Providing a suburban area or real estate with the necessary amount of water is the first and most important task of each owner, since the comfort of living depends on it. Typically, a well is drilled for this purpose. But how do you know at the initial stage, will there be enough water in the future?
Reservoir characteristics
The well is a hydraulic structure with its own characteristics. It:
- performance;
- diameter;
- depth;
- a type.
To correctly determine its functionality, it is necessary to calculate the flow rate of the well. An exact definition of this parameter will allow you to find out whether the water intake can provide not only drinking, but also household needs in full. In addition, the rate of flow of the reservoir will help to choose the right pumping equipment for supplying water masses to the surface.
Also, knowledge of the flow rate of the hydraulic structure will help the repair team to select the most optimal option for its restoration in case of problems with the operation of the reservoir.
Classification Features
Determining the flow rate of the well will reveal the level of its productivity, which may be:
- Up to 20 m³ / day (inefficient or inadequate).
- More than 20 m³ / day, but less than 85 (medium production).
- From 85 m³ / day and more (high-performance).
Poor wells are shallow wells (up to 5 m) that have reached only the upper water layer. The amount of water in them is usually small, and the quality is very doubtful, since moisture penetrates here from the surface. If there are large road or railway routes, enterprises, settlements nearby, then the contaminated water masses, passing through a small layer of soil, are little cleared, which is why they are practically unsuitable for drinking. The production rate of this type of well is quite limited and can range from 0.6 to 1.5 m 3 per hour.
Medium-rate hydraulic structures usually reach a depth of 10 to 20 m. The waters in them are filtered out quite qualitatively, which is confirmed by laboratory tests, therefore they must be used even in raw form. Hourly from a medium-rate reservoir, you can pump out 2 m 3 of moisture. Highly-depleted hydraulic structures usually reach a calcareous aquifer, therefore the water quality in them is excellent, and the amount is from 3 m 3 hourly.
Determining the right amount of water
To find out exactly how much water is needed for the needs of a particular site, you should calculate the number of taps not only inside the house, but also outside it. Each crane tentatively takes 0.5 m³. For example, 5 valves will supply 2.5 m³ of water masses, 7 - 3.5 m³, etc. But this is when the cranes are constantly open.
After the well has been drilled and laid out for several days, the water level in the production pipeline should be measured. The level of the water mirror before pumping is called statistical, and after pumping - dynamic. If the yield is equal to the intensity of selection, then the mirror will stop at a certain level. But if the volume of water intake increases (decreases) or the flow of water masses becomes smaller (large), then the mirror can change its level.
Performance measurement
The key to the long-term operation of any hydraulic structure is its proper operation. For this, it is necessary to monitor water pressure at least 3-4 times a year. This is done simply: for a certain period of time, any measured dishes are filled. If it is filled in each subsequent control measurement in the same amount of time, the flow rate remains the same, which means that the reservoir is used correctly.
The increase in time for filling the vessel indicates that the amount of water mass has decreased. In order to conveniently control the situation and take appropriate measures, it is necessary to record the obtained measurement data by creating, for example, a table, and conduct the measurements themselves after the same period of time.
Indicator calculation
How to determine the flow rate of a well? To do this, you need to know the indicators of dynamic and statistical levels. Measuring them is very simple: you need to attach a load to the rope and lower it into the pipe. The distance to the water mirror from the surface of the earth is the desired parameter.
Measurements should be made before the start of pumping water and after a certain period from the start of pumping. The smaller the figure, the higher the productivity of the reservoir. If the flow rate of the well is less than the productivity of the pump, then the difference in performance can be very large. Thus, the statistical level is the distance to water from the soil surface before pumping starts, and the dynamic level is the measurement of the level of the location of the water mirror generated by nature.
Application of the formula
Having learned the time for which the fluid was pumped out, and its amount, you can begin to perform the necessary calculations. For this, an exact mathematical calculation is used. The formula with the following notation will help determine the exact flow rate of the well:
- Nst, Nd - statistical and dynamic levels.
- H is the height of the water column.
- In - the performance of the pumping device.
- D - flow rate.
Now let's look at the formula itself:
- D = H x B: (Nd - Nst), meter.
It is best to understand how to calculate the flow rate of a well; a specific example will help.
For instance:
- Data Nst - 30 m.
- Data Nd - 37 m.
- The height of the water column is 20 m.
- The productivity of the pumping unit is 2 m 3 / hour.
We calculate: 20 x 2: (37 - 30) and get about 5.7 m 3 / h.
To check this figure, you can use test pumping, using a pump with a larger capacity. After making the calculations according to the above formula, we can begin to find out the specific indicator. This will help you understand how productivity increases with increasing dynamic levels. For calculations, the following formula is used:
- UP = d2 - d1: n2 - n1, where
D2, n2 - indicators of the second check,
d1, n1 - first,
and UP is a specific indicator.
Moreover, the specific indicator is the main parameter that reflects all the factors affecting the productivity of the well. It depends on the thickness of the aquifer and the design of the pipeline.
Indicator improvement
If a hydraulic structure begins to decrease productivity over time, the well production can be increased by applying one of the following methods:
- Clean filter and pipe.
- Check the operation of pumping equipment.
Sometimes this helps to restore the productivity of the reservoir and not resort to more radical measures. If the calculation of the well flow rate was still poor initially, then the reason for this may be either a small amount of water masses in a given source or the inexperience of the masters caused that there was no exact hit in the aquifer. In this case, the only way out is to drill another well.