Evaluation of Pumping Rate vs Drawdown vs Distance to Assist in the Development of Balanced Well Spacing Rules
Abstract
Due to the significant and increasing demand for groundwater in Texas, evaluations of groundwater pumping impacts play an important role in water planning and management. Since 1951, Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs) have managed aquifers across much of the state. Among their functions, GCDs can regulate the spacing of new wells from existing wells, but they must balance a landowner's ability to drill a new well with expected impacts to existing wells. We performed studies for three GCDs to provide, based on representative hydraulic properties, the expected impacts of different well spacing and production rate relationships. This was done with the analytic element groundwater modeling code TTIM. These evaluations account for drawdown caused by a single well and cumulative drawdown by many wells. The results consist of a series of plots that allow decision-makers and GCDs representatives to understand the impacts of potential well spacing rule options on existing and prospective well owners.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFM.H33H1820P
- Keywords:
-
- 1880 Water management;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 6319 Institutions;
- POLICY SCIENCES;
- 6344 System operation and management;
- POLICY SCIENCES;
- 6620 Science policy;
- PUBLIC ISSUES