GROUNDWATER ENGINEERING AND

ENVIRONMENTAL HYDROLOGY

Dr. TARUN KUMAR LOHANI

Professor, Department Civil Engineering
Orissa Engineering College, Bhubaneswar (India)
 INTRODUCTION

Water is earths most distinctive constituent and is an essential ingredient for the life today. The
different forms of water are - Surface water and Groundwater. Worlds total water resource is
estimated as 1.37 X 108m ha-m, out of this 97.2% is saline water confined to the oceans and only
2.8% are fresh water. From this 2.8%, about 2.2% is available as surface water and 0.6% as
groundwater. Although the surface water is more, it cannot be used widely because of its
contamination by a number of pollutants such as suspended particles, organic matters, toxic
wastes etc. It cannot even be used for drinking and industrial purposes until and unless subjected
to purification process through costly treatments. On the contrary, groundwater is nearly free
from pollution. It undergoes a natural process of filtration and is stored in the subsurface zone.
Groundwater is one of the earths most widely distributed resources and is increasingly catering
to the need of the domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors. The value of groundwater as a
source lies in the fact that it is dependable even during the period of scarcity and drought, widely
distributed and can be put to use with ease and speed. It can be made available at a small capital
cost and also in least time. The groundwater resource of any area is more valuable because:
It has a suitable composition in most cases and is free from turbidity, suspended and
dissolved solids, toxic elements, objectionable colours and pathogenic organisms
requiring no treatments.
It is relatively safe from hazards of chemical, radiogenic and biological pollution to
which surface water bodies are badly exposed.
It is not affected by drought and other climatic changes and hence is more dependable.
Being available locally, it may be tapped and distributed at much lesser cost using very
little network of pipes. In fact, in many areas it is directly pumped up by the users.
Hydrogeology refers to the geological conditions which controls the occurrence, origin,
movement, water holding and yielding capacity of an area while aquifer refers to a water
saturated zone below the top soil which stores and yields significant amount of water to be
exploited economically. The hydrogeological conditions that usually influence the concentration
of groundwater in a potential aquifer are geological setting (lithology and structure),
meteorology (climate), geomorphology and drainage.
Geohydrology is the study of groundwater and its physical and chemical interactions with the
physical environment. It consists of those geologic principles that govern the occurrence,
movement and quality of groundwater, with an emphasis on those aspects important to
environmental professionals.
Hydro-geochemical evolution of groundwater is a dynamic process undergoing constant change
in space and time. Chemical compositions of groundwater are derived in general, from reactions
of rainfall with rock and soil minerals. Notwithstanding the spatial variability of groundwater
chemistry due to heterogeneous mineralogy and complex flow pattern, certain broad chemical
relationships are well documented which link groundwater chemistry with its movement.
Importance of hydro-geochemistry has led to a number of detailed studies on geochemical
evolution of groundwater.
Presentation of geochemical data in the form of graphical charts such as USGS diagram, Wilcox
diagram and Gibbs diagram help in recognizing various hydrogeochemical types of groundwater.
Analysis of the chemical constituents of groundwater also sheds light on the geochemical
evolution of groundwater as well as identification of recharge areas.

HYDROLOGIC CYCLE:

Liquid, solid and gaseous are the three states in which water occurs in the earth. Water
evaporates from water bodies like oceans and lakes forms cloud, returns back to the earth in the
form of rain and snow. Similarly, water also evaporates from trees and forests create
transpiration, fall back again to earth surface. Water that falls on the earth either penetrates into
the earth surface through the top soil and sub soil or flows on the surface of the earth. The
various aspects of water rebated to the earth can be explained as Hydrologic Cycle.

HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
Water that infiltrates through the subsoil forms the ground water and the water that flows on the
surface is defined as runoff. The two main components of hydrologic cycle are transport (flow)
component and storage component. The quantity of water passing through various individual
paths of the hydrologic cycle in a given system can be described by the continuity principle
known as water budget equation or hydrologic equation.
TRANSPORTATION COMPONENTS OF HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

TRANSFORMATION OF HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

CONVERSION OF WATER
WATER BALANCE:

Assessment of groundwater potential in an area depends on the study of two parameters, such as
withdrawal and replenishment. The economic, legal, political, social aspects and water quality
are given proper consideration. A great care is taken because of the finite nature of the ground
water resources; otherwise excessive draw from a basin over a period of time can deplete
groundwater supplies to a point where economic development is not possible. Such extraction of
water may ultimately lead to the complete failure of the entire supply system. As per the concept
of Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC, 1979) the stages of
groundwater developments are assessed, which relates net recoverable recharge to net extraction
or discharge in order to compute whether the groundwater balance available is adequate or not
for further exploitation.
Groundwater potential of the area is worked out by employing the water budget equation:

IO=S
Where; I = Total recharge or inflow.
O = Total discharge or outflow.
S = Change in storage.
The general hydraulic equation groups all parts of groundwater movement under the broad term
of groundwater increment. With the knowledge of groundwater occurrence and mechanics now
available, it is feasible to set up the storage equation of the aquifer. In an expanded form to
include the most conventional sources of recharge and discharge, the equation can be written in
the following form.
S = Wp+Wi+Ww+Win+GWi-GWd-GWir-GWin-GWp-GWe-GWo
Where;
S = Change in groundwater storage.
Wp = Recharge from precipitation.
Wi = Return seepage from irrigation water.
Ww = Percolation from water spread.
Win = Influent recharge.
GWi = Groundwater inflow.
GWd = Groundwater extraction for drinking purposes.
GWir = Groundwater extraction for irrigation purposes.
GWin = Groundwater extraction for industrial purposes.
GWp = Effluent discharge.
GWe = Evaporation loss of groundwater.
GWo = Groundwater outflow.
The most important component of recharge to the aquifer is the direct infiltration of rainwater
(Wp), which is controlled by the climate, topography, soil and subsurface geological characters
(Karanth, 1987). A part of the drinking, irrigation and industrial water (all from the groundwater
and surface water resources) reach the groundwater depending upon the efficiency of these
systems. Influent streams also recharge the groundwater body.
Quantification of ground water and surface water resources of any basin (A Large area) involves
the application of the principle of conservation of mass. The quantitative changes in the aquifer
condition may be expressed as a water balance equation, in which the inflow, outflow and
change in storage in a period of time are represented by individual components and is expressed
by the equation derived by Sokolov & Chamman (1974) is as follow.

Where; P = Precipitation (Rainfall and snow)

INFLOW
Qswi = Surface water inflow. INFLOW (GAIN)

Qgwi = Ground water inflow

E = Evaporation

Qswo = Surface water outflow OUTFLOW OUTFLOW

(LOSS)
Qgwo = Ground water outflow

S = Change in storage (Inflow > Outflow)

n = a discrepancy term accounting for error of estimation. (Transpiration Loss)

Water balance equation can be estimated for individual bodies like Lake, Basin etc.
SUBSURFACE WATER FROFILE:

SUBSURFACE PROFILE
The entire subsurface profile of water starts from the soil water zone till the infiltration reaches
the permanent saturated zone known as zone of saturation of simply ground water. The vertical
distribution is broadly classified as zone of aeration and zone of permanent saturation. Zone of
aeration comprises of soil water zone, intermediate zone and capillary fringe through which
infiltrated water moves downward and inherited pressure is the pressure of gravitational force. In
the ground water zone water moves in horizontal direction as per the inclination of the datum or
bed rock and is under hydrostatic pressure.
On the basis of the capacities to hold water between inter- granular spaces, the materials can be
classified as Aquifer, Aquitard, Aquiclude and Aquifuge.
Aquifer: It is a natural formation which allows water to get stored as well as a good quantity of
water to pass through it. So porosity and permeability properties remain high. Due to high
porosity it can hold water and due to high permeability it can transmit (yield) good volume of
water (Exp: Sand & Gravel)
Aquitard: It can store voluminous water but allow a small quantity of water to flow through it.
Such layers transmit significant quantity of groundwater in terms of regional migration but may
not be capable of feeding a well. Hence characteristically they have high porosity and low
permeability. (Exp. Clay and Sandy Clay)
Aquiclude: It has the property to store significant quantity of water due to large number of pore
spaces on the body but completely unable to transmit, hence are with high porosity and non-
permeable. (Exp. Thick layer of Clay)
Aquifuge: These layers neither hold sufficient quantity of water nor able to transmit. So they are
nonporous and non-permeable. (Exp. Solid granite, compact sandstone etc.)
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS AS AQUIFERS:

Geology of a region plays vital role in deciding the type and quality of aquifer. As per the nature
and characteristics of geologic formation, aquifers are classified as: Unconsolidated, semi-
consolidated and consolidated.
Unconsolidated aquifer consists of sand and gravel which form the best aquifer. They occur as
fluvial alluvial deposits, abandoned channel Sediments, Coastal alluvium etc. Yield is
approximately 50-100 m3/hr (Ex. Gangetic alluvium and coastal alluvium)
Among consolidated aquifer, those with primary porosity, joints, fissures, caverns etc generate a
scope to hold and yield water. Weathered Sandstone, faulted granites, fractured igneous rocks
and metamorphic rocks are good to excellent aquifers. Limestone with caverns, volcanic rocks
with secondary porosity act as a good aquifer zone.
Semi consolidated aquifers are any such aquifer formed due to pronounced weathering. These
aquifers are of intermediate characteristic.

Ground water basin:

It is a hydrogeological unit containing one large aquifer or several connected and inter-related
aquifers; which can be concluded as an area containing groundwater reservoir capable of
furnishing substantial water supply. In a valley between mountain ranges groundwater basin
occupies the central portion of the stream drainage.
In a more precise manner, a groundwater basin is a large aerially extended aquifer of aquifers
that is an excellent potential zone of ground water which can store and yield sufficient
groundwater.
Springs: A spring is a concentrated discharge of ground water appearing at the ground surface as
a current of flowing water. Depending on the rock structure, discharge temperature and
variability, springs are classified as resulting from: nongravitational forces and gravitational
forces. As per their Occurrence they are differentiated as follows:

AQUFER PROPERTIES:

Porosity: Amount of pore spaces per unit volume of aquifer material.

Where = Porosity
v = Volume of voids
o = Volume of Porous medium
If, n < 5% : Low
5% < n < 20% : Medium
n > 20% : High
Specific yield: Actual volume of water that can be extracted by the force of gravity from a unit
volume of aquifer material is known as specific yield (Sy). The fraction of water hold back in the
aquifer is known as specific retention (Sr).

Thus;

The porosity and specific yield of different materials is given below:

 Formation Porosity % Specific yield %

Clay 45-55 1-10

Sand 35-40 10-30
Gravel 30-40 15-30
Sandstone 10-20 5-15
Shale 1-10 0.5-5
Limestone 1-10 0.5-5
DARCYS LAW:

In 1856 Henry Darcy, a French hydraulic engineer formulated that the flow of water through a
porous medium is directly proportional to the head loss and inversely proportional to the length
of the flow path.

Mathematically,

Where; V = Apparent velocity of seepage =

Q = Discharge

A = Cross sectional area of the porous medium.

i= = Hydraulic gradient.

h = Piezometric head.

S = distance measured in the general flow direction.

Negative sign shows the piezometric head in the direction of flow.

K= Coefficient of permeability.

Since, v = Ki

and v=

= Ki

Q = KiA

( )

Where (-h is the drop in the hydraulic grade line in a length of s of the porous medium. This
formula is valid for laminar flow only.

Where, Re = 1

The Reynolds number is defined as:

Re = 1
where:
is the density of the fluid
u is the velocity of the fluid with respect to the object
L is a characteristic linear dimension
is the dynamic viscosity of the fluid
As apparent velocity V used in Darcys Law is not the actual velocity of flow through the pores,
Va (Bulk pore Velocity) represents the actual velocity of water in the porous media.

Where = porosity of the medium.

COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY:

Coefficient of permeability also known as hydraulic conductivity reflects the combined effect of
the porous medium and fluid properties.

It is expressed as;

Where;

dm = Mean particle size of the porous medium

= unit weight of fluid.

= density of fluid.

= dynamic viscosity of the fluid

C = Shape factor which depends on porosity, packing, shape of

grains and grain-size distribution of the porous medium.

For a given porous media;

The laboratory of standard value of the coefficient of permeability (Ks) is taken as that for pure
water at a standard temperature of 20oC.

The value of Kt, the coefficient of permeability at any temperature t can be converted to Ks by
the relation.

( )

Where Vt and Vs are the Kinematic viscosity values at 200C and t0C respectively.

 Where; Ko = Cdm2
Ko is expressed in cm2 or m2 in darcy.

K is expressed in m/day or cm/sec.

It is determined in laboratory by permeameter. For more than one fluid in porous media or for
temperature variations are small and K is more convenient to use.

Considering an aquifer of unit width and thickness B i.e. the depth of a fully saturated zone; the
discharge through the aquifer under a unit hydraulic gradient,

T = Transmissivity represented by the unit m2/day.

STRATIFICATIONS:

Sometimes the saturated zone known as aquifer may be stratified with different permeability in
each stratum. This may be represented as:

a) When flow is parallel to the stratification:

The equivalent permeability Ke of the entire aquifer

Where; Entire thickness of aquifer.

The transmissivity of the formation is given by;

b) When flow is normal to the stratification:

The equivalent permeability Ke of the aquifer length

The transmissivity is hence represented as

CONFINED & UNCONFINED AQUIFER:

Confined flow which occurs in a confined aquifer is that in which both the upper & lower flow
boundaries are defined by aquicludes whereas unconfined flow, which occurs in unconfined
aquifers, is that in which the bottom flow boundary is defined by an aquiclude & upper flow
boundary (the groundwater) is free to reach its own natural level.

STEADY FLOW &UNSTEADY FLOW:

Steady state flow means a system has reached equilibrium and the flow rate & direction at any
point is constant over time. Unsteady state flow (Transient) means that the flow rate of direction
at any point is changing over time. This occurs when the pore water pressure, groundwater table
location of other characteristics are changing. Hence steady flow does not vary with time, while
unsteady flow varies.

Problem: Determine the daily flow capacity and transmissivity of a sandstone aquifer of height
15m, width 800m and length 2 km. The drop in piezometric head is 3m/ along the entire length,
assuming hydraulic conductivity to be 610-7 m/s.

Solution: K = 610-7 m/s = 5.210-2 m/day

A = 80015 m2
 Q = KAi

= (5.210-2) m/day (80015) m2

= 0.94 m3/day (Ans)

T = KB

= (5.210-2) m/day15 m

= 0.78 m2/day (Ans)

Problem: During soil exploration the following layers are encountered.

Layer Name: A B C D E

Layer thickness (in m): 0.5 2.0 2.8 3.6 3.0

Coefficient of permeability (in m/day) 1.3 2.8 1.8 0.5 2.0

Find the coefficient of permeability both in horizontal and vertical direction.

Solution:

For horizontal direction:

1.604 m/day (Ans)

For vertical direction:

= =

m/day (Ans)

Problem: A field test for permeability consists in observing the time required for a tracer to
travel between two observation wells. A tracer was found to take 10 hrs. to travel between two
wells 50m. apart when the difference in the water surface elevation in them was 0.5m. The mean
particle size of the aquifer was 2mm & the porosity of the medium is 0.3 given v=0.01 cm2/sec.
Solution:

Actual velocity of water (Va) = = = 0.139 cm/sec

Discharge velocity V = nva = 0.30.139 = 0.0417 cm/sec = 4.1710-2

Hydraulic gradient (i) = = = 110-2

Coefficient of permeability (K) = = = 4.17 cm/sec.


Intrinsic Permeability (Ko) = = = 4.2510-5 cm2

Since 9.8710-9 cm2 = 1 darcy

Ko = 4307 darcy
Reynolds number Re =
Taking da = mean particle size = 2 mm.

Re = = 0.834 (Ans)
FLOW EQUATION:
STEADY FLOW EQUATION:
During continued pumping where there is no further lowering of water level from a well, the
condition of flow is termed as steady flow. The different assumptions for a steady flow are:
a) Fluid is non-compressible
b) Medium is homogenous or isotopic (Properties at any point are same in all directions
emanation from that point)
c) Flow is irrotational.
Hence as per the assumption of isotropic condition:
Kx1 = Ky1 = Kz1
Kx2 = Ky2 = Kz2
For homogenous condition Kx1y1z1 = Kx2y2z2
and Kx1 = Kx2
Ky1 = Ky2
Kz1 = Kz2
For this homogenous and isotopic medium movement of groundwater is said to be steady or time
independent.

=0

and < 0 where f is the function and t is the time.

For the derivation of steady state flow, principle of conservation of mass is used. A
representative parallopiped elemental volume in porous media of dimension and is considered.
Let u,v,w are the components of velocity of flow of water in the medium in x,y,z direction
respectively.

Considering flow parameters in x direction:

Mass of fluid entering = Density velocity Area of X-section along x.

= (u) y.z

Mass of fluid coming out of the element in x direction

( )
=* +

Change of fluid quantity in x direction.

( )
=

( )
=* +
This is equal to the mass of fluid stored in the element

Similarly, mass of fluid stored in y direction

( )
=* +

and mass of fluid stored in z direction

( )
=* +

Total change in fluid quantity between its inflow and outflow in the elemental volume

( ) ( ) ( )
=* +

( )
Change in mass of the element in time t = * +

So equating
( ) ( ) ( )
* +

( )
=* +

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
or,

But for steady flow there is no change in density with respect to time, hence,
( )
=0

Porosity remains unchanged as the medium is assumed to be incompressible. So is taken as

constant.

So, =0

From Darcys law:

u = -K( )

v = -K( )

w = -K( )
Where h is the piezometric head.

Hence substituting the values in the differential equation.

-K =0

Since K 0

So;

Or 2h = 0

This equation is known as Laplace Equation

UNSTEADY FLOW EQUATION:

For unsteady flow, the element representing the volume undergoes compaction of the
aquifer material and water. Hence, the equation in steady condition for this case may be rewritten
as,
( ) ( ) ( )

where; Ss = Specific storage = Amount of water released from unit volume of aquifer per unit
decline in hydraulic head.

Ss =

S = Ss h

Or, S = Ss B

Where;

S = storage coefficient of storativity.

= volume of water released from or taken into storage of an aquifer per unit surface area
per unit deadline or rise of water table.
For unconfined aquifer, storage coefficient is taken as the specific yield, because most of water
from storage is released by the action of gravity with a negligible part from compression or
expansion of materials.

From Darcys law;

u = - Kx
 v = - Ky

w = -Kz

Substitution the values of u, v and w.

( )+ ( )+ ( )

= Ss

This is the general equation for non-homogenous anistropicand confined aquifer of the
piezometric head in space (x,y,z) and time t.

For homogenous, anisotropic and confined medium the equation is written as;

+ + = Ss

For homogenous, isotropic and confined aquifer;

+ + = ( )( )

Assuming the aquifer to be of constant thickness B;

+ + = ( )( ) = ( )

Where S = SsX B
and T = KB
T = Transmissivity.
S = Storativity.
Ss = Specific storage
K = Coefficient of permeability
h = piezometric height.
Therefore, for steady of unsteady flow situation for unconfined aquifer the equation can be
expressed as;

+ + =0

which is same as Laplace three dimensional equation.

Converting the above equation to polar coordinate system, we get;

 ( )

GROUND WATER FLOW BETWEEN WATER BODIES:

STEADY FLOW IN UNCONFINED AQUIFER:

Two streams with water depths and (from a common datum) are separated by aquifer materials.

Steady one dimensional flow between two water bodies in unconfined aquifer

Assumptions:

i) Velocity of flow is proportional to tangent instead of where S is the distance along flow
path.
ii) Flow is horizontal and uniform at any vertical section.
iii) Distribution of flow field and velocity distribution near the phreatic surface are to be
neglected.

For unidirectional flow, discharge per unit width

q= Kh

where h = height above the impervious datum.

x = direction of flow.

Or qdx = Khdh

Integrating; =

qx = + C1

Boundary condition for x = 0; h = h1 may be used to evaluate C1.

 So C1 =

qx = +

q= ( )

The Dupits equation indicated that, for a given q, the phreatic line representing water table is
parabolic.

When h = h2 , x = L

the equation will be;

( )

Solving the above equation for h;

* ( ) +

It is found that;

Computed water table following Dupits assumptions is always lower than the actual
water table. For accurate result should not be assumed as
Velocity of flow for such condition is not horizontal but slightly downward.

Problem: Two rivers are separated by an aquifer 5.3 km. Compute the seepage flow per unit
length of river if K= 18 m/d and =22m & =13m.

Solution:
 K = 18 m/day

h1 = 22 m

h2 = 13 m

L = 5.3 km = 5300 m

Seepage through this unconfined aquifer is given by;

( )

( )

= 35 9

= 0.535 m3/day/m (Ans)

= 0.535 m3/day/m

STEADY FLOW IN A CONFINED AQUIFER OF CONSTANT THICKNESS:

A confined aquifer of depth B is connected to two water bodies. Depth of water from the
impervious datum are and respectively.

These depths h1and h2are the piezometric heads at distance x=0 &x=L flow between water
bodies (stream-1 & stream-2) is considered unidirectional.

The Laplace equation + + =0

can be expressed as =0

Integrating, = c1

Again integrating, h = c1x + c2

Substituting the boundary condition; h = h1 at x = 0

and h1 = c1L + h1

Again using the 2nd boundary condition, for x = L; h = h2

and h2 = c1L + h1

c1 = =

So, h = ( ) + h1

Differentiating;
( )
=

From Darcys law we get;

Q= KB = KB ( )= T ( )

( )

Hence, the piezometric heights at and are known for L distance apart, discharging per unit
width of aquifer can be computed with the above mentioned equation.

Problem: Two rivers are separated by an aquifer formation of 5.3 km when horizontal clay layer
of 1m thick is located at a height of 7m from the bottom impervious layer. K for both sides is
assumed to be same as 18 m/day. Compute the seepage of flow if water tables are at a height of
22m and 13m respectively for the rivers.

Solution:
Clay assumed to be an impervious layer converts the whole aquifer system into two parts. The
upper water bearing zone is the unconfined aquifer and the lower one is the confined aquifer.
Hence, the individual seepages are computed to find the total seepage as the sum of individual
seepages.

For unconfined aquifer; ( )

Where; K = 18 m/day

h1 = 22 (7+1) = 22 8 = 14 m

and h2 = 13 (7+1) = 5 m

and L = 5.3 km = 5300 m

( - )m = 0.2904 m3/d /m

Flow through lower confined aquifer is:

( )

K = 18 m/day

h1 = 22 m

h2 = 13 m

L = 5300 m

B=7m

( )

0.214 m3/d /m

Hence;

Total Seepage = qu +qc

= 0.2904 + 0.214 = 0.5044 m3/d /m (Ans.)

STEADY FLOW IN A CONFINED AQUIFER OF VARIABLE THICKNESS:

Here thickness of the confining zone B changes with distance x

Discharge per unit width is given by;

or

Let the depth of confined layer B vary linearly and being represented by;

B = a + bx

Where, x is the co-ordinate distance.

or ( )

Integrating; ( )

C can be determined by putting boundary condition. To calculate the thickness of aquifer at a

point the generalized formula;

can be used

To solve a sum, the thickness & should be given from which a & b can be computed. By
determining a,b and c, q can be easily evaluated.
Problem: Two water bodies A and B are separated by an aquifer of 5.3 km with a 1m thick layer
of clay sloping from 10m. level at first of 6m. level at the other. The water table at both the ends
is 22m and 13m from the datum respectively. Assuming K=18 m/d find the total discharge.

Solution:

To calculate the discharge in the unconfined aquifer, data provided as:

h1 = 22 10 1 = 11 m; L = 5.3 km = 5300 m

h2 = 13 6 1 = 6 m

( )

( )

m3/d /m

To calculate the discharge in the confined aquifer, boundary conditions have to be taken. The
depth of confinement at any distance x from the higher elevation end is assumed as:

B = a + bx

but B= ( )

B= ( )

B = 10 0.000755x

if a = 10 then b = 0.000755
For variable thickness aquifer h= ( ) ( )

When h = 22; x = 0

22 = ( )
( )

22 = 169.4q + c ---------------------------------- Eq1

When h = 13; x = 5300

13 = ( )
( )

13 = 131.8 q + c ---------------------------------- Eq2

Subtracting Eq2 from Eq1 we get,

37.6 q = 9

q= = 0.2394 m3/d /m

Total discharge q = qu + qc

= 0.1443 + 0.2394

= 0.3837 m3/d /m (Ans.)

STEADY FLOW IN AN UNCONFINED AQUIFER WITH RECHARGE FROM

RAINFALL:

Part of the rain which infiltrates into soil percolates further down to recharge the groundwater.
 Let P= Precipitation intensity

P1 = Infiltration intensity.

Since one dimensional flow is considered so, P1dxcan be taken as recharge to groundwater folw
due to rainfall per unit width, which is the component of flow due to precipitation P per unit
width. Flow is established due to P1

Therefore,

dq = P1dx --------------------------------------Eq(1)

( )
For unidirectional flow q = =

( )
(As = = )

( )
Hence = -----------------------------------Eq(2)

From equation (1)

( )

or ( ) ( ) ------------Eq(3)

Similarly it can be shown that,

+ =

Integrating equation (3) twice we get,

Kh2 + P1x2 = c1x + c2

By using boundary condition for;

x = 0; h = h1

C2 = Kh12

Again if x = c, h = h2

Substituting we get

Kh2 + P1l2 = c1l + Kh12

 C1 = = ( )+ P1l

Kh2 + P1x2 = ( ) + P1lx +

h2 = h12 ( )+ (l x)x

h = h1 2 ( )+ (l x)x

The curve of ABC having peak at B for a certain value of x which can be located by
differentiation the equation:

h2 = h12 ( )+ (l x) x ---------- Eq(4)

h= ( ) ( )

with respect to x and equation to zero.

This is the position of groundwater divide at =0 i.e at location B, discharge per unit width is
given as qx = Kh

Differentiation the equation (4) and substituting the value of at a location x;

qx is obtained as:

( ) ( ) ------------------------ Eq (5)

Discharge to left side water body is obtained by substituting x=0 &h =h1in the above equation
(5) where x=c &h =h0

Problem: Compute the seepage flow due to rainfall @ in an area lying between two water bodies
5.3 km apart having water table of 22m. and 13m. on left and right side respectively. Consider
rainfall rate as less than infiltration rate and the soil is saturated. Assume K= 18 m/d

Solution:
Precipitation (P) = 10 mm/hh = 0.24 m/day

h2 = x2 + c1x + c2

For h = 22; x = 0
222 = c2
c2 = 484
For h = 13; x = 5300

132 = (5300)2 + c1 (5300) + 484

c1 = 7.61

Discharge per unit width qx = ( ) + (2x L)

At x = 5300

q5300 = ( )+ (25300 )

= + = 0.535 + 636

q5300 = 636.535 m3/d /m

For x = 0;

q0 = ( )+ ( )

= 0.535 636 = 63 . m3/d /m

STEDY FLOW INTO INFILTRATION GALLERIES:

Applying Laplace ID equation of steady flow q per unit length we get;

q = Ki (h1)

= Kh ( I = )

qdx = Khdh

qx = +c

Substituting boundary condition

When; h = h1; then x = 0

c= or q = ( )

When; h = h0; then x = l :

q= ( )

Total flow (Q)= 2ql where L is the length of the gallery But the equation of phreatic line can be
obtained by solving the above two equations.
 h= ( )

Problem:At an infiltration gallery of 200m long observed K = 40 m/d, influence of drawdown of

gallery is 300m, height of zero influence from a common datum in 10m Drawdown at the gallery
is 7m Obtain;

i) Total flow into the gallery.

ii) Equation of the phreatic line and the location of groundwater table at 50m from the
gallery.

Solution:

From the previous figure;

h0 = 10m, h1 = 10 7 = 3m

K = 40 m/d

L = 200 m

but l = 300 m

q= ( )

= ( )

= 6.067 m3/d

Total flow into the gallery Q = 2ql

Q = 26.067200 = 2426.7 m3/d /m

Equation of the phreatic line

h= ( )

h= ( )

at 50m away from the gallery

h50 = = 5.05m (Ans)

Problem: A confined aquifer 1.0 km wide discharges 0.03 m3/d /m of water to a dry river in the
month of May. Calculate the transmissivity, if the slop of the piezometric surface is 0.75 m/km

Solution:

i= = 0.75 m/km

Q = Discharge = 0.03 m3/d /m

l = Length = 1 km

Transmissivity T=KB

Q = KiA = Ki (Bl) = KBil = Til

T = 0.04 m3/d /m (Ans)