![]() Groundwater that supplies your well also feeds streams during periods of low flow, so pumping from your well may also cause the water levels in streams to be lower. Since aquifers can be quite extensive, the usage of your well can influence other people miles away. If you own a water-table well and you pump excessive amounts of water from your well, there is a danger of your well going dry as consumption continues and groundwater levels fall. I paid to have my own private water well installed, so why can't I use the water any way I want to? This does not mean that wells in a confined aquifer will not go dry, as they are also influenced by pumping rates, lack of recharge, and possibly by the pumpage rates of other wells near your or that access the same aquifer your well does. This means that it may be more likely for the water level in wells screened in the water table to drop below the pump level and prevent water from being obtained. Wells screened in unconfined water table aquifers are more directly influenced by the lack of rain than those screened in deeper confined aquifers. Ĭredit: Joe Leineweber, How do I find out if my well will go dry? ![]() To learn how you can plan for drought visit. If we plan for drought, then we can enjoy the benefits of normal or rainy years and not get caught unprepared in dry years. Nearly every part of our country experiences periods of reduced rainfall. A deep well in a confined aquifer in an area with minimal pumping is less likely to go dry than a shallow, water-table well. The water level in a well depends on a number of things, such as the depth of the well, the type (confined or unconfined) of aquifer the well taps, the amount of pumping that occurs in this aquifer, and the amount of recharge occurring. This does not mean that a dry well will never have water in it again, as the water level may come back through time as recharge increases. The water level in a well can also be lowered if other wells near it are withdrawing too much water.Ī well is said to have gone dry when water levels drop below a pump intake. This can happen during drought, due to the extreme deficit of rain. If a well is pumped at a faster rate than the aquifer around it is recharged by precipitation or other underground flow, then water levels in the well can be lowered. Droughts, seasonal variations in rainfall, and pumping affect the height of the under groundwater levels. The water level in the aquifer that supplies a well does not always stay the same. How does the water level in my well change? It provides drinking water for more than 98 percent of the rural population who do not get their water delivered to them from a county/city water department or private water company. Groundwater is the source of about 33 percent of the water that county and city water departments supply to households and businesses ( public supply). Groundwater, which is found in aquifers below the surface of the Earth, is one of the Nation's most important natural resources. If dry weather persists and water-supply problems develop, the dry period can become a drought. When rainfall is less than normal for several weeks, months, or years, the flow of streams and rivers declines, water levels in lakes and reservoirs fall, and the depth to water in wells increases. ![]() Groundwater decline is a real and serious problem in many places of the Nation and the world. Likewise, many aquifers, especially those which don't have abundant recharge, are affected by the amount of water being pumped out of local wells. Groundwater levels first are dependent on recharge from infiltration of precipitation so when a drought hits the land surface it can impact the water levels below ground, too. ![]() The water levels in aquifers is not often a constant. The time lapse video showing drought in the western United States. ![]()
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