Why does ordinary springs often flow intermittently?

Why does ordinary springs often flow intermittently?

Intermittent Springs Flow only during certain times of the year when rainfall or snowmelt is sufficient to recharge the soil and groundwater.

How does permeability affect the flow of groundwater?

Permeability is the most important variable in groundwater. Permeability describes how easily water can flow through the rock or unconsolidated sediment and how easy it will be to extract the water for our purposes.

What is the difference between an ordinary well and an artesian well?

Artesian well is when the rate of recharge is high enough, the pressurized water in a well drilled into an artesian aquifer can spurt above the surface in form of a fountain. Ordinary well is wells that at dug or drilled below the water table . Wells are drilled into zone of saturation to provide water.

What is a cone of depression and how is it caused?

A cone of depression occurs in an aquifer when groundwater is pumped from a well. In an unconfined aquifer (water table), this is an actual depression of the water levels. In confined aquifers (artesian), the cone of depression is a reduction in the pressure head surrounding the pumped well.

How does porosity affect groundwater flow?

Porosity ultimately affects the amount of water a particular rock type can hold and depends on a couple of different factors. The ability of the ground water to pass through the pore spaces in the rock is described as the rock’s permeability. Permeable layers of rock that store and transport water are called aquifers.

What factors affect how quickly groundwater flows?

Topography and geology are the dominant factors controlling groundwater flow. Storativity describes the property of an aquifer to store water. Hydraulic conductivity is measured by performing a pumping test, i.e. by pumping one well and observing the changes in hydraulic head in neighboring wells.

Is an artesian well shallow or deep?

Drilled Artesian Wells – Artesian wells are drilled deep into bedrock or quaternary aquifers. Additionally because the water is stored deep below ground a drilled artesian well will be free from bacteria and the quality is generally better than a dug well.

In what direction does groundwater flow?

To first approximation, groundwater flows down-gradient (from high to low hydraulic head). As is the case with surface water, or a ball rolling down a hill, the water flows in the direction of the steepest gradient, meaning that it flows perpendicular to equipotentials.

What factors cause a cone of depression to become larger or smaller?

Faster the pumping and drawing out of the water, larger will be the cone of depression. The size and shape of the ‘cone’ depends on various factors such as size of the cone, material and thickness of the aquifer, and amount of water in the storage.

Why are ordinary springs often flow intermittently?

Explain why ordinary springs often flow intermittently. It is due to the changes in the level of the water table. The water table will fluctuate due to the change in climate. 5.) Define the term cone of depression.

How does human activity affect the flow of spring water?

Human activities also can influence the volume of water that discharges from a spring-groundwater withdrawals in an area can cause water levels in the aquifer system to drop and ultimately decreasing the flow from the spring. Most people probably think of a spring as being like a pool of water—and normally that is the case.

How long does it take for a spring stream to form?

As the process continues, the water hollows out more rock, eventually admitting an airspace, at which point the spring stream can be considered a cave. This process often takes tens to hundreds of thousands of years to complete.

What happens if one sprinkler discharges on another?

If one sprinkler discharges on another, the second sprinkler will cool. As a result, that sprinkler may not discharge on time—or at all. Proper spacing can prevent this unwanted problem from taking place. The maximum and minimum sprinkler distance between standard spray sprinklers—and from heads to walls—vary with two main factors: