References:

1. Groundwater Hydrology by David Keith Todd

2. Hydrogeology by Davis, S.N. & De Wiest, R.J.M
3. Groundwater by Freeze, R.A. & Cherry, J.A
Evaluation Method:
1. Course work 1 test (40%)
2. Final Examination (60%)
Instructor:
Dr. George V. Lugomela
Course Outline
Introduction
Occurrence of Groundwater
- Forms of sub-surface water
- Factors that influence groundwater occurrence
- Hydraulic properties of geologic formations
- Hydrological classification of geological formations
Types of Aquifers Types of Aquifers
Groundwater Recharge
Groundwater Drainage
Well Hydraulics and Design
- Steady & unsteady flow in confined & unconfined aquifers
- Analysis of aquifers using pumping test data
- Well drilling methods
- Well design
Introduction to Groundwater Exploration
Introduction
Definition of Hydrogeology / Groundwater
Hydrogeology is the study of groundwater. It is mainly concerned
with distribution, occurrence and movement of groundwater.
Groundwater is defined as that portion of water beneath the
earths surface that can be collected by wells in usable quantities
or that flows naturally to the surface via springs
Key Facts about Groundwater Key Facts about Groundwater
Groundwater accounts for about 97% of all directly accessible
freshwater resources in liquid form on earth
Groundwater is of high quality, readily available in stored form
and hence does not need specially constructed storages
Groundwater usually reacts very slower than surface water and
therefore processes like movement/pollution take longer
It is often easy to withdraw & can occur close to demand centers
Global Water Supply
Groundwater in the Hydrologic Cycle
Occurrence of Groundwater
Groundwater occurs in the subsurface in two zones,
namely zones of aeration and saturation
In the aeration zone, vadose water occurs. The zone
may be further subdivided into the soil water zone, the
intermediate vadose zone and the capillary zone.
Forms of Sub-surface Water
Divisions of subsurface
water
The aeration zone consists
of interstices occupied
partially by air and partially
by water
Soil water zone
A
e
r
a
t
i
o
n

z
o
n
e
Ground surface
In the saturation zone all
interstices are filled with
water
On most land masses a
single aeration zone overlies
a single saturation zone and
extends upwards to the
ground surface
Intermediate vadose zone
Capillary zone
Saturation zone
A
e
r
a
t
i
o
n

z
o
n
e
S
a
t
u
r
a
t
i
o
n

z
o
n
e
Impermeable rock
Forms of Sub-surface Water -
Sub-divisions of Zone of Aeration
Soil Water Zone
- Water in this zone exist as unsaturated except temporarily
when excessive water reaches the ground surface through
rainfall or flooding irrigation
- The zone extends from the ground surface down through - The zone extends from the ground surface down through
the major root zone
- Its thickness varies with soil type and vegetation
- Because of agricultural importance of this zone in
supplying moisture to roots, agriculturists and soil scientist
have studied soil moisture distribution and movement
extensively
- The amount of water present in the soil-water zone depends
primarily on the recent exposure of the soil to moisture
Forms of Sub-surface Water -
Sub-divisions of Zone of Aeration
Intermediate Vadose Zone
- This zone extends from the lower edge of the soil-
water zone to the upper limit of the capillary zone
- The thickness may vary from zero, where the
bounding zone merge with a high water table bounding zone merge with a high water table
approaching ground surface, to more than 100m under
deep water table conditions
The zone serves primarily as a region connecting the
zone near the ground surface with that near the water
table through which water moving vertically
downward must pass
Forms of Sub-surface Water -
Sub-divisions of Zone of Aeration
Capillary Zone/Fringe
- The capillary zone (capillary fringe) extends from the
water table to the limit of saturated capillary rise of water
- This zone is the region above the phreatic water table
that is completely saturated. If a pore space could be that is completely saturated. If a pore space could be
idealized to represent a capillary tube, the capillary rise h
c
can be derived from an equilibrium between surface
tension of water and the weight of water raised
- The height of the capillary fringe depends on the pore
sizes and the homogeneity of the soil grains. It may vary
from a few millimeters in the gravel material to more than
50 cm in the fine homogeneous loamy soil
Forms of Sub-surface Water -
Sub-divisions of Zone of Aeration
Cohesive forces and adhesive
forces constitute surface
tension, , acting under an
angle .
The lifting force of water in The lifting force of water in
the capillary tube is the
vertical component of the
surface tension ( cos )
acting on the internal
circumference of the
capillary (2 r)
Forms of Sub-surface Water -
Sub-divisions of Zone of Aeration
Equating the lifting force to the downward force (the
weight of water column) give
2r cos = r
2
h
c
g (1) 2r cos = r h
c
g (1)
The contact angle between water and the wall of
capillary tends towards zero (cos = 1) so that under
equilibrium (no flow) conditions
2r = r
2
h
c
g (2)
Occurrence of Groundwatercapillary
rise values range in different materials
Forms of Sub-surface Water
Zone of Saturation
The saturation zone extends from the upper surface of
saturation down to underlying impermeable rock
In the absence of overlying impermeable strata, the water
table/phreatic surface forms the upper surface of the zone table/phreatic surface forms the upper surface of the zone
of saturation
The water table/phreatic surface is defined as the surface
of atmospheric pressure and appears as the level at which
water stands in a well penetrating the aquifer
Water occurring in the zone of saturation is commonly
referred to simply as groundwater, but the term phreatic
water is also employed
Forms of Sub-surface Water
Zone of Saturation
Forms of Sub-surface Water
Zone of Saturation
In the zone of saturation groundwater fills all of
the interstices, hence the effective porosity
provides a direct measure of water contained per provides a direct measure of water contained per
unit volume
A portion of water can be removed from
subsurface strata by drainage or by pumping of a
well; however, molecular and surface tension
forces hold the remainder of the water in place
Factors that Influence
Groundwater Occurrence
The distribution of groundwater in terms of quantity &
quality varies from one place to another and from one
geologic formation to another
Therefore, the greatest challenge to hydro-geologists
and/or geophysicists is to locate geological formations and/or geophysicists is to locate geological formations
with sufficient water of reasonable good quality for a
particular use
There three factors that influence groundwater
occurrence
-Hydraulic properties of geological formation
- Geological formation/framework
- Climate
Factors that Influence Groundwater
Occurrence
Hydraulic properties of geological formations
- These are properties that govern groundwater storage &
transmission, e.g. pores, bedding planes, faults etc. Some of
these structures/openings are primary & some are secondary
- The general term for the relative volume of a geologic
formation in which water can be stored is porosity formation in which water can be stored is porosity
- Porosity (n) is the ratio of the volume of the voids or
interstices in a given volume of geologic material to the total
volume of the material
n = U
v
/U (3)
Where U
v
is the volume of voids & U is the total volume of
material
Factors that Influence Groundwater
Occurrence range of porosity values
Material Porosity, n (%)
Gravel 25 - 40
Sand 25 - 50
Silt 35 - 50
Clay 40 - 80
Fractured basalt 5 - 50 Fractured basalt 5 - 50
Vesicular 10 - 50
Tuff 15 - 40
Pumice 60 - 90
Weathered volcanic rocks 15 - 60
Sandstone 5 - 30
Limestone, dolomite < 1 20
Shale < 1 10
Fractured crystalline rocks < 1 - 10
Dense crystalline rocks < 1 - 5
Hydraulic Properties of Geological
Formations
- Specific yield (S
y
) is the ratio of the volume of water
that drains from a saturated volume of geologic
material under gravity (U
d
) to the total volume of the
material; material;
S
y
= U
d
/U (4)
- Generally the term specific yield is used to describe
the storage capacity of an unconfined aquifer. Values of
specific yield range from 0.1 to 0.3 and are always less
than the porosity of the geologic material
Hydraulic Properties of Geological
Formations
- Specific retention (S
r
) is the ratio of the volume of
water a saturated volume of geological material retains
against gravity drainage (Ur) to the total volume of the
material material
S
r
= U
r
/U (5)
- The sum of specific yield and the specific retention is
equal to porosity
Hydraulic Properties of Geological
Formationsrelationship between specific
yield, retention, porosity & grain size
Hydraulic Properties of Geological Formations
- Permeability (k) is the measure of the ability of a
formation to transmit water. Permeability depends only on
properties of the geological formation
Other Factors that influence
groundwater occurrence
Geological Formations differ considerably in their ability to
store and transmit water. Knowledge of typical values of
porosity & permeability is key for a successful groundwater
exploration. Geological frameworks include topography,
type of geological formation, physical and chemical type of geological formation, physical and chemical
characteristics of unconsolidated deposits overlying bedrock
Climate has direct impact on the availability of surface
water. Virtually all groundwater originates as surface water
and then infiltrates to the saturated and unsaturated zones.
The availability of water at the surface depends on climate
while infiltration rate depends on the thickness and
permeability of the unsaturated zone as well as the
topography.
Hydrological Classification of
Geological Formations
Saturated geological formations (aquifers) can be divided
into three types depending on their ability to transmit water:
aquifer, aquitard, aquiclude
- Aquifer is a saturated geological formation that is
sufficiently permeable to transmit water and yield it in usable sufficiently permeable to transmit water and yield it in usable
quantities to a well or spring
- Aquitard is a saturated geological formation that is not
permeable enough to yield water to a well or spring in usable
quantities, but is permeable enough to allow an interchange
of groundwater between adjacent aquifers
- Aquiclude is a nearly impervious geological formation that
is virtually incapable of transmitting groundwater
Types of Aquifers
There mainly three types of aquifers, namely confined,
unconfined and leaky (semi confined)
A confined aquifer is a formation in which groundwater is
held under pressure between two impermeable confining
beds or aquicludes
An unconfined aquifer is a formation which is bounded An unconfined aquifer is a formation which is bounded
below by an aquiclude and above by a water table. Therefore
there is no restriction on the top such that the groundwater
level is free to move up and down. There is a special type of
unconfined aquifer known as perched aquifer which occur
above clay lenses or lenses of low permeability materials
A semi confined aquifer is a formation which has the top
confining layer semi-pervious (aquitard) such that there can
be a leakage of water from the overlying aquifer
Confined Aquifer
Sometimes known as pressure or artesian aquifer
If a well penetrates such an aquifer water may rise above the
base of the upper confining layer (bed)
Unconfined Aquifer
The groundwater level in such an aquifer is referred to as the
water table, phreatic surface or free surface
Phreatic surface is the upper surface of the zone of saturation
or a surface upon which the pressure is equal to atmospheric
Semi-Confined (Leaky) Aquifer
Aquifers - Quiz
Analyse the following aquifer systems: confined or unconfined? Analyse the following aquifer systems: confined or unconfined?
LECTURE SERIES 2 LECTURE SERIES 2
-Principles of Groundwater Flow
-Groundwater Discharge
-Groundwater Recharge
Groundwater Flow
Generally, it is not feasible to directly measure groundwater
velocities within an aquifer. However, observation
piezometers (boreholes) can be constructed to determine
the elevation of water level
The water level in the piezometer provides information about
the groundwater head at the open section of the piezometer
Groundwater head gradient can be used to estimate the Groundwater head gradient can be used to estimate the
magnitude and direction of groundwater velocities
Therefore a thorough understanding of the concept of
groundwater heads is essential to identify and quantify the
flow processes within an aquifer system
The groundwater head of an elemental volume in an aquifer
is the height to which water will rise in a piezometer
(observation well) relative to a consistent datum
Groundwater Head Definition &
Determination of Flow Directions
Direction of Groundwater Flow
Groundwater flows from a higher to a lower head
In the upper diagram of Figure (b), the flow is from left to
right because lower groundwater head is in the piezometer to
the right. This is the direction of the dip of the strata
For the lower diagram of Figure (b), groundwater flow is to
the left since the level in the left hand piezometer is lower
and hence the direction of low is up-dip in the aquifer and hence the direction of low is up-dip in the aquifer
In Figure (c), the open sections of piezometers (i) and (ii) are
at the same elevation and therefore provide information
about the horizontal velocity component and since the
groundwater head in piezometer (iii) is below that of
piezometer (ii) it means that there is vertical downward
velocity component & the two componentscan be combined
vectorially to give the magnitude and direction of flow
Groundwater (Darcy) velocity
Considering flow through a cylinder of aquifer below,
the Darcy velocity is defined as the discharge Q
divided by the total cross-sectional area A
- v = Q/A (1) - v = Q/A (1)
Groundwater (Darcy) velocity and
Seepage velocity
The groundwater velocity calculated using this
formula ignores the fact that the aquifer cross-section
contains both solid material and pores. Consequently,
the groundwater velocity has no direct physical
meaning although it is frequently used
Therefore an approximation to the actual seepage Therefore an approximation to the actual seepage
velocity v
s
can be obtained by dividing the Darcys
velocity by the effective porosity n
eff
- v
s
= Q/An
eff
(2)
When porosity n is used the calculated velocity is
called average pore velocity.
Darcys Law
Consider water flowing at a rate Q through a cylinder
of cross-sectional area A packed with sand and having
piezometers at a distance L apart as shown below
Darcys Law
Total energy heads (fluid potentials) above a given datum
may be expressed as
Where p is the pressure, v is the velocity of flow, g is the
acceleration due to gravity, z is elevation, is the density and
) 3 (
2 2
2
2
2 2
1
2
1 1
+ + + = + +
L
h z
g
v
g
p
z
g
v
g
p

acceleration due to gravity, z is elevation, is the density and
h
L
is the head loss. Because velocities in porous media are
usually low, velocity heads are neglected; hence by rewriting
Where = g; and the resulting head loss is defined as the
potential loss in the sand cylinder due to frictional resistance
) 4 (
2
2
1
1

|
|
.
|

\
|
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ = z
g
p
z
g
p
h
L

Darcys Law
Darcys law states that the flow rate through porous
media is proportional to the head loss h
L
and inversely
proportional to the length of flow path L. Introducing
a proportionality constant K leads to the equation
) 5 ( =
L
h
KA Q
L
Expressed generally as
Or simply
L
) 6 ( =
dl
dh
KA Q
) 7 ( = =
dl
dh
K
A
Q
v
Darcys Law
Where v is the Darcy velocity or specific discharge, K is
the hydraulic conductivity which serves as a measure
of permeability of the porous medium and dh/dl is the
hydraulic gradient
The negative heads indicates that the flow of water is
in the direction of decreasing head in the direction of decreasing head
Darcys law is valid for lamina flow whereby the
Reynolds number N
R
is less than 1 and does not depart
seriously up N
R
= 10
Most groundwater flow occurs with N
R
< 1 such that
Darcys law is applicable. Deviation from Darcys law
can occur where steep hydraulic gradients exist such as
near pumped wells
Hydraulic Conductivity
Where water is the prevailing fluid, the term hydraulic
conductivity is employed.
- Which means that hydraulic conductivity has velocity units
) 8 (
/
=
dl dh
v
K
- Which means that hydraulic conductivity has velocity units
Transimissivity T is a widely used term in groundwater
hydraulics. It may be defined as the rate at which water of
prevailing kinematic viscosity is transmitted through a unit
width of aquifer under a unit hydraulic gradient
-Where b is the saturated thickness of the aquifer
( )( ) ) 9 ( / /
2
= = = day m m day m Kb T
Methods of Determining
Hydraulic Conductivity
Hydraulic conductivity K in saturated zone can be
determined by a variety of techniques which includes
- Calculation from formulas
- Laboratory methods
- Tracer tests - Tracer tests
- Auger hole tests
- Pumping test of wells
Pumping test of wells is considered the most reliable
method for estimating aquifer hydraulic conductivity. Based
on observations of water levels near pumping wells an
integrated K value over a sizeable aquifer section can be
obtained.
Example of Darcys Law
Utilization
A sand aquifer 12.19 m thick is about 1.61 km wide. The
aquifer is covered by a confining unit of glaciar till
about 13.72 m thick beginning from the land surface.
The difference in the hydraulic head between two wells The difference in the hydraulic head between two wells
1524 m apart is 3.05 m. The hydraulic conductivity of
the sand aquifer is 20.44 m/day. What is the quantity
of groundwater passing through a cross-section of this
aquifer per day?
Anisotropic and In homogeneous
Aquifers
The discussion of hydraulic conductivity up to now has
assumed that the geologic material is homogeneous
and isotropic implying that the value of K is the same in
at every point and in all direction at every point and in all direction
However, homogeneity and isotropy is rarely the case,
instead in homogeneity & anisotropy is the rule where
directional properties of hydraulic conductivity exist
Considering an aquifer consisting of two horizontal
layers, each individually isotropic with different
thicknesses and hydraulic conductivities as shown
Anisotropy and In homogeneity
Diagram of two horizontal strata, each isotropic with
different thickness and hydraulic conductivities
q
z
q
1
z
1
K
1
q
2
z
2
K
1
K
2
Anisotropy and In homogeneity
For horizontal flow parallel to the layers, the flow q
1
in
the upper layer per unit width is
- q
1
= K
1
iz
1
(10)
Where i is the hydraulic gradient and K
1
and z
1
are as
indicated. Because i must be the same in each layer for
horizontal flow, then the total horizontal flow q
x
is
- q = q + q = i(K z + K z ) (11) - q
x
= q
1
+ q
2
= i(K
1
z
1
+ K
2
z
2
) (11)
For a homogeneous system this is expressed as
- q
x
= K
x
i(z
1
+ z
2
) (12)
Where K
x
is the horizontal hydraulic conductivity for
the entire system. Equating and solving for K
x
yields
-
) 13 (
2 1
2 2 1 1

+
+
=
z z
z K z K
K
x
Anisotropy and In homogeneity
For vertical flow through the two layers, the flow q
z
per unit
horizontal area in the upper layer is
-
- where dh
1
is the head loss within the first layer. Expressing
in terms of head loss
) 14 (
1
1
1
=
z
dh
K q
z
in terms of head loss
-
- By continuity q
z
must be the same for the other layer, hence
-
For a homogeneous system; K
1
= K
2
= K
z
, it follows that
) 15 (
1
1
1
=
z
q
K
z
dh
) 16 (
2
2
1
1
2 1

(

+ = +
z
q
K
z
K
z
dh dh
Anisotropy and In homogeneity
-
- K
z
is the hydraulic conductivity for the entire system, hence
-
) 17 (
2 1
2 1

(

+
+
=
z z
dh dh
K q
z z
) 18 (
2 1

(
(

+
= + q
z z
dh dh
- Equating with equation (16) and rearranging for K
z
gives
-
- which defines the equivalent vertical hydraulic conductivity
for a stratified aquifer of two layers
) 18 (
2 1
2 1

(

+
= +
z
z
q
K
z z
dh dh
) 19 (
2
2
1
1
2 1

+
+
=
K
z
K
z
z z
K
z
Groundwater Flow Equation-derivation
The two fundamental principles of the governing equation
are Darcys law and the principle of continuity
The magnitude of the velocities change across the element,
hence if the velocity on the left-hand face of the element is
v
x
, on the right hand face at distance dx the velocity becomes
-
) 20 (
c
c
+ dx
x
v
v
x
x
In the flow balance there are 4 components, net flows in the
x, y and z directions and a further component due to the
compressibility of the aquifer system which equals the
specific storage S
s
multiplied by the rate of change of
groundwater head with time. These four components must
sum to zero. (S
s
is the volume of water released from a unit
volume of saturated aquifer for a unit fall in hydraulic head)
) 20 (
c
+ dx
x
v
x
Groundwater Flow Equation-derivation
One-Dimensional Flow Problem
When the flow is predominantly in one horizontal direction,
one dimensional formulation is used to understand regional
groundwater flow starting with steady state problems
Considering an element of aquifer dx shown below which
extends upwards from an impermeable base to the water
table, distance m, with a vertical recharge at the water table q
One-Dimensional Flow Problem
Continuity of flow can be written/described as
- Inflow at left + Inflow due to recharge = Outf low at right
In mathematical terms (note the unit width of the aquifer)
-
) 23 (
|
.
|

\
|
+ = + m dx
dx
dv
v dx q m v
x
x x
Simplifying and combining with Darcys law gives
-
Considering an aquifer with impermeable base and constant
saturated depth and uniform recharge such that that the
transmissivity T is constant (T = K
x
m) as illustrated hereafter
. \
( ) ) 24 ( =
|
.
|

\
|
x q
dx
dh
mK
dx
d
x
One-Dimensional Flow Problem-Aquifer with
constant saturated depth & uniform recharge
On the left-hand side, x = 0 is
an impermeable stratum
On the right-hand side, x = L
the aquifer is in contact with
a large lake at an elevation H
above the datum
The recharge q is constant
and hence not a function of x
As with the derivation of the
governing equation (24) unit
width is considered
Since the transmissivity T is
constant, equation 24 can be
written as follows
One-Dimensional Flow Problem-Aquifer with
constant saturated depth & uniform recharge
-
Integrating once
-
) 25 (
2
2
=
T
q
dx
h d
) 26 ( + = A
qx dh
-
Where A is the constant of integration, integrating again
-
Where B is the second constant of integration
) 26 ( + = A
T dx
) 27 (
2
2
+ + = B Ax
T
qx
h
One-Dimensional Flow Problem-Aquifer with
constant saturated depth & uniform recharge
The two constants of integration can be determined from the
two boundary conditions as A = 0 and B = H + qL
2
/2T
Substituting the values of the two constants the resultant
equation for groundwater head is
-
( )
2 2

+ =
x L q
-
And the flow through the aquifer can be calculated as
-
( )
) 28 (
2

+ =
T
x L q
H h
) 29 ( = = qx
dx
dh
T Q
One-Dimensional Flow Problem-Aquifer with
constant saturated depth & uniform recharge
In the previous figure (b) the distribution of groundwater
head above the lake level is plotted as a function of qL
2
/2T
The maximum groundwater head occurs at x = 0, left-hand
side
Figure (c), shows the variation of flow in the aquifer with x Figure (c), shows the variation of flow in the aquifer with x
There is a linear increase from zero at the no-flow boundary
to qL per unit width of the aquifer at the lake
These expression will be used to estimate the maximum
groundwater head and maximum flows into the lake when
the following parameters apply
- Transmissivity T=250 m
2
/d; Constant recharge q=0.5 mm/d
- Length L= 1 km, 3 km & 10 km; Head in the lake H=50 m
One-Dimensional Flow Problem-Aquifer with
constant saturated depth & uniform recharge
Solutions: The flows into the lake for the three lengths of
aquifer are 0.5, 1.5 and 5.0 m
3
/d per metre width of aquifer
The maximum calculated groundwater head show greater
variations:
- L = 1.0 km h
max
= 50 + 1.0 m
- L = 3.0 km h = 50 + 9.0 m - L = 3.0 km h
max
= 50 + 9.0 m
- L = 10.0 km h
max
= 50 + 100.0 m
The maximum groundwater head is far higher for the aquifer
length of 10 km since, compare to the 1 km length, the flow to
the lake is ten times higher, in addition some of the water has
to travel ten times the distance through the aquifer.
Check whether the changes in saturated thickness between
the lake and the outer boundary invalidate the analysis?
Home Work
Derive the relationship for the following:
Aquifer with constant saturated depth and linear
variation in recharge
Confined aquifer with varying thickness Confined aquifer with varying thickness
Unconfined aquifer with saturated depth a function of
unknown groundwater head