#Outbank riverview fl full

Wells that tap these confined aquifers are 'artesian wells'. As this diagram shows, for water to recharge these aquifers, it much seep down from the surface at a distance away and travel somewhat horizontally into the confined aquifer. These confined aquifers have layers of solid material above and below them and are thus under pressure from the rock weight. In some locations there can exist confined aquifers below the unconfined aquifers. Water from this aquifer must be pumped out in a well to get to the land surface.

#Outbank riverview fl full

The top altitude of this aquifer is called the 'water table', below which the ground and rock has all the spaces and voids full of water. Generally, the upper layer of an aquifer system is the unconfined aquifer, which does not have a confining layer of solid material above it. This diagram shows a conceptual aquifer system having both unconfined and confined aquifers. The picture to the right shows an artesian well with the potentiometric surface being just above the land surface, but, as the picture above shows, artesian pressure can be very strong!Įxample of an aquifer system with artesian wellsĪrtesian wells can be sometimes flow to the land surface naturally because of underground pressure.

The word artesian, properly used, refers to situations where the water is confined under pressure below layers of relatively impermeable rock. Such deep wells may be just like ordinary, shallower wells great depth alone does not automatically make them artesian wells. The level to which water will rise in tightly cased wells in artesian aquifers is called the potentiometric surface.ĭeep wells drilled into rock to intersect the water table and reaching far below it are often called artesian wells in ordinary conversation, but this is not necessarily a correct use of the term. The word artesian comes from the town of Artois in France, the old Roman city of Artesium, where the best known flowing artesian wells were drilled in the Middle Ages. Water confined in this way is said to be under artesian pressure, and the aquifer is called an artesian aquifer. If such a confined aquifer is tapped by a well, water will rise above the top of the aquifer and may even flow from the well onto the land surface. Groundwater in aquifers between layers of poorly permeable rock, such as clay or shale, may be confined under pressure. The water may not be different, but it comes to the earth's surface a bit differently. Maybe you've heard advertisements by water companies wanting to sell you 'artesian-well drinking water.' Is this water different from other bottled water taken from springs?