Only to a very, very limited extent imo. Most ‘commercials’ are old gravel, sand or peat workings occasionally chalk or clay pits that are filled naturally by the water table. When they are being worked they need to kept dry by pumps. Once the workings have finished as the product is exhausted the water enters naturally, normally from seepage through the ground water occasionally by springs. The depth of the water therein depends upon where the level of the natural water table is.
The only effect on the levels that they have is normally through evaporation which is fairly minimal. That evaporation replaces whatever loss was previously there through the vegetation which in the summer tales up a lot of water.
Far more of an issue is the abstraction of water from the water table by bore holes or directly from rivers to try and meet the insatiable demands of an ever increasing population. To get the levels back we need to reduce the population especially in the south east.
In fact 30 years ago London had a problem with too much water in the water table. One of the reasons given was that a large number of breweries that used to get their water from the water table under the city had moved out of London to other parts of the country. Water falling as rain in the Chilterns took about 2000 years to get to London where it was abstracted. At the time there were fears that the Tube and some basements would be flooded. That time has long passed now though.
One interesting thing that I heard was that there is now exactly the same amount of water over the whole world as there was when the world was created. In the past it just circulated around from water tables, lakes, rivers and seas into the atmosphere by evaporation then returned to the earth by precipitation by rain and snow. We ourselves are largely water as are all mammals. As the worlds population increases, a lot of water is locked up in our bodies believe it or not.
TF_Anthonywaters.
