Design parameters for a siphon system

DHI are interested in understanding a rather unusual water extraction system that is operated by a water supply company. Typically when water is extracted from the ground a well is dug and a pump is installed in the well to push the water to the surface where it enters a distribution system of pipes. Such a system may consist of a dozen or so wells each connected to a single collection pipe. The system that DHI wish to more fully understand consists of a series of ten wells connected to a single collection pipe. The difference in the mode of operation is that the system contains no pumps in the wells. The force to collect the water comes from placing the end of the collection pipe in a tank that is continuously pumped to keep it at approximately 0.5 bar below atmospheric pressure. In this way the water is drawn out of the wells by a siphon mechanism. Such a system appears cheaper o install with fewer pumps and water supplied in this manner costs roughly half the price of water from a standard pump system. How this multiple siphon system works and how it might be controlled were the general problems of interest to the study group.