Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2.
3.
properties
strata),
and
types
of
aquifers
(i.e.,
water
4.
5.
well hydraulics,
6.
7.
8.
quality of groundwater,
9.
pollution of groundwater,
bearing
CONCEPT OF A SYSTEM
The system may be defined as a group of interacting,
interrelated or interdependent elements forming or regarded as
forming a collective identity. The group of element is
functionally related with a certain finding entity or entities.
For example the earth may be regarded as a system consisting of
crust, mantle and core with heat as the binding entity. The
surface features of the earth are the result of plate motions,
which in turn are driven by heat coming from earths core.
Near the earths surface it is possible to recognise such
elements as lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere which
interact in a number of different ways. Of these the most
important is the Hydrologic system. This system must be
considered fundamental to any problems of environment because
water is essential to life and many other phenomena. Modification
of the hydrologic system, which is usually in balance with forces
of nature, may invoke unsuspected consequences.
The essential binding entity of the hydrologic system is, of
course, water. The water moves from the oceans to atmosphere, to
the land, and back to the ocean again in a complex cycle. The
energy required for movement of water comes from the sun in the
form of heat. Water evaporates from the oceans, circulates with
the atmosphere, and is eventually precipitated as rain or snow.
Most of the water that falls on the land returns to the oceans by
surface run off and groundwater seepage. Water may also be
temporarily stored in lakes and glaciers. Water may also be
returned to the atmosphere by evaporation from lakes, and
transpiration from plants. Water moving over earths surface
causes erosion and transportation of surface rock material, and
deposits it as dealt as beaches and other types of sedimentary
formations. Thus water movements result in a continually changing
landscape.
Compared to total mass of the earth, the total mass of water
in the hydrosphere is extremely small, only about 0.022% of the
mass of the earth. Water covers 71% of the surface of the earth.
The vast reservoir of the oceans constitute about 97.5% of
all the water in the earth. Water in the form of ice constitutes
about 2% of the earths total. Most of this water is located in
the great glaciers that cover Greenland and Antarctica.
GROUNDWATER SYSTEM
Groundwater is an integral part of the hydrologic system and
a vital natural resource. It is distributed everywhere beneath
the surface. Largely the porosity and permeability of the rocks
through which it flows control the movement of groundwater.
Porosity determines how much water a rock body can hold. The
capacity of a rock to transmit fluids is known as permeability.
Permeability depends on size of the voids and the degree to which
they are interconnected.
There are four main types of pore spaces or voids in rocks:
(1) spaces between mineral grains (2) fractures (3) solution
cavities, and (4) vesicles. In sand and gravel deposits pore
space can constitute from 12 to 45% of the total volume. Porosity
is greatly reduced if several grain sizes are abundant and the
smaller grains fill in the space between larger grains or if a
significant amount of cementing material fills the space between
grains.
Permeability varies with the fluid viscosity, hydrostatic
pressure, the size of openings, and particularly the degree to
which the openings are interconnected. A rock can have high
porosity but low permeability. Conglomerates, sandstones, basalt
and certain limestones have high permeability. Shale, unfractured
granite, quartzite, and other dense, crystalline metamorphic
rocks have low permeability.
rock are closed by high pressure and there is no free water. This
is the lower limit, or limit of the groundwater system.
The groundwater system is an open system
enters the system by surface water infiltrating
moves through the system by percolating through
of the rock, and ultimately leaves the system
stream or lakes.
in which water
into the ground
the pore spaces
by seeping into
Connate Water :
This term denotes the water that has been out of contact
with the atmosphere for at least an appreciable part of a
geologic period. Essentially it consists of fossil interstitial
water that has migrated from its burial location. This water may
have been derived from oceanic or freshwater sources and,
typically, is highly mineralised.
Magmatic Water:
Water derived from magma. It is called plutonic water if it
is deep seated and volcanic water when it comes from relatively
shallow depth (perhaps 3 to 5 km).
Juvenile Water :
It is new water of magmatic or cosmic origin that has not
been a part of the hydrological system.
Metamorphic Water :
It is the water that is or has been associated with rocks
during their metamorphism.
Meteoric Water :
It is the water that comes to the earth from the atmosphere
in the form of rain or snow.
Age of Groundwater :
Various techniques of age determination have revealed ground
water ranging in age from a few years or less to many thousand
years (~30000 years)
Aquifer :
Of all the different types of geologic formations in which
ground water occurs, those known as aquifers are of most
importance. An aquifer may be defined as a formation that
contains sufficient saturated permeable material to yield
significant quantities of water to wells and springs. This
implies an ability to store and transmit water. Unconsolidated
sands and gravels are a typical example. An aquifer includes the
unsaturated portion of the permeable unit. Aquifer may also be
called groundwater reservoir and water bearing formation.
Aquifers are generally aerially extensive and may be overlain or
underlain by a confining bed. The confining bed is a relatively
impermeable material stratigraphically adjacent to one or more
aquifers.
Aquiclude :
A saturated but relatively impermeable material that does
not yield appreciable quantities of groundwater of wells, e.g.
clay
Aquifuge :
A relatively impermeable formation neither containing nor
transmitting water, e.g. solid granite.
Aquitard :
A saturated but poorly permeable system that impedes
groundwater movement and does not yield water freely to wells but
that may transmit appreciable water to or from adjacent aquifers,
and where sufficiently thick, may constitute an important
groundwater storage zone, e.g. sandy clay.
Some Important Terms
Water table is also known as phreatic surface. Zone of
Aeration may be further subdivided into the soil water zone, the
intermediate vadose zone and the capillary zone. Water in the
soil water zone exists from the surface to the depth to which
roots of plants extend. Its thickness varies with soil type and
vegetation. This zone is of great importance to agriculturists.
The intermediate vadose zone extends from the lower edge of
the soil water zone to the upper limit of the capillary zone. The
thickness of this zone may vary from zero to more than 100m. In
this zone the vertically downward moving water passes.
The capillary zone or capillary fringe extends from the
water table upto the limit of capillary rise of water. The
thickness of this zone varies inversely with the pore size of the
soil or rock. Just above the water table all pores contain
capillary water. Water content of pores decreases with increasing
height from water table.
Specific Retention of a soil or rock is the ratio of the
volume of water it will retain after saturation against the force
of gravity to its own volume.
Specific Yield of a soil or rock is the ratio of the volume
of water, that after saturation, can be drained by gravity to its
own volume. Values of specific yield depend on grain size, shape
and distribution of pores, compaction of the stratum, and time of
drainage. Five grained materials yield little water whereas
coarse grained materials permit a substantial release of water
and hence serve as aquifers. In general specific yields for thick
unconsolidated formations tend to fall in the range of 7-15%
because of the mixture of grain sizes present in the various
strata. Further more, they normally decrease with depth due to
compaction. Specific yield measured by methods based on wellpumping test generally give most reliable results for field
measurements.
Natural and Artificial Discharge
Groundwater reservoirs discharge naturally wherever the
water table intersects the surface of the ground. Generally such
places are inconspicuous, typically occurring in the channels of
streams and on the floors and banks of marshes and lakes. Under
various special geological conditions, the water table intersects
the ground surface and discharges as springs and seeps. The
natural discharge of groundwater into streams is the reason why
streams continue to flow even in dry season.
Artificial discharge results when water is extracted from
wells. Artificial discharge, when excessive, modifies the
groundwater system. When more water is removed by artificial
discharge the water table is lowered.
Ordinary wells are made simply by digging or drilling holes
through the zone of aeration into the zone of saturation. Water
then flows out of the pores into the well, filling it to the
level of the water table. When a well is pumped, the water table
is drawn down around the well in the shape of a cone, called the
cone of depression. If water is withdrawn faster than it can be
(b)
(c)
have reduced porosity and the best sandstone aquifers yield water
through their joints. In solid forms igneous and metamorphic
rocks are relatively impermeable and do not constitute aquifers
where such rocks occur near the surface under weathering
conditions, however, they can yield small quantities of water for
domestic water supply. Clay and coarser materials mixed with clay
are generally porous, but their pores are so small that they may
be regarded as relatively impermeable.
Types of Aquifers
Most aquifers are of large areal extent and may be
visualized as underground storage reservoir. Water enters a
reservoir from natural or artificial recharge; it flows out under
the action of gravity or is extracted by wells. Aquifers may be
classified as unconfined or confined, depending on the presence
or absence of a water table, while a leaky aquifer represents a
combination of the two types.
An unconfined aquifer is one in which a water table varies
in undulating form and in slope, depending on areas of recharge
and discharge, pumping from wells and permeability. Rises and
falls in the water table correspond to changes in the volume of
water in storage within an aquifer. Contour maps and profiles of
the water stable can be prepared from elevations of water in
wells that tap the aquifer to determine the quantities of water
available and their distribution and movement.
Confined aquifers, also known artesian or pressure
aquifers, occur where groundwater is confined under pressure
greater than the atmospheric pressure by overlying relatively
impermeable strata. In a well penetrating such an aquifer, the
water level will rise above the bottom of the confining bed. The
piezometric surface or potentiometric surface, of a confined
aquifer is an imaginary surface coinciding with the hydrostatic
pressure level of the water in the aquifer. The water level in a
well penetrating a confined aquifer defines the elevation of the
piezometric surface at that point. Should the piezometric surface
lie above ground surface, a flowing well results.
In case of leaky or semiconfined aquifers (which are a
common feature in alluvial valleys plains or former lake basins)
a permeable stratum is overlain or underlain by a semi-pervious
aquitard, or semi-confining layer. Pumping from a well in a leaky
aquifer removes water in two ways : by horizontal flow within the
aquifer and by vertical flow through the aquitard into the
aquifer.
For mathematical calculation of the storage and flow of
groundwater, aquifers are frequency by assumed to be homogeneous
and isotropic. Such idealized aquifers do not exist, however,
(1)
Groundwater Basin
A groundwater basin may be defined as a hydrogeologic unit
containing
one
large
aquifer
or
several
connected
or
interrelative aquifers. Such a basin may or may not coincide with
a physiographic unit.
Groundwater Movement
The flow of groundwater through an aquifer can be expressed by
Darcys Law. Hydraulic conductivity is a measure of the
permeability of the media. It is an important constant in the
flow equation. Determination of hydraulic conductivity can be
made by several laboratory or field methods.
Darcys Law
Let Q be the volume of water flowing per second across a
area A when there is a hydraulic gradient dh/dl across this area.
Then Q is given by
Q
Q/A
=
=
- KA(dh/dl)
or
- K (dh/dl)
(2)
Q
] = voverphi
A
(3)
where is porosity.
This indicates that
for a sand with a porosity of 33%, va = 3v. To define the actual
flow velocity, one must also consider the microstructure of the
rock material. In water flowing through sand, for example, the
(4_
k
g
(5)
k = - [
v
g(dh/dl)
] \ (6)
(7)
Transmissivity :
The term, transmissivity. T is widely employed in
groundwater hydraulics. It may be defined as the rate at which
water of prevailing kinematic viscosity is transmitted through
sandstone
and
fractured
igneous
and
to 10-2 m/day)
Anisotropic Aquifers
The values of K is rarely same in all directions,
particularly for undisturbed, unconsolidated alluvial materials.
K 1 z1 + K 2 Z 2 + ......+ K nzn
(8)
z 1 + z 2 + .....+ z n
z 1 + z 2 + ..... z n (9)
z 1 + z 2 +.... z n
K1 K2
Kn
1
K
Cos
Sin
+
Kx
Kz
2
(10)
(11)
Q =
----
(12)
n
where K is the overall hydraulic conductivity.
In anisotropic media, flow lines and equipotential lines are
h - hw
(13)
ln(r/ r w )
T = Kb =
ln r 2 (14)
2 ( h2 - h1 )
r1
where r1 and r2 are the distances and h1 and h2 are the heads of
the respective observation wells.
From a practical standpoint, the drawdown s rather than the
head h is measured so that eq. (14) can be rewritten
T=
ln r 2 (15)
2 ( s 2 - s1 )
r1
T=
ln r 2 (16)
2 [( s1- s ) - ( s 2- S )] r 1
2ho
2ho
2
1
2
2
2
2
ho - h =
w 2 2 Qw r o
( r -r ) +
ln
2K
k r
(17)
K=
2Q
(18)
r ( h w + h d ) ( i w + i d )
s=
Q e4 - du
4T u u
(19)
(20)
(2)
(3)
(4)
S =(
Q
) W(u) (21)
4T
From the equation (21) and (22) it can be seen that the
relation between W(u) and u must be similar to that between s and
r2/t because the terms in parentheses in the two equations are
constants.
Given
this
similarity
a
graphic
method
of
superposition has been suggested to have an approximate solution
for S and T. A type curve is prepared by plotting W(u) versus u.
Another curve is prepared by plotting s versus r2/t on
logarithmic scale of the same size as the type curve. Matching of
two curves given values of W(u), u, s and r2/t for any convenient
point, and S,T obtained from equations (21) and (22).
Cooper-Jacob Method :
It was noted by Cooper and Jacob that for small values
of r and large values of t, u is small. Under these conditions
drawdown can be written as
S=
2
Q
S
(-0.5772 - ln r )
4T
4t
(23)
S=
23.Q
2.25Tt
log 2
(24)
4T
r S
S=
2.25T t O
r
(25)
and
T=
2.30Q
(26)
4s
s
s
(27)
and the corresponding value of W(u) and u are found from a figure
which shows a graph between F(u) and W(u). Finally, T is computed
from eq. (21) and S from (22).
Recovery Test :
At the end of a pumping test, when the pump is stopped,
the water levels is pumping and observation wells will begin to
rise. This is referred to as the recovery of ground water levels,
while measurements of drawdown below the original static water
level (prior to pumping) during the recovery period are known as
residual drawdowns. It is a good practice to measure residual
drawdown because analysis of the data enable transmissivity to be
calculated, thereby providing an independent check on pumping
test results. Measurements of the recovery with a pumped well
will provide an estimate of transmissivity even without an
observation well. Furthermore, the rate of recharge Q to the well
during recovery to the mean pumping rate, where as pumping rates
often vary and are difficult to control accurately in the field.
This method does not yield a value of S.
The above methods for the nonequilibrium equation applied
pumping capacity
well diameter and depths
depth and variability of pumping level
straightness of the level
sand pumping
total pumping head
duration of pumping
type of power available
costs
phenomenon
that
produces
change
in
pressure
on
factor.
It
depends
on
rainfall
intensity
and
groundwater
levels
show
seasonal
pattern
of
stabilize the water table near the ground surface. Leakage from
unlined canals into the permeable alluvium can cause a steady
rise in the water table. In areas where evapotranspiration serves
to control the position of the water table, water logging, and
salination of soils in the root zone occur. Agricultural lands
so afflicted can become saline wastelands unless adequate
drainage systems are installed.
Changes
in
atmospheric
pressure
produce
sizable
fluctuations in wells penetrating confined aquifers. Increases in
atmospheric pressure produce decreases in water levels, and
conversely. For an unconfined aquifer, atmospheric pressure
(2)
(3)