Practical Approach for Defining the Sustainable Yield of Wells in Low-Permeability Fractured Rocks

Vincenzo Piscopo (), Chiara Sbarbati, Tolosa Dabi Dinagde and Francesca Lotti
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Vincenzo Piscopo: Department of Ecological and Biological Science, Tuscia University, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Chiara Sbarbati: Department of Ecological and Biological Science, Tuscia University, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Tolosa Dabi Dinagde: Department of Geology, Hawassa University, Hawassa P.O. Box 05, Ethiopia
Francesca Lotti: Kataclima Srl Società Benefit, 01019 Vetralla, Italy

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-25

Abstract: Groundwater sustainability is still an open question. Theoretical and practical approaches to the definition of groundwater sustainability were mainly developed on large scales, while few studies are available for its definition at a single well scale, especially in fractured aquifers. This study examines how much the sustainable yield of a well in fractured aquifers depends on the trend of drawdown over time. For this aim, pumping tests conducted in fractured rocks were considered and analytical models were applied to examine the long-term response of groundwater levels in some wells. To define the operational pumping flow of a well in these aquifers, results show that long constant flow rate pumping tests are preferred to step-drawdown tests. The late drawdown–time curve and residual drawdown segment-curves during the recovery, approximated by power, exponential or polynomial equations, represent the first step to extrapolating the long-term drawdown in the well. This prediction combined with the assessment of a drawdown limit in the well (as a function of the saturated thickness of the aquifer) are essential to plan the first operation of the well (flow rate and time of pumping). Subsequently, through the monitoring of this first operation step, the following operation phases can be updated and improved.

Keywords: well yield; pumping test; fractured aquifer; water supply (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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