When water is being pumped from a well and the water table drops, this is known as?

• A. Recharge
• B. Drawdown
• C. Infiltration
• D. Coning

Answer: (B)

When water is pumped from a well, the water table near the well falls—the hydraulic head in the surrounding aquifer decreases. This lowering is called drawdown. It’s measured as the difference between the static water level (before pumping) and the lowered level while pumping. The drop forms a cone of depression around the well, with its size governed by how fast you’re pumping, the aquifer’s ability to transmit and store water, nearby recharge, and boundaries or nearby wells.

Recharge and infiltration describe processes that replenish groundwater, not the decline caused by pumping. Coning refers to specific phenomena like a cone of depression or other sharp interfaces and is not the general term for the water table dropping due to pumping. So the drop in the water table from pumping is best described as drawdown.