Full Description

A direct benefit of efficient wells is reduced pumping costs. Design of efficient water wells requires knowledge of the various hydraulic factors that affect the major drawdown components. Turbulent flow through the well screen and in the near-well filter zone creates unnecessary head losses. Minimizing these turbulent flow losses can result in substantial costs savings over the lifetime of the well. Efficient wells incorporate proper design of screens and filter materials with effective development methods. The effective well radius can be used to measure the degree of filter-zone development. Estimates of the minimum length of well screen required to eliminate near-well turbulence can be made from knowledge of pumping rates and filter material. Recent experimental test results show that entrance velocity and screen open area are not critical design factors for most field applications. Proper pack-aquifer ratios and well development are primary factors in the construction of efficient water wells. The stepdrawdown test is an effective tool with which to calculate the efficiency of a well and to ensure that development is complete. Includes 12 references, figures.

Product Details

Edition: Vol. 77 - No. 9 Published: 09/01/1985 Number of Pages: 7 File Size: 1 file , 1.5 MB