Groundwater basics: Identify the incorrect statement about the water table and free-surface groundwater conditions.

Introduction / Context:
Understanding the behavior of the water table is essential for well design, yield prediction, and sustainable groundwater management. Several statements about groundwater dynamics are presented; the task is to identify the incorrect one based on hydrogeologic principles.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Unconfined aquifer with a true free surface (water table).
• Seasonal recharge and pumping may influence levels.
• Heterogeneity and boundary conditions affect responses.

Concept / Approach:

The water table is an equipotential surface at approximately atmospheric pressure. It fluctuates due to recharge (rainfall, infiltration) and discharge (pumping, baseflow). While pumping rate affects drawdown near wells, a simple direct proportionality between water-table depth and withdrawal rate is not universally valid; it depends on transmissivity, storativity, and boundary effects. The claim that the water table remains stationary is clearly incorrect because natural systems are dynamic.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

Observed hydrographs show clear seasonal and event-driven water-level fluctuations, disproving the notion of a stationary water table.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• (a) and (b) are standard hydrogeologic facts.
• (c) can be conditionally false; however, the clearly incorrect statement is (d), which contradicts observed behavior.
• (e) “None of these” is not correct because (d) is incorrect.

Common Pitfalls:

• Treating complex aquifer responses as linear proportionalities without considering transmissivity and storativity.
• Ignoring boundary conditions that control regional water-table gradients.

Final Answer:

Level of the water table remains stationary.