If groundwater is withdrawn from an aquifer without recharge, what could happen?

Answer 1

the water in the aquifer will be depleted, and other sources for water would have to be found.

Answer 2

Groundwater comes from the water-table from which aquifers spring. Over a period of time the level of the water table will go down. The effects of this range from region to region. In cold regions, this lower level will affect permafrost,which in turn has many enovironmental effects. In warmer regions, the lower water table means that borholes and wells need to be dug deeperto get water. It can in extreme cases cause severe desertification as is the case in the Sahara,Gobi and Kalahari deserts.

Answer 3

You will get a progressively larger cone of depression, which spreads out seeking other sources. The aquifer could become dry enough no water can come out, or it may tap into another aquifer some distance away. If near the ocean, it could begin to draw in salt water.

Answer 4

A) Earth quake if the soil is lose and the hold is released (consider placing two sheets on top of a sand held on four sides and letting one or more sides go of so that its lose). once the water is dawn , the hydraulic pressure is gone and the weight over the top of the aquifer crushes the aquifier
B) If it finds another source connected to it it will draw water. Water flows from higher hydraulic energy to lower (note: not necessarily form higher grownd to lower ground. example like a sponge placed on a wet sponge..capillary forces are more important when you go into soil!)
C) Depending on wether the rock is oilwet or water wet (contact angel preference) it can prefer gases like methane , etc or water or oils like petroleum etc to replace the lost fluid. Usually it prefers water as it is water before unless ofcource the water is forced to be there due to other causes like trapped river bed etc.
while there are lotta of other things that can happen (remember butterfly effect? my hair i just dropped can cause a man to die!) these are the three major immediate outcomes I see. Note: All of these depend on the type of the material of the aquifier (calcium, carmonate content strength of the soil etc)

Answer 5

Apart from the obvious lack of water there are two possibilities I will mention.
One is the Sea of Galilee. As the level of water retreats, the water under the sea bed does also and huge sink holes appear.
Two. Huge limestone caverns carved out over Milena will be available for cavers to explore. There are many world wide that are monitored to keep track of water level for reference in the future and to compare usage to rainfall

Answer 6

The aquifer will dry up.

Answer 7

The ground level will sink, just as it has been doing in California's Central Valley for the past few decades.

Answer 8

We'd run out of water and the ground would collapse below our feet (maybe not the last part).