Borehole geophysical methods for analyzing specific capacity of multiaquifer wells : ground-water hydraulics

Conventional well-logging techniques, combined with measurements of flow velocity in the borehole, can provide information on the discharge-drawdown characteriBtic8 of the several aquifers penetrated by a well. The information is most conveniently presented in a graph showing aquifer discharges as functions of the water level in the well at a particular time.

To determine the discharge-drawdown characteristics, a well is pumped at a steady rate for a certain length of time. While the well is being pumped, measurements are made of drawdown and of the discharge rates of the individual aquifers within the well. Discharge rates and drawdowns ,are usually recorded as functions of time, and their values for any given time during the test are obtained by interpolation. The procedure is repeated for several different rates of total well discharge. The well may be allowed to recover after each step, or discharge may be changed from one rate to another, and changes in discharge and drawdown may be measured by extrapolation. The flow measurements within the well may be made by use of a subsurface flowmeter or by one of several techniques involving the injection of electrolytic or radioactive tracers. The method was tested on a well in Mercer County, Pa., and provided much useful information on aquifer yields, 'thieving,' and hydrostatic heads of the individual zones.