GROUNDWATER

Distribution of underground water

Porosity and permeability
Springs and artesian wells
Geologic work of groundwater
Problems associated with groundwater
OBJECTIVES
Waters of the world
97.20
2.10
0.62
oceans
glaciers and
other ice
others
97.40
0.81
0.16
1.62
ground water
surface water
soil moisture
atmosphere
Ground water
Fresh water located beneath the ground
Stored in and transmitted through
spaces between grains of
Sediments
Clastic rocks
cracks or openings in rocks

Source of groundwater
Water table
Upper boundary of ground water
Phreatic
(saturated) zone
Water table
Vadose
(unsaturated) zone
Porosity and permeability
Porosity
Measures amount of water that can be held by
rocks/sediments
Volume of voids / total volume of material






Affected by grain size, sorting and grain packing
Poorly sorted less porous
Cubic vs rhombohedral packing
>
Porosity and permeability
Well-rounded coarse-grained sediments usually
have higher porosity than fine-grained sediments,
because the grains do not fit together well.
Porosity and permeability
Permeability
Ability to transmit fluids
degree of interconnection of voids in
the material

>
>
Porosity and permeability
sediment porosity (%) permeability
gravel 25-40 excellent
sand 30-50 good to excellent
silt 35-50 moderate
clay 35-80 poor
rock
conglomerate 10-30 moderate to excellent
sandstone
well-sorted, no cement 20-30 good to very good
poorly sorted, well-cemented 0-10 poor to moderate
shale 0-30 very poor to poor
limestone 0-20 poor to good
cavernous limestone up to 50 excellent
crystalline rock
unfractured 0-5 very poor
fractured 5-10 poor
volcanic rocks 0-50 poor to excellent
From Physical Geology by Charles C. Plummer et al. 9th edition, 2003.
Rocks are classified based
on their capacity to store
groundwater. This is
dependent on the rock
type, and its porosity and
permeability. Igneous and
metamorphic rocks are
typically not known to store
significant amounts of
groundwater.

Thus, wells and springs in
areas in light orange will
have very limited
groundwater available to
them especially during dry
spells.
Groundwater transport
Aquifer
Stores and transmits sufficient amount of water
Confining units
Aquitard stores, but slowly transmits water
Aquiclude stores, but does not transmit
water
Aquifuge does not store nor transmit water
Groundwater transport
Unconfined aquifer
Bounded at the bottom
by a confining unit
Water rises up to the
water table
Groundwater transport
Perched aquifer
Unconfined aquifer
defined by a discontinuous
confining unit
Local water table (usually
above the main/regional
water table)
Groundwater transport
Confined aquifer
Bounded at top and bottom
by confining units
Water rises up to the
piezometric water level
(also called potentiometric
line/surface*)
*level to which water will rise in a well
due to natural pressure in the rocks
Artesian wells
Wells tapping a confined
aquifer.
Analogy: water supply from
elevated water tanks
Artesian wells
Water in the well rises above the top of the aquifer under artesian
pressure, but does not necessarily reach the land surface; a flowing
artesian well is a well in which the water level is above the land surface.

Artesian wells
Groundwater transport
Springs
Form when the water table, confined aquifers or GW-bearing
fractures/cavities intersect ground surface
Does groundwater water run out?
Aquifers are recharged by the infiltration of rainwater or
snowmelt from the ground surface.
Recharge
Geologic work of groundwater
Features found in caverns
Speleothems
stalactites & stalagmites
Karst topography





Sinkholes in New Zealand
Geologic work of groundwater





Wright Park, Florida (1981)
Tennessee
Groundwater-related problems
Problems associated with groundwater
withdrawal
Ground water depletion
Subsidence (e.g. Mexico: 18 in/yr to supply
~20 million people)
Sinkhole formation
Saltwater encroachment
Groundwater pollution or contamination
Pumping from a well in a water table aquifer lowers the water
table near the well. This area is known as a cone of
depression. Groundwater flows towards the well into the
cone of depression.
Groundwater-related problems
CAMANAVA enhanced flooding
Excessive
groundwater
extraction
Compaction of
aquifers
LAND
SUBSIDENCE
(~3 9 cm/yr)
Increased
susceptibility
to floods
Subsidence due to groundwater
extraction
San Joaquin Valley, CA (1925-1975)

>5000 km
2
in central California
subsided up to 8.93 meters due to
over extraction of groundwater (for
agriculture)
Groundwater pollution
Septic systems
Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, farm
chemicals, fertilizers
Organic waste from farm animals (fecal
colliform bacteria in water)
Hazardous and industrial waste
LUST
Leaking landfills
Storage and disposal of radioactive waste
Acid rain or runoff
Groundwater-related problems
Pollution and salt-water intrusion
Groundwater-related problems