Review of Stream Depletion Solutions, Behavior, and Calculations

A review is given of some currently available solutions for the calculation of stream depletion from pumped aquifers. A brief history is given of the development of analytical and semianalytical models. A solution published in 2003, which is also capable of duplicating many previously published solutions, is described in detail. In this solution, the stream partially penetrates a Boulton delayed-yield aquifer and is shown herein to apply when different segments of a stream may be either gaining or losing water to the pumped aquifer. Excel computational tools freely available to practitioners are referenced and used in an illustration for the calculation of the 2003 solution, and the general behavior of the solution is discussed. Generalizations and additional solutions are discussed for streams and aquifers with finite width, for systems containing several aquifers and for abstraction wells that are either horizontal or slanted. The review concludes with a very brief discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of using numerical solutions for modeling stream-depletion behavior.