Aquifer tests (pumping tests, slug tests and constant-head

tests) are performed to estimate site-specific values for

the hydraulic properties of aquifers and aquitards. Under certain
circumstances, however, site-specific hydraulic property data may not
be available when needed. For example, reconnaissance studies or
scoping calculations may require hydraulic property values before on-
site investigations are performed.

The following sections present representative hydraulic property

values reported in the literature for horizontal and vertical hydraulic
conductivity, storativity, specific yield and porosity. Refer to these
values if site-specific data are unavailable for your study or to check
the results of field and laboratory tests conducted at an investigation
site.
Hydraulic
Conductivity (K)

Hydraulic
conductivity is the rate of flow under a unit hydraulic gradient
through a unit cross-sectional area of aquifer (opening A).
Transmissivity is the rate of flow under a unit hydraulic gradient
through a unit width of aquifer of thickness m (opening B). Diagram
from Ferris et al. (1962).

Hydraulic conductivity is a measure of a material's capacity to

transmit water. It is defined as a constant of proportionality relating
the specific discharge of a porous medium under a unit hydraulic
gradient in Darcy's law:

=Ki=-Ki
where is specific discharge [L/T], KK is hydraulic
conductivity [L/T] and ii is hydraulic
gradient [dimensionless]. Coefficient of permeability is another term
for hydraulic conductivity.

Note that hydraulic conductivity, which is a function of water

viscosity and density, is in a strict sense a function of water
temperature; however, given the small range of temperature
variation encountered in most groundwater systems, the
temperature dependence of hydraulic conductivity is often
neglected.

Transmissivity is the rate of flow under a unit hydraulic gradient

through a unit width of aquifer of given saturated thickness. The
transmissivity of an aquifer is related to its hydraulic conductivity as
follows:

T=KbT=Kb
where TT is transmissivity [L /T] and bb is aquifer thickness [L].
2

Representative Values
The following tables show representative values of hydraulic
conductivity for various unconsolidated sedimentary materials,
sedimentary rocks and crystalline rocks (from Domenico and
Schwartz 1990):

Unconsolidated Sedimentary Materials

Hydraulic Conductivity
Material
(m/sec)
Gravel 310-4 to 310-2
Coarse sand 910-7 to 610-3
Medium sand 910-7 to 510-4
Fine sand 210-7 to 210-4
Silt, loess 110-9 to 210-5
Till 110-12 to 210-6
Clay 110-11 to 4.710-9
Unweathered marine clay 810-13 to 210-9

Sedimentary Rocks
Hydraulic Conductivity
Rock Type
(m/sec)
Karst and reef limestone 110-6 to 210-2
Limestone, dolomite 110-9 to 610-6
Sandstone 310-10 to 610-6
Siltstone 110-11 to 1.410-8
Salt 110-12 to 110-10
Anhydrite 410-13 to 210-8
Shale 110-13 to 210-9

Crystalline Rocks
Hydraulic Conductivity
Material
(m/sec)
Permeable basalt 410-7 to 210-2
Fractured igneous and metamorphic rock 810-9 to 310-4
Weathered granite 3.310-6 to 5.210-5
Weathered gabbro 5.510-7 to 3.810-6
Basalt 210-11 to 4.210-7
Unfractured igneous and metamorphic rock 310-14 to 210-10

To Convert Multiply By To Obtain

m/sec 100 cm/sec
m/sec 2.12106 gal/day/ft2
m/sec 3.2808 ft/sec
Hydraulic conductivity of selected consolidated and unconsolidated
geologic materials (from Heath 1983).
Hydraulic Conductivity Anisotropy Ratio
(Kz/Kr)
An anisotropy ratio relates hydraulic conductivities in different
directions. For example, vertical-to-horizontal hydraulic conductivity
anisotropy ratio is given by Kz/KrKz/Kr where KzKz is vertical
hydraulic conductivity [L/T] and KrKr is radial (horizontal) hydraulic
conductivity [L/T]. Anisotropy in a horizontal plane is given
by Kx/KyKx/Ky where KxKx and KyKy are horizontal hydraulic
conductivities in the xx and yy directions, respectively [L/T].
Todd (1980) reports values of Kz/KrKz/Kr ranging between 0.1 and
0.5 for alluvium and possibly as low as 0.01 when clay layers are
present.
Representative Values
The following table shows representative values of horizontal and
vertical hydraulic conductivities for selected rock types
(from Domenico and Schwartz 1990):
 Horizontal Hydraulic Conductivity Vertical Hydraulic Conductivity
Material
(m/sec) (m/sec)
Anhydrite 10-14 to 10-12 10-15 to 10-13
Chalk 10-10 to 10-8 510-11 to 510-9
Limestone,
10-9 to 10-7 510-10 to 510-8
dolomite
Sandstone 510-13 to 10-10 2.510-13 to 510-11
Shale 10-14 to 10-12 10-15 to 10-13
Salt 10-14 10-14

Storativity (S)
Confined Aquifers

Storativity of a
confined (artesian) aquifer (from Ferris et al. 1962).

The storativity of a confined aquifer (or aquitard) is defined as the

volume of water released from storage per unit surface area of the
aquifer or aquitard per unit decline in hydraulic head. Storativity is
also known by the terms coefficient of storage and storage
coefficient.

Pumping a well in a confined aquifer releases water from aquifer

storage by two mechanisms: compression of the
aquifer and expansion of water.

In a confined aquifer (or aquitard), storativity is defined as

S=SsbS=Ssb
where SS is storativity [dimensionless], SsSs is specific storage [L-
1] and bb is aquifer (or aquitard) thickness [L].

The typical storativity of a confined aquifer, which varies with

specific storage and aquifer thickness, ranges from 510-
5 to 510-3 (Todd 1980).

Specific storage is the volume of water that a unit volume of aquifer

(or aquitard) releases from storage under a unit decline in head.
Specific storage is related to the compressibilities of water and the
aquifer (or aquitard) as follows:

Ss=g(+ne)Ss=g+ne
where is mass density of water [M/L3], gg is gravitational
acceleration (= 9.8 m/sec2) [L/T2], is aquifer (or aquitard)
compressibility [T2L/M], neneis effective porosity [dimensionless],
and is compressibility of water (= 4.410-10 m sec2/kg or Pa-
1) [T2L/M].

Unconfined Aquifers

Storativity of an unconfined (water-table) aquifer (from Ferris et al.

1962).

The storativity of an unconfined aquifer includes its specific yield or

drainable porosity:

S=Sy+SsbS=Sy+Ssb
where SySy is specific yield [dimensionless].
Lowering of the water table in an unconfined aquifer leads to the
release of water stored in interstitial openings by gravity
drainage.
Compared to gravity drainage, aquifer compression and water
expansion in a water-table aquifer yield relatively little water from
storage; hence, SySsbSySsb and SSySSy in unconfined
aquifers.

Storativity in unconfined aquifers typically ranges from 0.1 to

0.3 (Lohman 1972).

Representative Values
The following table provides representative values of specific storage
for various geologic materials (Domenico and Mifflin [1965] as
reported in Batu [1998]):

Material Ss (ft-1)
Plastic clay 7.810-4 to 6.210-3
Stiff clay 3.910-4 to 7.810-4
Medium hard clay 2.810-4 to 3.910-4
Loose sand 1.510-4 to 3.110-4
Dense sand 3.910-5 to 6.210-5
Dense sandy gravel 1.510-5 to 3.110-5
Rock, fissured 110-6 to 2.110-5
Rock, sound < 110-6

To Convert Divide By To Obtain

ft-1 0.3048 m-1

Freeze and Cherry (1979) provided the

following compressibility values for various aquifer materials:

Material Compressibility, (m2/N or Pa-1)

Clay 10-8 to 10-6
Sand 10-9 to 10-7
Gravel 10-10 to 10-8
Jointed rock 10-10 to 10-8
Sound rock 10-11 to 10-9

Pa-1 = m2/N = m sec2/kg

Example Calculations

1. Use compressibility data to estimate the storativity of a 35-ft thick

confined sand aquifer (assume = 1000 kg/m3 and nene = 0.3).

S=Ssb=g(+ne)bS=Ssb=g+neb = (1000 kg/m )(9.8 m/sec )

3 2

[10-8 m2/N + (0.3) (4.410-10 m2/N)](35 ft)(0.3048 m/ft) = 1.110-3

How much does the expansion of water contribute to the total
storativity in this example?

Sw=gnebSw=gneb = (1000 kg/m )(9.8 m/sec )(0.3) (4.410

3 2 -

10 m2/N)(35 ft)(0.3048 m/ft) = 1.410-5

2. Use specific storage data to estimate storativity for the same

confined sand aquifer given in the preceding example.

S=SsbS=Ssb = (510 -5 ft-1)(35 ft) = 1.810-3

Specific Yield (Sy)

Specific retention (Sr),

specific yield (Sy) and total porosity (n) (from Heath 1983).

Specific yield is defined as the volume of water released from

storage by an unconfined aquifer per unit surface area of aquifer per
unit decline of the water table.

Bear (1979) relates specific yield to total porosity as follows:

n=Sy+Srn=Sy+Sr
where nn is total porosity [dimensionless], SySy is specific
yield [dimensionless] and SrSr is specific retention [dimensionless],
the amount of water retained by capillary forces during gravity
drainage of an unconfined aquifer. Thus, specific yield, which is
sometimes called effective porosity, is less than the total porosity of
an unconfined aquifer (Bear 1979).
Representative Values
Heath (1983) reports the following values (in percent by volume) for
porosity, specific yield and specific retention:

Specific Specific
Material Porosity (%)
Yield (%) Retention (%)
Soil 55 40 15
Clay 50 2 48
Sand 25 22 3
Gravel 20 19 1
Limestone 20 18 2
Sandstone (unconsolidated) 11 6 5
Granite 0.1 0.09 0.01
Basalt (young) 11 8 3

The following table shows representative values of specific yield for

various geologic materials (from Morris and Johnson 1967):

Material Specific Yield (%)

Gravel, coarse 21
Gravel, medium 24
Gravel, fine 28
Sand, coarse 30
Sand, medium 32
Sand, fine 33
Silt 20
Clay 6
Sandstone, fine grained 21
Sandstone, medium grained 27
Limestone 14
Dune sand 38
Loess 18
Peat 44
Schist 26
Siltstone 12
Till, predominantly silt 6
Till, predominantly sand 16
Till, predominantly gravel 16
Tuff 21

Porosity (n)
Void volume, total volume and porosity (from Heath 1983).

Porosity is defined as the void space of a rock or unconsolidated

material:

n=Vv/Vtn=Vv/Vt
where nn is porosity [dimensionless], VvVv is void volume [L ]
3

and VtVt is total volume [L3].

Representative Values
The following tables show representative porosity values for various
unconsolidated sedimentary materials, sedimentary rocks and
crystalline rocks (from Morris and Johnson 1967):

Unconsolidated Sedimentary Materials

Material Porosity (%)
Gravel, coarse 24 - 37
Gravel, medium 24 - 44
Gravel, fine 25 - 39
Sand, coarse 31 - 46
Sand, medium 29 - 49
Sand, fine 26 - 53
Silt 34 - 61
Clay 34 - 57

Sedimentary Rocks
Rock Type Porosity (%)
Sandstone 14 - 49
Siltstone 21 - 41
Claystone 41 - 45
 Shale 1 - 10
Limestone 7 - 56
Dolomite 19 - 33

Crystalline Rocks
Rock Type Porosity (%)
Basalt 3 - 35
Weathered granite 34 - 57
Weathered gabbro 42 - 45

See also: Argonne National Laboratory, Wolff (1982)