<p>Large-deformation consolidation modeling plays a vital role in a wide range of geotechnical and geological applications, including coastal land reclamation, sludge and tailings management, and the reconstruction of geological depositional environments. The pore pressure induced by unsteady gravitational seepage during water level drawdown is often overlooked in conventional large-strain consolidation theory. Such a simplification is not applicable for the self-weight drainage of dredged slurry, in which the water level drawdown during drainage significantly affects the consolidation behavior. This study develops a two-dimensional large-strain consolidation model incorporating water level drawdown, radial and vertical flows, as well as variable hydraulic conductivity and compressibility. The influence of water level drawdown on the vertical and radial consolidation behavior of slurry is investigated. The water level drawdown in the slurry column accelerates the consolidation process compared to the condition with a constant water head difference at the top and bottom. This is due to the overlying water on the slurry surface increases the pore water pressure in the low stress and high compressibility region of the slurry column. This offsets the beneficial influence of the increased effective stress at the lower part of the slurry column. The top boundary of the slurry column acts as the primary drainage channel, with the water volume drained from this boundary and the vertical drains being considerably greater than that from the interface between the drains and the slurry.</p>