Well Hydraulics
Steady State Analysis
Groundwater Wells
The groundwater is collected through the use of wells
Well systems usually have – well structure, pump and
discharge pipes
Well usually consists of perforated casing that allows water
to enter the well but prevents collapse of hole
When waster is withdrawn, the flow becomes established to
compensate the withdrawl
Because of head loss, piezometric surface adjacent to well is
depressed; this is called ‘cone of depression’
Remember Darcy’s equation:
dh
Q = − KA
dx
What is well hydraulics?
To understand the processes in effect when one or
more wells are pumping from an aquifer. This for
instance considers the analysis of drawdown due to
pumping with time and distance
Importance of well hydraulics
Groundwater withdrawal from aquifers are important
to meet the water demand. Therefore, we need to
understand well hydraulics to design a pumping
strategy that is sufficient to furnish the adequate
amounts of water
Basic Assumptions
The piezometric surface of the aquifer is
horizontal prior to the start of the pumping
The aquifer is homogeneous and isotropic (same
material with same properties in all directions)
All flow is radial toward the well
Groundwater flow is horizontal
Darcy’s law is valid
The pumping well fully penetrates the aquifer
Steady versus Transient (unsteady)
Steady state implies that the drawdown is a function of
location only
Transient state implies that the drawdown is a function
of location and time
Thus
h = f(r) in case of steady state
h = f(r,t) in case of transient state
Steady Radial Flow to a Well in Confined
Aquifers
Steady Radial Flow to a Well in Confined
Aquifers
When water is pumped from a confined aquifer,
the pumpage creates a drawdown in the
piezometric surface that induces hydraulic
gradient toward the well
Drawdown at a given point is the distance by
which the water level is lowered. A drawdown
curve shows the variation of drawdown with
distance from the well
The induced flow moves horizontally toward the
well
Steady Radial Flow to a Well in Confined
Aquifers
Apply Darcy’s law to derive the flow equation that relates
drawdown with pumping:
Steady Radial Flow to a Well in Confined
Aquifers
Rearranging and integrating for the boundary
conditions at the well h = hw and r = rw
and
at the edge of the aquifer h = h0 and r = r0
yields (with the negative sign neglected):
Steady Radial Flow to a Well in Confined
Aquifers
Steady Radial Flow to a Well in Confined
Aquifers
Thiem equation
where r1 and r2 are the distances and h1 and
h2 are the heads of the respective observation
wells
Textbook form
528Q log r2
r1
Kf =
m(h2 − h1 )
where Q is in gallons per minute, Kf is the
permeability in gallons per day per square foot
and r and h are measured in feet. m is the
thickness of aquifer (same as b in previous case)
Steady Radial Flow to a Well in Confined
Aquifers
From a practical standpoint, the drawdown s
rather than the head h is measured so:
Example [1] – Steady State Confined
Aquifer
A well in a confined aquifer is pumped at a rate of 220
gal/min
Measurement of drawdown in two observation wells
shows that after 1,270 min of pumping, no further
drawdown is occurring
Well 1 is 26 ft from the pumping well and has a head of
29.34 ft above the top of the aquifer
Well 2 is 73 ft from the pumping well and has a head of
32.56 ft above the top of the aquifer.
Use the Thiem equation to find the aquifer transmissivity
Solution [1]
We must first convert the pumping rate of 220 gal/min to an
equivalent rate in cubic feet per day
Now we substitute the given values into Thiem equation:
Steady Radial Flow to a Well in
Unconfined Aquifers
Confined versus Unconfined
Steady Radial Flow to a Well in
Unconfined Aquifers
The flow equation is similar for that of confined
aquifers except we use h instead of b
Steady Radial Flow to a Well in
Unconfined Aquifers
Rearranging and integrating for the boundary
conditions at the well, h = hw and r = rw, and at the
edge of the aquifer, h = h0 and r = r0, yields:
Steady Radial Flow to a Well in
Unconfined Aquifers
Converting to heads (h1 and h2) and radii at two
observation wells at locations r1 and r2:
Steady Radial Flow to a Well in
Unconfined Aquifers
Rearranging to solve for the hydraulic conductivity:
Textbook form of unconfined aquifer
Where Q is in gallons per minute, Kf is in
gallons per day per square foot and r and h are
measured in feet.
