Evaluating and Improving Existing Ground-Water Systems

ABSTRACT Considerable energy savings are available from improving well and pump efficiencies. One major problem is evaluating the well and pump inefficiencies over prolonged periods of time, because these efficiencies are erratic unless normalized. A new well should be tested at different discharges to construct a relationship between specific capacity and drawdown. Future well efficiency tests should compare the specific capacity with the original curve at the test discharge. The departure from the original curve indicates the loss in well efficiency. Similarly, pump efficiency needs to be normalized, so that the tested efficiency may be compared with the original efficiency at the test discharge.