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Why do wells flow? If a well is drilled from the land surface through the overlying impervious layer, the pressure inside the aquifer will cause the water to rise in the well . In areas where the pressure of the aquifer is great enough, the water rises above ground level resulting in a flowing artesian well .
Furthermore, what causes an artesian aquifer?
An artesian aquifer is an underground layer which holds groundwater under pressure. An artesian aquifer is trapped between rocks or clay which causes the pressure. Water returns to the aquifers when the water table at its recharge zone is at a higher elevation than the head of the well.
Correspondingly, why is it called an artesian well?
An artesian aquifer has trapped water, surrounded by layers of impermeable rock or clay which apply positive pressure to the water contained within the aquifer. Artesian wells were named after the former province of Artois in France, where many artesian wells were drilled by Carthusian monks from 1126.
An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. This causes the water level in the well to rise to a point where hydrostatic equilibrium has been reached – this is an artesian well.