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When waster is withdrawn, the flow becomes established to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.