What is a hole drilled down into an aquifer?

What is a hole drilled down into an aquifer?

A well is a hole drilled into the ground to penetrate an aquifer. Normally such water must be pumped to the surface. If water is pumped from a well faster than it is replenished, the water table is lowered and the well may go dry.

How does water get into aquifers?

An aquifer is a body of porous rock or sediment saturated with groundwater. Groundwater enters an aquifer as precipitation seeps through the soil. It can move through the aquifer and resurface through springs and wells.

What is groundwater drilling?

Basically, a well is a hole drilled into the ground to access water contained in an aquifer. A pipe and a pump are used to pull water out of the ground, and a screen filters out unwanted particles that could clog the pipe.

What is required for an aquifer to form underground?

An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well.

What is aquifer system?

aquifer, in hydrology, rock layer that contains water and releases it in appreciable amounts. The rock contains water-filled pore spaces, and, when the spaces are connected, the water is able to flow through the matrix of the rock. An aquifer also may be called a water-bearing stratum, lens, or zone.

How does a drilled well work?

A drilled well consists of a hole bored (a borehole) into the ground, with the upper part or the entire depth of the well being lined with casing. The casing also provides a housing for a pumping mechanism and for the pipe that moves water from the pump to the surface.

How does water enter into the ground?

Water seeps into the ground much like a glass of water poured onto a pile of sand. The water moves downward through empty spaces or cracks in the soil, sand, or rocks until it reaches a layer of rock through which water cannot easily move. The water then fills the empty spaces and cracks above that layer.

Where is the aquifer located?

Aquifers Overview Unlike surface water, which is mostly found in the northern and eastern parts of the state, aquifers are widely distributed throughout California. Additionally, they are also often found in places where freshwater is most needed, for instance, in the Central Valley and Los Angeles.

What is involved in drilling a well?

How do you find an underground aquifer?

Sand or gravel areas in the bottom of valleys will often be home to groundwater. These layers can be covered by clay or silt, so it’s prudent to check these areas thoroughly. Natural springs usually indicate groundwater is nearby. A spring that flows year-round will likely reveal a productive aquifer.

What happens to water when a well is drilled into an aquifer?

When a well is drilled into a confined aquifer, the water that is under pressure in it will rise in the well casing and may reach the surface. Wells with water flowing to the surface are often called free-flowing artesian wells. In most cases, wells drilled into artesian aquifers do not flow.

How does a pressurized aquifer get to the surface?

If a well is drilled into this “pressurized” aquifer, the internal pressure might (depending on the ability of the rock to transport water) be enough to push the water up the well and up to the surface without the aid of a pump, sometimes completely out of the well. This type of well is called artesian.

What does it mean when a well is in an artesian aquifer?

When a well is drilled into a confined aquifer, the water that is under pressure in it will rise in the well casing and may reach the surface. Wells with water flowing to the surface are often called free-flowing artesian wells. In most cases, wells drilled into artesian aquifers do not flow. Unconfined.

How does an unconfined aquifer recharge the ground?

An unconfined aquifer is a layer of water that has a confining layer on the bottom and a layer of permeable soil above it. The recharge are is all of the land area above the unconfined aquifer. The water level in wells drilled into an unconfined aquifer will be at the same elevation as the water table.