Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Drawdown (hydrology)

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit

In water-related science and engineering there are two similar but distinct definitions in use for drawdown.

Contents

  • In subsurface hydrogeology, drawdown is the change in hydraulic head observed at a well in an aquifer, typically due to pumping a well as part of an aquifer test or well test.
  • In surface water hydrology and civil engineering, drawdown refers to the lowering of the water level in a man-made reservoir or tank.

    • In either case, drawdown is the change in head or water level relative to background condition, indicating the difference in head which has occurred at a given location relative to an initial time at the same location.

    A record of hydraulic head through time is more generally called a hydrograph (in both groundwater and surface water).

    Effects

    Aquifer drawdown or overdrafting and the pumping of fossil water may be a contributing factor to sea-level rise.

    Subsidence

    References

    Drawdown (hydrology) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA