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Analytical solution for capture and catchment zones of a well located on a groundwater divide
Author(s) -
Smedt Florimond
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1002/2013wr014763
Subject(s) - aquifer , groundwater recharge , groundwater , geology , hydrology (agriculture) , drainage basin , residence time (fluid dynamics) , groundwater model , flux (metallurgy) , groundwater discharge , soil science , environmental science , geotechnical engineering , geography , cartography , materials science , metallurgy
An analytical solution is presented for capture and catchment zones of a well located on a groundwater divide in a recharged aquifer. The analytical solution is derived for a homogeneous, isotropic, and uniformly thick leaky aquifer. It is shown that streamlines and well‐catchment area have elongated shapes tending to infinity along the groundwater divide, and do not depend on any aquifer property, but only on the ratio of the well‐pumping rate and aquifer recharge flux. Isochrones delineating capture zones also depend on the mean residence time of the groundwater, which is independent of the well‐pumping rate. The capture and catchment zones differ significantly in both size and shape from the classical theory that ignores recharge. In particular, the catchment zone is wider and has a finite extent.