The development of appropriate design procedures for water wells is a subject that has evolved only slowly over the years. Guidelines quoted in most groundwater engineering textbooks are largely empirical and focus on the provision of reliable wells that produce the intended yield with as small a drawdown as possible. The principle of developing designs that minimize the overall cost of the well installation, including the cost of energy used in pumping, is not really addressed. A critical review is presented of established design procedures, and techniques that have been developed for quantifying the energy potentially lost within alternative well designs. Following this review, methods which are more physically realistic and reliable are identified to calculate the key energy loss components of screen upflow losses and partial penetration losses. This, in turn, leads to the development of a way of identifying the costs associated with pumping as a function of the design of the well (most notably the well screen length), which can be used to optimize well design. A comprehensive set of well design guidelines is thereby developed.

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