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Pumping on Streamflow
Stream
relatively large or the locations of
A. Under natural conditions,
withdrawal are relatively close to a stream,
recharge at the water table
Unconfined aquifer then induced infiltration may become an
is equal to discharge at the
Confining unit important component of depletion.
stream.
Other hydrologic features also
can be affected by pumping wells.
Land surface
Groundwater withdrawals can decrease
Water table
groundwater discharge rates to lakes
and springs and reduce the amount of
B. Pumping from a well water that would otherwise be available
Stream
100
refilled (fig. 1D). During the time that the
streamflow depletion
aquifer is being replenished, groundwater Water from
that otherwise would have flowed to
streams instead goes into aquifer storage;
thus, streamflow depletion is ongoing, 50
even though pumping has ceased. In
many cases, the time of maximum
streamflow depletion actually occurs
Water from
after pumping has stopped. Eventually, storage depletion
the aquifer and stream may return to their 0 tdds
prepumping conditions (fig. 1E), but the
Pumping time
time required for full recovery may be
quite long, possibly much longer than the Figure 2. Relation of storage change and streamflow depletion as sources of pumped
total time that the well was pumped. Over groundwater through time for a hypothetical well. The variable tdds is the time to reach the
the time interval from when pumping condition of depletion-dominated supply for a particular pumping location. In some settings, the
starts until the system fully recovers transition from storage-dominated to depletion-dominated supply can occur in a matter of days to
to its prepumping levels, the volume months, whereas for others depletion-dominated supply may not occur for decades.
Case Study: Use of Numerical Modeling for Analysis of Streamflow Depletion in the Upper San Pedro River Basin
11030 15 110
The upper San Pedro River
Basin spans the international
boundary between the United
States and Mexico, covering an
area of about 1,700 square miles.
Groundwater discharge sustains 3145
perennial reaches in the San Pedro Tombstone
River and its tributaries, as well iver
iR
as the adjacent riparian area. The
m ar
riparian area provides year-round oco
habitat for wildlife species and Bab Charleston
is an important corridor for birds
migrating between Mexico and the Fort
United States. Huachuca
A numerical groundwater Sierra
Vista
Hu
model was used by USGS 30
ac
Mu
hydrologists to study the timing
hu
le
of depletion from pumping in
ca
Mo
the aquifer of the upper San
un
Pedro River Basin. Model runs
ou
tai
nt
were completed for about 1,500
ns
ai
hypothetical well locations ARIZONA, Bisbee
ns
r
Palominas
ive
throughout the aquifer. The UNITED STATES
ro R
pumping time required to reach SONORA,
depletion-dominated supply was
Ped
MEXICO
determined for each of the potential
15
San
well locations and the results
plotted on a map. Maps such as
thesewhich have been referred
to as capture mapsprovide
a visual tool for scientists and
water-resource managers to better ARIZONA
understand the effects of pumping at
individual locations within a larger
set of possible pumping locations San Pedro
River Basin
within the aquifer. In the resulting
map, the lightest color, generally 31
Tucson
adjacent to connected rivers, Model 0 5 10 MILES
indicates that depletion-dominated area 0 5 10 KILOMETERS
supply would occur within 10 years
of pumping. In contrast, the darkest EXPLANATION 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
color indicates that depletion- Perennial and intermittent streams
dominated supply would not be Major roads Pumping time to reach depletion-dominated supply, in years
reached within 100 years.
Pumping time required to reach depletion-dominated supply as a function of well location in
the primary aquifer underlying the upper San Pedro River Basin.