What happens to the water table during the wet and dry seasons?

What happens to the water table during the wet and dry seasons?

When rainfall is less than normal for several weeks, months, or years, the flow of streams and rivers declines, water levels in lakes and reservoirs fall, and the depth to water in wells increases. If dry weather persists and water-supply problems develop, the dry period can become a drought.

What happens to the water table after heavy rains?

What Happens When the Water Table Rises? Following a heavy rainfall or when a large amount of snow melts rapidly, the zone of aeration can become completely saturated. Once it meets the water table, any subsequent water causes the table to rise.

What does a water table do?

Water tables are useful tools for measuring aquifers, saturated areas beneath the water table. Aquifers are used to extract water for people, plants and every organism living on the surface of the Earth. Some water tables are dropping very quickly, as people drain aquifers for industry, agriculture, and private use.

What causes the water table to drop?

Heavy rains or melting snow may cause the water table to rise, or heavy pumping of groundwater supplies may cause the water table to fall. In other areas groundwater is polluted by human activities. Water in aquifers is brought to the surface naturally through a spring or can be discharged into lakes and streams.

What happens to a water table during a drought?

In most years, aquifers recharge as rainfall and streamflow seep into unpaved ground. But during drought the water table—the depth at which water is found below the surface—drops as water is pumped from the ground faster than it can recharge. And as aquifers are depleted, the land also begins to subside, or sink.

Why does the water table rise during the rainy season?

Answer: Water table rises during rainy season due to recharge received from rainfall and falls back during summer season due to lack of recharge and continuing extraction of groundwater. The prime cause of over-exploitation is the rising demand for groundwater.

How do you control a high water table?

How to Lower a Water Table

1. Install a groundwater well or use an existing well on your property for the project.
2. Place a submersible pump in the groundwater well.
3. Measure the depth to groundwater in the well before you turn on the pump.
4. Turn the pump on and estimate a stable pumping rate that the aquifer can sustain.

Does the water table change?

The level of the water table can naturally change over time due to changes in weather cycles and precipitation patterns, streamflow and geologic changes, and even human-induced changes, such as the increase in impervious surfaces on the landscape.

How do I know where my water table is?

The most reliable method of obtaining the depth to the water table at any given time is to measure the water level in a shallow well with a tape. If no wells are available, surface geophysical methods can sometimes be used, depending on surface accessibility for placing electric or acoustic probes.

What happens when the water table is low?

Groundwater occurs in the saturated soil and rock below the water table. If the aquifer is shallow enough and permeable enough to allow water to move through it at a rapid-enough rate, then people can drill wells into it and withdraw water.

How do you know if your water table is low?

You can conduct this test yourself by measuring how much water flows from the faucet in one minute. If there is a significant drop between the original flow rate and the rate today, the low water level could be a culprit.

What happens to the water table in the summer?

During the summer months, the water table tends to fall, due in part to plants taking up water from the soil surface before it can reach the water table. The water table level is also influenced by human extraction of groundwater using wells; groundwater is pumped out for drinking water and to irrigate farmland.

How does the water table work in a wet region?

The Water Table. In wet regions, streams are fed by groundwater; the surface of the stream is the top of the water table ( Figure below). In dry regions, water seeps down from the stream into the aquifer. These streams are often dry much of the year. Water leaves a groundwater reservoir in streams or springs.

How does the water table affect flooding?

In low-lying areas the water table is usually at shallower depths anyway, but during very wet periods, with all the additional groundwater flowing towards these areas, the water table can rise up to the surface causing groundwater flooding.

How does the water table affect groundwater levels?

In low-lying areas the water table is usually at shallower depths anyway, but during very wet periods, with all the additional groundwater flowing towards these areas, the water table can rise up to the surface causing groundwater flooding. Groundwater Levels at Tile Barn Farm, a chalk borehole.