\r\n Wetlands and Watersheds Explorer\r\n
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Opacity:
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\r\n\r\n Enter a location or click on the map to drop a pin:\r\n
\r\n \r\n\r\n What is the yearly average pumping rate for the well?\r\n
\r\n\r\n A typical home uses around 200 gallons per day or 0.14 gpm, so a\r\n subdivision of 50 homes uses around 7-10 gpm on average. An irrigation\r\n well uses between 400 and 1200 gpm for 10-50 percent of the time during\r\n the summer growing months. The exact amount depends on the time of year,\r\n rainfall, and crop. Municipal wells might pump up to 700 gpm, however most\r\n would be less when averaged over an entire year. To put these pumping\r\n rates into perspective, a garden hose turned on full blast has a flow of\r\n about 3 gpm.\r\n
\r\nDrawdown (cm):
\r\n\r\n A pumping well creates a cone of depression in the water table\r\n that is centered on the well. Here, drawdown is the average\r\n amount the water table is lowered over the area of the fen by\r\n the pumping well in units of centimeters. Because healthy fens\r\n are associated more with shallow and stable water levels and\r\n less with minimum seepage rates and because drawdown in fens\r\n is more easily measured than seepage, drawdown is used as the\r\n primary indicator of potential harm to the fen. An average\r\n drawdown of 5 cm or greater over the area of the fen is likely\r\n to include localized areas with much greater drawdowns, up to\r\n 20 cm or more. Drawdowns of 20 cm or greater have been shown\r\n to negatively impact the health of the fen (Aldous and Bach,\r\n 2014).\r\n
\r\nDepletion Potential (%):
\r\n\r\n This is the percent reduction in groundwater discharge to a\r\n stream, river, or lake due to pumping. When a well pumps,\r\n groundwater discharge is decreased since some of the\r\n groundwater is now flowing to the well rather than to the\r\n surface water. Depletion potential rather than drawdown is\r\n used as the primary indicator of harm to stream, rivers and\r\n lakes. This is because reduced groundwater flows are related\r\n to poor water and habitat quality. In addition, depletion\r\n potential is a more sensitive measure than drawdown because\r\n only very large pumping rates will cause measurable drawdowns\r\n in streams, rivers, and lakes. Depletion potentials over 5%\r\n are considered significant, and further consideration should\r\n be given to the impact of groundwater pumping on the stream,\r\n river or lake. Please note that the data for headwater river\r\n locations includes information about depletion potential for\r\n both the stream reaches and ponds of the headwaters.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n Select one or more features of interest from the drop down to explore\r\n the impact of nearby high capacity pumping.\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n What is the yearly average pumping rate for the well?\r\n
\r\n\r\n A typical home uses around 200 gallons per day or 0.14 gpm, so a\r\n subdivision of 50 homes uses around 7-10 gpm on average. An irrigation\r\n well uses between 400 and 1200 gpm for 10-50 percent of the time during\r\n the summer growing months. The exact amount depends on the time of year,\r\n rainfall, and crop. Municipal wells might pump up to 700 gpm, however most\r\n would be less when averaged over an entire year. To put these pumping\r\n rates into perspective, a garden hose turned on full blast has a flow of\r\n about 3 gpm.\r\n
\r\n \r\nDrawdown (cm):
\r\n\r\n A pumping well creates a cone of depression in the water table\r\n that is centered on the well. Here, drawdown is the average\r\n amount the water table is lowered over the area of the fen by\r\n the pumping well in units of centimeters. Because healthy fens\r\n are associated more with shallow and stable water levels and\r\n less with minimum seepage rates and because drawdown in fens is\r\n more easily measured than seepage, drawdown is used as the\r\n primary indicator of potential harm to the fen. An average\r\n drawdown of 5 cm or greater over the area of the fen is likely\r\n to include localized areas with much greater drawdowns, up to 20\r\n cm or more. Drawdowns of 20 cm or greater have been shown to\r\n negatively impact the health of the fen (Aldous and Bach, 2014).\r\n
\r\nDepletion Potential (%):
\r\n\r\n This is the percent reduction in groundwater discharge to a\r\n stream, river, or lake due to pumping. When a well pumps,\r\n groundwater discharge is decreased since some of the groundwater\r\n is now flowing to the well rather than to the surface water.\r\n Depletion potential rather than drawdown is used as the primary\r\n indicator of harm to stream, rivers and lakes. This is because\r\n reduced groundwater flows are related to poor water and habitat\r\n quality. In addition, depletion potential is a more sensitive\r\n measure than drawdown because only very large pumping rates will\r\n cause measurable drawdowns in streams, rivers, and lakes.\r\n Depletion potentials over 5% are considered significant, and\r\n further consideration should be given to the impact of\r\n groundwater pumping on the stream, river or lake. Please note\r\n that the data for headwater river locations includes information\r\n about depletion potential for both the stream reaches and ponds\r\n of the headwaters.\r\n
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