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Ground Water and Aquifer Depletion?
Assume the pumping of an aquifer was at a rate of 830 million ft^3/day, the natural discharge from the aquifer was 10 million ft^3/day, and the recharge (including irrigation return flow) to the aquifer was 510 million ft^3/day.
1. What was the rate at which the aquifer was depleted?
2. Over a 20-year period, how much ground water did the aquifer lose?
3. Assume the area of the aquifer is 174000 miles^2 and the porosity of the aquifer material is 0.15, how much did the ground water level decline (assuming uniform decline)?
3 Answers
- GLv 41 decade agoFavorite Answer
Pumping Rates & Discharge are OUTPUTS:
830 x 10^6
10 x 10^6
= 840 x 10^6 CF per day
Recharge is an INPUT:
= 510 x 10^6 CF per day
The pumping and discharge rates are 330 x 10^6 CF per day greater than natural recharge. This difference is your rate of groundwater loss (depletion)
You have only provided rates, aquifer specifications are necessary. What is its size? It is being pumped much faster than it is being replenished, therefore the rate of loss (-330 million CF per day * 20 years * 365 days per year = total water loss)
Porosity is the amount of void space in a material that fluids may occupy. if n=0.15 then 15% of the subsurface material may be occupied by water. Once again, you need more information. What was the initial height of the water table? A uniform rate of change means this reduction in height can be assumed as linear over time although that is not the case in reality. Natural systems are rarely perfectly linear.
A sqaure miles is about 27.88 x 10^6 square feet. Multiply the given surface area to get your units into similar terms. A volume of loss over a given surface area for a certain time period will results in a single dimension (height drop in feet)
- busterwasmycatLv 71 decade ago
That is just a simple mass balance calculation. Inputs minus outputs equals net change.
Of course, I have two problems with it (the only reason I answered).
1) it is not normal for a depleted aquifer to maintain its natural discharge rate. the rate of discharge will typically decrease as the aquifer loses its water, so that part of the mass balance, although trivial, will involve an incorrect value and result in an erroneous result.
2) Do people still actually work in cubic feet? What kind of scientist actually uses feet and miles these days? You could do the calculation in your head if you had used internally consistent measures instead of those old english system units.
- osornioLv 44 years ago
first and foremost ask how are groundwater aquifers replenished?? that's real from precipitation. uncertain over u . s . a . of america, yet in Western Australia the place aquifers are used plenty too the rainfall has heavily decreased over the final 30 years. So much less rainfall potential much less water accomplishing the groundwater aquifers. moreover interior the case of coastal aquifers, the becoming sea ranges envisioned (shifting inland) will bring about saline water accomplishing aquifers too ... hence contaminating them and added declining the volumes of those aquifers. they are the dangers that climate exchange pose to groundwater aquifers. Say you're a making a guess guy and there is 50% that 'worldwide warming' is a 'hoax' ... in what threat administration selection matrix could you no longer do each and every thing on your skill to regulate/mitigate the impacts of a threat with 50% threat of occuring?? could you reside in a house that has 50% threat of falling down ... government rules does no longer enable you to even evaluate construction certainly one of those domicile ... yet what rules are in place to regulate the dangers of climate exchange (that are much extra accomplishing that a poorly equipped domicile)??