Droughts, seasonal variations in rainfall, and pumping affect the height of the underground water levels. 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. This can happen during drought, due to the extreme deficit of rain.
Does a drought affect wells?
Not only can drought have an impact on your well and pump; seasonal variations in rainfall totals can as well. Unfortunately, in past four years (2012-1015), the Salt Lake City metro area has received only about half of its 30-year average total rainfall*. A well is said to have run dry when its level drops below the well pump’s intake.
Drought conditions can have wide-ranging impacts including effects on ground water supplies. The invisible nature of groundwater leads to an uneasy feeling that the well water supply could dry up without warning during a drought. If you reside within a region affected by drought, be on the look-out for a change in your well water.
As a result, shallow wells are usually more susceptible to drought than deeper wells. Shallow, hand-dug wells, for example, are often the first wells to dry up during drought. Although deeper wells may be slower to suffer from drought conditions, they may also take longer to recover after a drought has occurred.
What happens to deep wells during a drought?
Deep wells in areas experiencing long-term or systemic drought may also cease to yield water or have noticeably deeper water levels, especially when more water demand is placed on the aquifer. Such lowering of aquifer pressure or water levels can be exacerbated by inefficient well intake design and clogging over time.
How does a drought affect groundwater levels?
Reduced groundwater levels due to drought or increased pumping during drought can result in decreased water levels and flows in lakes, streams, and other water bodies. (On average, greater than 50 percent of stream flow is contributed by groundwater.
These individual wells tap groundwater aquifers that cannot easily be seen or monitored. The invisible nature of groundwater leads to an uneasy feeling among homeowners relying on wells that their water supply could dry up without warning during a drought. The water level in a groundwater well will fluctuate naturally during the year (Figure 1).
This begs the inquiry “What is the impact of drought?”
Each different way that drought affects us is what we call an impact of drought. Drought affects our lives in many different ways because water is such an important part of so many of our activities. We need water to live, and animals and plants do too. We need water to grow the food we eat.
What happens to my well during a drought?
Shallow, hand-dug wells, for example, are often the first wells to dry up during drought. Although deeper wells may be slower to suffer from drought conditions, they may also take longer to recover after a drought has occurred.
Water conservation and pump adjustments can help manage your water well during drought. Droughts can be stressful for the three million rural residents in Pennsylvania who rely on private wells for their water supply. These individual wells tap groundwater aquifers that cannot easily be seen or monitored.
Shallower wells may see their water levels rise more quickly with a return of rain. Deeper wells are likely to ride out a drought with no problems; but if they are affected, it will take more rainfall -maybe several months-to filter down to their depth.
How do I know if my well water is drought proof?
If you reside within a region affected by drought, be on the look-out for a change in your well water. If you experience a dry well condition where the well is actually pumping air, consult with a qualified professional water well water contractor to see what the level of the water is in the well.