well GS 6001 in the
courtyard of an ice-cream shop
in Mandalgobi

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Logging work in an uncased
well GS 6001

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Cleaning of well GS 6002
by a drilling rig


Hydrodynamic tests started in 2003 in the catchment area of Olgoin Gov, which is located 30 km north of Mandalgobi and serves as a second source of water for the town. In 2004 - 2005, hydrodynamic tests were conducted in wells GS 6001 to GS 6003 and exploitable groundwater resources were verified in the town in an amount of 12 l/s of high-quality drinking water.

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A pumping test in well GS 6001

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Measurement of yield
in a pumping test at the site
of Olgoin Gov

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A test of a pump sunk
in well GS 6003 in Mandalgobi


A total of 55 groundwater samples were subjected to laboratory analyses in 2002 - 2005. They were analysed in the laboratories of GEOtest Brno, a.s. and in laboratories of the Mongolian State University in Ulaanbaatar. Laboratory analyses were evaluated in detail.

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Water sampling from a well by
a water reservoir in Mandalgobi

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Measurement of water
conductivity in well GS 6001


To assess the quality of the drilling work and the technical state of old catchment structures, newly drilled wells GS 6001 - GS 6003 and existing wells 5222, 31, H1 and H4 were optically documented by camera GeoVISION of the company Marks Products, INC.

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Groundwater table in well 5222
in Mandalgobi

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A pump in well 5222
at a depth of 114.9 m

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A cavern in a well


New wells GS 6001 and GS 6003 were equipped with pumps, delivery piping, cables for electric power supply to the pumps, and PVC hoses for the measurement of groundwater levels. The new water sources were connected to the existing water main in the town.

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Installation of a pump in well
GS 6001

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Installation of a pump in well
GS 6003 in front of a monastery
in Mandalgobi


Water treatment plants - disinfection stations were installed in a hospital in Mandalgobi and in front of a water reservoir on the water feeder from the catchment area of Olgoin Gov, where the water was impounded in an underground tank to protect it from climatic effects.

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A holding tank, piping, bypasses

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A complete technology of water
disinfection in an underground
water treatment plant

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A water disinfection station
in a hospital in Mandalgobi


Automatic pressure stations were placed on new wells GS 6001 and GS 6003 and on existing well 5222. Each automatic pressure station consists of an underground accumulation tank of 15 m3 in volume and the technology placed in the structures above the wells. The automatic pressure stations equalise pressure changes in the water-supply network.

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Construction of a tank by well
GS 6003

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Installation of the technology
of an automatic pressure station
on well GS 6003

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A water tank provided with an impermeable sheet


The construction work comprised the repair of the structure on existing well 5222, the construction of 3 structures on new wells GS 6001 - GS 6003, including the fencing of the protection zone around water sources GS 6001 and GS 6003.

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A structure with the technology
and a water tank on well
GS 6003

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Open control panel of the
technology installed
on well GS 6003

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Erection of the technology of an
automatic pressure station
on well GS 6001


During the project-work implementation, several courses of training were successively held for the state administration personnel and water managers both in Mongolia and in the Czech Republic, which related to the application of hydrogeological maps, water sampling, the optimal exploitation of water resources, occupational safety and the operation of the installed technologies. Every year, a presentation of the accomplished works took place before the state administration personnel and organisations concerned in Mongolia and Czechia. Every year, annual reports were evaluated; then, at the end of the project, a final report of the project. These elaborates comprise the evaluation of all accomplished works.


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Final presentation of the project
in Mandalgobi

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Final presentation of the project
in Mandalgobi


The project Technological Equipment for Drinking Water Supply in Mandalgobi ended in 2005; all works were implemented, all set goals were fulfilled and all installed structures were presented in functional state to the Mongolian party.

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Final meeting with Mr. Turbat,
Governor of the Dundgobi Aimak

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Ceremonial delivery in
Mandalgobi to the town's people


GEOtest Brno, a.s., Smahova 112, 659 01 Brno tel.: +420 548 125 308, fax: +420 545 217 979, trade@geotest.cz, www.geotest.cz