On the use of late-time drawdown in interpreting aquifer pumping test

Abstract

The review aims to provide a common understanding of the use of late-time drawdown to interpret aquifer pumping tests. The first part of the review provides an overview of the use of the late-time drawdown in literature to illustrate where and how the term is being used. A discussion on the practical implications of using the term and its significance is then presented. The review shows the use of the late-time drawdown in three main ways: the application of the Cooper and Jacob time-drawdown method, the description of the third segment of the unconfined aquifer drawdown-time curve, and when trying to estimate representative/effective transmissivity parameters in heterogeneous aquifers. Unlike the other two situations, the use of late-time data in typical unconfined aquifers is supported by the groundwater flow principles and hence has a meaningful application. The aspects highlighted in this review are important to improve the theoretical and practical knowledge required for analysing and interpreting aquifer pumping test data.