Journal o f Hydrology, 127 (1991) 173-192 173

Elsevier Science P u b l i s h e r s B.V., A m s t e r d a m

[3]

Numerical analysis of groundwater recharge

through stony soils using limited data

J.M.H. Hendrickx a, A.S. Khan b, M.H. Bannink c, D. Birch a a n d C. K i d d c

~Department q[ Geoscience, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801, USA
bBaluchistan Minor Irrigation and Agricultural Development Project ( B M IA D P ), 279-0/B-5,
Sarlath Road, Quetta, Pakistan
~Grontmij Ltd., Engineering and Consultants, P.O. Box 203, 3730 AE De Bilt, Netherlands
dHalcrow-ULG Ltd. (H-ULG), Swindon SN4 0QD, UK
el~vdroconsult Ltd. (Consultant to H-ULG/BM1ADP), Lower Trengale, Liskeard PLI4 6HF, UK
(Received 13 July 1989; revised and accepted 30 June 1990)

ABSTRACT

Hendrickx, J.M.H., Khan, A.S., Bannink, M.H., Birch, D. and Kid& C., 199I. Numerical analysis of
groundwater recharge through stony soils using limited data. J. Hydrol., 127: 173-192.

This study evaluates groundwater recharge on an alluvial fan in Quetta Valley (Baluchistan, Pakistan),
through deep stony soils with limited data of soil texture, soil profile descriptions, water-table depths and
meteorological variables. From the soil profile descriptions, a representative profile was constructed with
typical soil layers. Next, the texture of each layer was compared with textures of soils with known soil
physical characteristics; it is assumed that soils from the same textural class have similar water retention
and hydraulic conductivity curves. Finally, the water retention and hydraulic conductivity curves were
transformed to account for the volume of stones in each layer; this varied between 0 and 60 vol. %. These
data were used in a transient finite difference model and in a steady-state analytical solution to evaluate
the travel time of the recharge water and the maximum annual recharge volume. Travel times proved to
be less sensitive to differences in soil physical characteristics than to differences in annual infiltration rates.
Therefore, estimation of soil physical characteristics from soil texture data alone appears justified for this
study. Estimated travel times on the alluvial fan in the Quetta Valley vary between 1.6 years, through a soil
profile of 25 m with an infiltration rate of 120 cm year ~, to 18.3 years through a soil profile of 100 m with
an infiltration rate of 40cmyear L. When the infiltration rate of the soil exceeds 40cmday ~, the infil-
tration process proceeds so fast that evaporation losses are small. If the depth of ponding at the start of
infiltration is more than 1 m, at least 90% of the applied recharge water will reach the water table, providing
that the ponding area is bare of vegetation.

INTRODUCTION

In many arid and semi-arid regions, surface water resources are limited and
ground water is the major source for agricultural, industrial, and domestic
water supplies (e.g. Kelly, 1985; Memon et al., 1986; Sutton, 1987). Because
of lowering of water tables and the consequently increased energy costs for

0022-1694/91/$03.50 © 1991 - - Elsevier Science P u b l i s h e r s B.V. All rights reserved

174 J.M.H. H E N D R I C K X I~1 AI

pumping, it is recognized that groundwater extraction should balance ground-

water recharge in areas with scarce fresh water supplies (Caro and Eagleson.
1981; De Vries, 1984; Sophocleous and McAllister, 1987). This objective can
be achieved either by restricting groundwater use to the water volume which
becomes available through the process of natural recharge or by recharging
the aquifer artificially with surface water. Both options require knowledge of
the groundwater recharge process through the unsaturated zone from the land
surface to the regional water table (e.g. Simmers, 1988). Artificial groundwater
recharge schemes are best located on coarse-textured soils such as occur in the
apex of alluvial fans or in stream channels crossing such fans. These soils are
often characterized by a large volume of gravel, cobbles and stones (e.g. De
Ridder and Erez, 1977; BMIADP-PPC, 1985; Williamson, 1987). For the
planning of groundwater recharge schemes, it is especially important to know:
(1) the maximum volume of water that an be recharged in a given time
period; and
(2) the travel time from land surface to water table for a given volume of
water.
The maximum recharge volume is an important design factor for ground-
water recharge schemes and the travel time affects the economic feasibility of
such schemes.
The maximum volume of water and the travel time depend on the physical
characteristics of the soil, such as infiltration rate, water retention capacity
and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. Unfortunately, the two latter charac-
teristics are not easily obtained at depth and, in stony soils, these char~cter-
istics can only be measured at great cost. Therefore, this study presents ~
method for evaluation of artificial groundwater recharge through stony soils
with limited data. The method is illustrated with a case study conducted on
an alluvial fan with deep stony soils located in Quetta Valley (Baluchistan.
Province of Pakistan).

BACKGROUND

Baluchistan is the largest province of Pakistan and covers more than one
third of the total area of the country. The climate is arid with mean annual
precipitation in the Quetta Valley of between 150 and 250mm. ThereIbre.
almost all the rivers and streams are ephemeral and cannot supply sufficient
water to sustain economic development. Ground water is in many instances
the only source for municipal, agricultural and industrial water needs. The
water requirements of Quetta city and cantonment areas have increased from
16 x 1061day ~ in 1946 to at least 112 x 1061day ~ in 1986 (Bashir-U1-
Haque, 1986). In addition, electrification of rural areas has led to expansion
G R O U N D W A T E R R E C H A R G E T H R O U G H STONY SOILS 175

of the area of orchards under irrigation. For example, near Ziargai village,
about 640 ha have been developed with more than 200 dug-wells since elec-
tricity became available in 1980 (Haji M o h a m m e d Zarif, personal com-
munication, 1988). These developments caused groundwater extraction to
exceed recharge and have resulted in depletion of groundwater reservoirs. In the
northern part of the Quetta Valley, water tables dropped between 2 and 14 m
during the period 1970-1986 (Bashir-U1-Haque, 1986) and the water levels in
dug-wells monitored near Ziargai, from August 1984, show a downward trend
of about 3 m y e a r L (Halcrow-ULG, 1987). Recharge of ground water by
scarce surface water resources is regarded as one way of helping to sustain
future groundwater supplies. At present, several methods are used for
artificial groundwater recharge in the Quetta Vellay; the main difference being
the depth of water applied for recharge. Behind delayed action dams, the
depth of ponding varies from more than 6 m to less than 1.5 m after siltation:
in offline systems with lagoons, the depth of ponding is about 1.8 m; in offline
systems with channels, the average depth of ponding is estimated as 0.3 m; and
in contour trenches a ponding depth of 0.3 m can be expected during wetter
years (Williamson, 1987). Further discussion on artificial groundwater
recharge in this region is given by Halcrow-ULG (1988a).

THEORY

Water.flow
The water flow in a vertical one-dimensional homogeneous soil profile is
described by Darcy's law
q = -K(®)6H/6z (1)
where q is the flux (length/time (L/T)), 6H/6z
is the gradient of the hydraulic
head H (L) with depth z (L), and K(®) is the hydraulic conductivity (L/T).
Combined with the continuity equation, eqn. (1) becomes the Richards
equation

6®~t c~zC~IK(®) ~6H1 (2)

where ® is the volumetric water content (L3/L 3) and t is time (T). If z is

measured positive downward with respect to the soil surface, H at any point
in the soil profile is given by
H = h - z (3)
where h is the soil water pressure head (L). Because eqn. (2) is difficult to solve
analytically for most initial and boundary conditions that occur under field
176 J.M.H. HENDRICKX E'] AI

conditions, numerical computer models are used to provide solutions. These

models generally assume a unique relationship between K, ®, and h, which is
often expressed in terms of hydraulic conductivity K(h) and water retention
®(h) curves (e.g. Van Drecht, 1983).
Under steady-state conditions, water content ®, soil water pressure head h,
and flux q will not change with time t. If under these conditions a unit
hydraulic gradient ( 6 H / 6 z = 1) exists in the soil, eqn. (1) becomes
q = K(®) (4)
Such a unit hydraulic gradient is often found in deep uniform (Gee and Hillel,
1988) and heterogeneous (Hills et al., 1988) soil profiles with a steady
downward flux to the water table.

Hydraulic properties o [ stony soils

The hydraulic conductivity and water retention curves of stony soils are
difficult to measure, especially in deep soil layers. Therefore, a procedure
(Bouwer and Rice, 1984) was adapted to relate the soil physical characteristics
of a stony soil to the characteristics of the soil fraction and to the volume
fraction of stones. For a given volume fraction in the soil (F) of impermeable
lime stones larger than 2 ram, the relations between hydraulic conductivity
and water retention curves of the stony soil as a whole and the curves of the
soil fraction between the stones are
K*(h) = K(h) × (1 - F) t5)
O*(h) = O ( h ) × (1 - F) (~)
where K*(h) and O*(h) are, respectively, the hydraulic conductivity and water
retention curves of the stony soil; K(h) and ®(h) are, respectively, the hydraulic
conductivity and water retention curves of the soil fraction between the
stones.

N e t infiltration rate by recharge

The effectiveness of a recharge method depends, among other things, on the

ratio between net total infiltration and evaporation losses. The evaporation
losses during a given period depend on the duration of infiltration and,
therefore, on the infiltration rate. To evaluate the interdependence of infil-
tration rate, net total infiltration, and evaporation losses the following
equation was derived
N = D - eD/(i + e) - Zs
or
N = D x r/(r + 1) - Zs (7)
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE THROUGH STONY SOILS 177

where i is infiltration rate (L/T), e is open water evaporation during the period
of infiltration (L/T), Zs is cumulative soil evaporation after all water has
infiltrated (L), N is net total infiltration (L), D is depth of water applied for
recharge (L), and r is the ratio between the infiltration rate and the open water
evaporation (r = i/e).

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Site

The study was conducted at the Ziargai pilot project located on an alluvial
fan in the Quetta Valley (Pakistan) between latitudes 30 ° 06' and 30 ° 29'N
and longitude 67 ° 09' and 67 ° 06' E (Fig. 1). The fan has a catchment area of

q-
4
AFGHANISTAN
Lahor
×~< + ~< h "/-

x . I- + +

"/- "~\.pilot pro

~'JQuetta
J ~
-¢
PAKISTAN .¢

-¢

Sukkur
,~ ~f_~~r ~'~r

X
+ INDIA

4-
4-
4-
×-~-%
~r
0 100 200 km
yderabad
I I
+

SEA

Fig. 1. Location of Ziargai pilot project.

178 J.M.H HENDRI('KX El" k!

about 140ha and is considered representative of many alluvial fans in

Baluchistan (BMIADP Quetta, Pilot Project Cell (BMIADP-PPC), 1985).
The site has an arid climate, characterized by low erratic precipitation, high
evaporation rates and wide temperature ranges. Mean annual precipitation is
about 25 cm. The major rainfall period is from December to April, with a
secondary maximum in July and August. Winter rainfalls are more reliable
than the summer storms in July and August; this is reflected in their respective
coefficients of variation of about I during winter periods and about 2 in the
summer. The mean maximum monthly temperature is 34.4°C in July and the
mean minimum monthly temperature is - 2.4°C in January. Mean monthly
windspeed is about 1.1ms ~ ~ and mean monthly relative humidity varies
between 38% in September and 66% in February. Mean annual sunshine is
about 3200h and mean annual open water evaporation 184cm. More details
of the hydrology of the area are given in Halcrow-ULG (1988a).

Soils

The Ziargai site is located on a piedmont plain, between mountain

highlands and a valley floor. The topography is irregular due to coalescing
alluvial fans which at the trial site consist of boulders, pebbles, gravel and
sand with subordinate silt and clays. Water-table depth in the alluvial fans
varies from 140 m below the soil surface at the apex to about 40 m below the
soil surface close to the valley floor; the thickness of the unsaturated zone thus
varies between 40 and 140m. Information on soil profile and texture was
obtained from: (1) descriptions of lithological test pits, soil particle size
analysis, and piezometer logs in the studies by the BMIADP-PPC (1985) and
Techno-Consult (1988); (2) data of soil particle size analysis presented by
Williamson (1987); (3) observations of soil profiles in recently eroded gullies
(nullahs) and in a 30 m deep shaft; (4) two measurements of stone volume at
depths 0.0-0.3 and 0.3-0.6 m. In the shaft, 12 representative soil samples of
the fine fractions were taken for estimation of soil texture. In addition, three
soil samples have been taken from the silt accumulation in a reservoir behind
a dam. This information was used for the composition of a representative soil
profile for the Ziargai trial site.

Soil physical characteristics

The soil texture of the layers in the representative soil profile were
compared with textures of Dutch soils with known soil physical characteristics
which are presented in the 'Staring Catalogue' by W6sten et al. (1987). Soils
from the same textural class have been assumed to have similar soil physical
characteristics. This approach has been tested by several investigators (e.g,
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE THROUGH STONY SOILS 179

Bloemen, 1980; Brakensiek et al., 1981; Puckett et al., 1985; W6sten and Van
Genuchten, 1988); it yielded, for the most part, approximate orders of
magnitude of the hydraulic properties (W6sten et al., 1985; Bannink et al.,
1988). In the present study, travel times of recharge water through the profile
were less sensitive to differences in soil physical characteristics than to dif-
ferences in annual infiltration volumes (see section Results and Discussion).
Therefore, in this particular study, where expensive and lengthy soil physical
measurements were not possible, this approach was considered justified,
although it may not be valid for all cases. After the hydraulic conductivity and
water retention curves had been determined for the soil fraction between the
stones, these curves were transformed for the entire volume of the stony soil
by applying eqns. (5) and (6).

Computer simulation
Equation (2) can be solved numerically for given initial and boundary
conditions with a finite difference method. An example of such a solution is
the model S W A T R by Feddes et al. (1978). The transient finite difference
model O N Z A T was used to simulate the vertical transport of water through
the unsaturated soil (Van Drecht, 1983). This model is based on S W A T R and
was tested with the exact solutions of several simple flow problems. Practical
applications of the O N Z A T model are in the field of groundwater recharge
and storage capacity of the unsaturated zone. For simulation of groundwater
recharge, net infiltration (amount of water applied minus evaporation) was
used as input. Simulations have been carried out for net infiltration rates of
40, 80, and 120 cm year-t in soil profiles with depths to the water table of 25,
50, 75, and 100m. For the representative soil profile, a simulation with net
infiltration rate of 180 cm y e a r - I was also carried out. The pressure head in the
soil at the beginning of the infiltration periods was set at - 500 cm; this yields
volumetric water contents which are similar to measured water contents on
the fan. Because the model becomes unstable when the yearly net infiltration
a m o u n t is applied during one single day - - as is the case in practice during rare
runoff events - - simulations were carried out with a daily infiltration rate
between 0.5 and 2 . 0 c m d a y -I until the yearly net infiltration was obtained.
For example, to obtain a net infiltration rate of 80 cm year -~ , a daily infil-
tration rate of 2 . 0 c m d a y ~ was simulated for 80/2.0 = 40 successive days
each year. The total simulation period varied between 10 and 25 years.

Steady-state analytical approach

In addition to the model calculations for transient conditions, travel times
of recharge water from soil surface to the water table were calculated
180 J.M.H. HENDRICKX E1 ,*1.

analytically for the steady-state conditions. These calculations (1) checked the
calculations with the computer model ONZAT, and (2) obtained travel times
for a wide range of conditions ( O N Z A T simulations took so much computer
time that only a relatively small number of simulations could be carried out).
The steady-state analytical approach is based on eqn. (4); under steady-state
conditions with unit gradient, the flux equals the hydraulic conductivity K(O)
of the profile. This means that, in each soil horizon, for a given flux the
volumetric soitwater content can be derived from the ®(h) curve.
Once the volumetric water content of each soil horizon is known, inte-
gration with depth gives the total amount of water W in the unsaturated soil
profile to depth L
.7-L

W = ~ O(z) dz (8)
: ~ 0

Next, the travel time T of the water is calculated as

T = W/q

where q is the steady flux.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Representative soil profile

Descriptions of lithological test pits and piezometer logs (BMIADP-PPC.

1985; Williamson, 1987: Techno-Consult, 1988) show that the fan soils are
very variable in both the horizontal and vertical directions. This variability is
a result of the geomorphological formation of fans and does not allow the
soils on the Ziargai fan to be stratified into homogeneous layers or units on
the basis of the available soil and geological information. Characteristically
the Ziargai fan has an alluvial profile at least 400 m deep; layers vary in texture
from silty loam to coarse sand and gravel with up to 60 vol. % lime stones. The
depth of the groundwater level varies between 42 and 140 m (BMIADP-PPC,
1985).
Table 1 presents the description of the soil profile in the 30-m deep shaft.
The texture was estimated twice: first by the senior author in the shaft and
later by the three experienced soil scientists of the Netherlands Soil Survey
Institute on the basis of the 12 soil samples. The volume of stones and pebbles
was estimated visually. The texture of the fine soil fraction between the stones
varies from silty clay in layer 2 to coarse sand in layer 9. The volume of stones
varies between 0% in layers 2, 3, 6, and 10-60% in layer 9. The two
GROUNDWATERRECHARGETHROUGHSTONYSOILS 181

TABLE 1

Description of typical soil profile near dug-well No. 5

Layer Depth (m) Description Vol. Soil

stones (%)

1 0-2 Top soil cover, silt with 40 Silty loam

2 2-3
3 3-8
4 8-9
5 9-12
6 12-13
7 13-22
8 22-24
9 24-27
10 27-30
pebbles and gravel
Silty clay/clayey silt with - Loam
trace gravel
Sandy silty gravel, gravels - Loam
loosely cemented by clayey
silt matrix, gravels/pebbles
heterogeneous
Sandy clayey silt layer with 20 Sandy loam
5-10% medium to coarse
gravel
Same soil type as in layer 3. 40 Sand
Fine to medium grained sand
content increases with depth
Fine sand with 5% silt. No - Sand
gravel or pebbles. This layer
appears to be a permeable
layer as strong salt
accumulation was found at
surface due to evaporation of
soil moisture
Mostly medium to coarse 20 Sandy loam
gravel with sandy silt as
binding material
Gravels, generally coarse 40 Sand
with sand mostly fine to
medium
Gravel and pebbles with light 60 Sandy loam
clay as binding material, at
some locations light clay and
coarse sand at same depth
Silt, fine sand, some light - Sandy loam
clay without pebbles. Some
gravel lenses of 1-5 cm thick

m e a s u r e m e n t s o f s t o n e v o l u m e , at d e p t h s 0 . 0 - 0 . 3 a n d 0 . 3 - 0 . 6 m d e p t h , y i e l d e d
v a l u e s o f 59 a n d 5 5 % , respectively. T h e s e v i s u a l o b s e r v a t i o n s a n d m e a s u r e -
m e n t s are in a g r e e m e n t w i t h t h e m e a s u r e m e n t s o f W i l l i a m s o n (1987) a n d
estimates by BMIADP-PPC (1985) w h i c h i n d i c a t e t h a t u p t o 5 0 % o f t h e
soil c o n s i s t e d o f p a r t i c l e s l a r g e r t h a n 2 m m . T h e r e f o r e , t h e soil p r o f i l e in
182 J.M.H. HENDRICKX ET A[

moisture content EFFECT OF STONES ON MOISTURE RETENTION

in cm3/cm 3
0.50 - -
[
~--- "[ ................ SAND %folstonel --7 lOAM ]

% of stones i
0.40' --~ . . . . . . q

~'20.~
0.30 ~. - -~-. . . . . . 4- .............. ~ --- ............. ! . . . . . . . . .

,~6o~ I ....
F

°i ....~ '~ [
L............... J...... ~ .... ......

0,50 - ~T ................ T ........

I [ SANDY LOAM

I
!i
ik--20
o,o ,O-iX,, ....,_-
\\ J
i
o.2o~ I ~J \\ . . . . 4-
]
4

010

0
10 0 101 10 2 10 3 10 4 10 5 10 0 101 10 2 10 3 10 4 10 5
pressure head
m cm

F i g . 2. S o i l - m o i s t u r e r e t e n t i o n c u r v e s f o r f o u r s t a n d a r d soils.
 o 5'8 0
©
Z

f "4
E ,yY
g %
e'~ Z
g
%

%
y R
z

a ~
8 0 C~
--n ~
N

% 0 ©
2 Z

oZ ~
--
e~
0
e~ Z
C
% I t-I
-'-I

%
q
8 t~/~,~
~, ~ s
P~ ~ ~ p:,° ~-~
i

L~
184 J.M.H. HENDRICKX E T A [

Table 1 is considered to be representative of the deep alluvial fan soil at the

Ziargai pilot project.

Soil physical characteristics

Comparison of the 12 soil samples with the 'Staring Catalogue' (W6sten et

al., 1987), revealed that the Ziargai soil layers could best be described by soil
types sand (01), boulder clay (06), sandy loam (09), and silty loam (015),
where codes 01, 06, 09, and 015 refer to the codes used in the catalogue.
Therefore, the water retention and hydraulic conductivity curves tbr sand,
boulder clay, sandy loam, and silty loam have been transformed into curves
for stony soils, with stone volumes of 20, 40, and 60%, respectively, by
applying eqns. (5) and (6). Because boulder clay is not a correct description
for the Zairgai soil type in question, it is referred to as loam.
This procedure yielded the curves which are used for the computer
simulation and for the steady-state analytical approach. The water retention
curves are presented in Fig. 2 and the hydraulic conductivity curves in Fig. 3.
Note that these soils, which are representative of the soil layers in Table 1,
DEPTH
IN METRES
!
! ]:;:i~::* ~ i

,olI
r
v
7

SOIL MATERIAL
loam
silty loam
30~
p- ~ sandy loam
sand

PERCENTAGE OF STONES
I-~ 0%
[ • • ',2o
40%
r ~ 6 0 %
50 L- 1
Fig. 4. Representative soil profile in a]luvJa] fan.
GROUNDWATERRECHARGETHROUGHSTONYSOILS 185

TABLE 2

Travel time of recharge water (years) calculated with a steady-state approach and a transient
computer model in soils without stones

Net Profile Travel time (years)

infiltration depth
(cm year l (m) Sand Loam Sandy Silty
loam loam

40 25 (5) 6 (4) 6 (5) 9 (6) 5

50 ( l l ) 12 12 18 ll
75 (17) 17 17 26 16
100 (23) 23 23 35 21
80 25 4 3 5 4
50 8 7 10 7
75 12 10 15 11
100 15 13 20 14
120 25 3 2 4 3
50 6 5 7 5
75 9 7 10 8
100 12 9 14 l0

Numbers in parentheses refer to calculations with transient model.

cover a wide range of hydraulic conductivity and soilwater retention.

Saturated conductivity varies from 100 cm day- 1 in the sand to 2.5cm day- 1
in the loam with 40% stones. The volumetric soilwater content at a pressure
head of - 100cm varies from 8 vol. % in sand with 40% stones to 38 vol. %
in silty loam, with no stones.
It should be emphasized that the curves presented are only best estimates
of soil physical characteristics for Ziargai fan soils, based on limited data. The
actual characteristics may deviate from those presented. Therefore, it will be
necessary to measure the water retention and hydraulic conductivity of these
soil layers if these characteristics appear important for evaluation of artificial
groundwater recharge.
The curves in Figs. 2 and 3 are used to construct a soil physical interpret-
ation of the representative soil profile in Table 1. Because groundwater
recharge in profiles as deep as 100m was to be simulated, the soil physical
interpretation of the representative 30-m deep soil profile was repeated 3.3
times. This approach seems justified because the geomorphological formation
of the alluvial fan between depths 0 and 400m occurred under similar
conditions. The resulting soil physical interpretation of a 100-m deep
representative soil profile is given in Fig. 4.
186 J.M.H. H E N I ) R I ( ' K X [!'[ /kl

Effect of soil type

The results of the calculations for the four standard soils are presented in
Table 2; travel time increases linearly with depth to water table and decreases
with increasing net yearly infiltration volume. The small deviations in linearity
are caused by presentation of the results in the years. The difference in travel
times is largest between sandy loam and silty loam in a 100-m deep soil profile
with a recharge of 4 0 c m y e a r ~ The water needs a 21-year travel time
through silty loam versus a 35-year travel time through sandy loam. If the
recharge amount is increased to 120 cm year ~, the travel times decrease to,
respectively, 10 and 14 years. In general, the differences in travel time become
less with increasing profile depth and increasing net infiltration rates.
The travel times predicted with the transient model in sand, loams, and
sandy loam are somewhat less than travel times predicted with the analytical
steady-state approach. In silty loam, the travel time predicted with the model
is somewhat larger than that predicted with the analytical steady-state
approach. To understand this discrepancy, two factors have to be considered:
(1) In an initially dry soil profile, i.e. dry throughout the 100-m profile
as found at the start of recharge the hydraulic gradients which drive,
groundwater recharge are larger than in a relatively moist soil, alter the
recharge has become a steady process. The effect of this increased hydraulic
gradient will be a decrease in travel times.
(2) When groundwater recharge starts in an initially dry soil profile, st
balance does not exist between the amount of water infiltrated at the soil
surface and the amount of water recharged; the reason is that part of the
infiltrated water is stored in the dry soil profile and, therefore travel times will
increase. It appears that in sand, loams and sandy loam the hydraulic gradient
effect is more important than the increase in stored soil moisture, whereas in
silty loam the converse effect occurs.
In general, agreement between two calculation methods is excellent
especially at greater depths. This means that the steady-state analytical
approach can be used to carry out calculations for a wide range of conditions,
It is also a check on the performance of the transient computer model.

Effect of stone volume

The results of the travel time calculations for the four standard soils with
60% stones are presented in Table 3. Comparison of travel times in standard
soils without and with 60% stones reveals that the stony soils shorten travel
times considerably (see Tables 2 and 3). According to eqn. (9), the travel time
decreases as the total amount of water in the profile decreases in proportion
G R O U N D W A T E R R E C H A R G E T H R O U G H STONY SOILS 187

TABLE 3

Travel time of recharge water (years) calculated with a steady-state approach and a transient
computer model in soils with 60 vol. % stones

Net Profile Travel time (years)

infiltration depth
(cm year ~) (m) Sand Loam Sandy Silty
loam loam

40 25 (2) 4 (2) 3 (3) 4 (2) 5

50 (6) 7 5 9 6
75 (9) 11 8 13 9
100 (13) 14 11 17 12
80 25 2 I 2
50 5 3 5 3
75 7 4 7 5
100 9 6 9 7
120 25 2 1 2 1
50 3 2 3 2
75 5 3 5 4
100 7 4 6 5

Numbers in parentheses refer to calculations with transient model.

to the reduction of the fine soil fraction. F o r example, a yearly net infiltration
volume of 120cm takes 10 years to reach the water table at a depth of
100m in a silty loam without stones, but only 5 years in the same soil
with 60% stones. Thus, stony soils shorten travel times for recharge
water.

Effect of in[iltration rate

The data presented in Tables 2 and 3 show that the differences in travel
times depend less on soil type than on infiltration rate. F o r example, an
infiltration rate of 4 0 c m y e a r I takes between 11 and 17 years to reach the
water table in, respectively, a loam clay and sandy loam soil with 60 vol. %
stones; increasing the net infiltration rate to 120 cm year ~reduces these travel
times to 4 and 6 years, respectively. Therefore, travel times appear less
sensitive to differences in soil physical characteristics than to differences in
annual infiltration volumes. This lack of sensitivity to soil physical charac-
teristics indicates that estimation of soil physical characteristics on the basis
of texture data appears justified for this study.
188 J.M.H. HENI)RICKX E'] AI

TABLE 4

Travel time of recharge water {years) calculated with a transient computer modet O N Z A T in
the representative soil profile

Net infiltration Profile depth Travel time (years) in

(cm y e a r - ~) (m } representative soil profile

40 25 5.5
5O 10.3
75 14.3
100 18.3
80 25 2.6
5{) 6.6
75 9.0
100 11.3
120 25 1.6
5O 4.3
75 6.O
100 7.7
180 25 1.6
5O 4.2
75 5.9
t00 7.6

Groundwater recharge in the representative profile

Table 4 presents the travel times calculated with the transient simulation
model O N Z A T for the representative soil profile. The same features as before
are recognized: travel times increase with profile depth and decrease with
amount of net yearly infiltration. When the net infiltration rate increases from
120 to 180 cm year ~the travel time does not decrease much, because for these
high rates the conductivity of the stony soils becomes a bottleneck. However,
because (1) the travel times presented in Table 4 have the same order ot"
magnitude as travel times presented in Tables 2 and 3, and (2) travel times
depend more on net infiltration than on soil type, it is concluded that the
travel times presented in Table 4 are indicative of travel times which can be
expected in the Ziargai fan.

Effect of ponding depth and infiltration rate on recharge eOqciency

The effectiveness o f a recharge mechanism depends on the ratio between net

total infiltration and evaporation losses. The evaporation losses depend on the
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE THROUGH STONY SOLES 189

duration of infiltration and, therefore, on the infiltration rate. Equation (7)

describes the relationship between ponding depth, evaporation losses, infiltra-
tion rate and net total infiltration. An appropriate lower boundary for the
infiltration rate in the artificial recharge schemes considered in the Quetta
Valley is 5 cm day-i (Halcrow-ULG, 1988b) and for the open water evapora-
tion 0.2 cm day- 1.
Appropriate upper boundaries for these factors are 5 5 0 c m d a y ]
(Halcrow-ULG, 1988a) and 1.0cmday -1, so that ratio (r = i/e) varies
between 5.0 and 2750. With the method of Boesten (1986), the maximum
cumulative bare soil evaporation after all the water has infiltrated, is estimated
to be about 6 cm for Quetta Valley conditions. Because, under most circum-
stances, the factor r will be 20 or more, the factor r/(r + 1) in eqn. (7) varies
between 0.95 and 1.0, so that the net total infiltration depends mostly on the
depth of water applied for recharge in relation to the cumulative soil evapora-
tion.
For comparison of the different systems for artificial groundwater recharge,
a number of cases has been evaluated with eqn. (7). Assuming a maximum
open water evaporation rate of 1 cm day-1 and a cumulative soil evaporation
of 6 cm, the total net infiltration was calculated for seven different depths of
ponding and for three different infiltration rates: 5, 40, and 180 cm day ~. An
infiltration rate of 5 cm day-I is found in silt accumulations behind delayed
action dams, a rate of 40 cm day-~ is the design rate for ottline systems with
lagoons, and a rate of 180 cm day- ~is expected for infiltration during shorter

TABLE 5

Total infiltration (cm) by different ponding depths and infiltration rates calculated with eqn. (7).
Open water evaporation rate was taken as 1 cm d a y - ~, and cumulative soil evaporation as 6 cm

Depth of Total infiltration (cm)

ponding
(cm) Infiltration rate (cmday ~)
5 40 180

(cm) (%) (cm) (%) (cm) (%)

10 2 (20) 4 (40) 4 (40)

30 19 (63) 23 (77) 24 (80)
100 77 (77) 92 (92) 93 (93)
150 119 (79) 140 (93) 143 (95)
180 144 (80) 170 (94) 173 (96)
300 244 (81) 287 (96) 292 (97)
600 494 (82) 579 (97) 591 (99)

In parentheses total infiltration as percentage of depth of ponding.

190 J.M.H. HFNDRICKX [ i k i

periods of time by shallow water depths as will be the case in Ziargai and in
contour trenches. The results of these calculations are presented in Table 5.
For infiltration rates above 40 cm day J total infiltration is not much affected
by infiltration rate; infiltration proceeds so fast that only a small percentage
of the applied water is lost by open water and soil evaporation. However, an
infiltration rate of only 5 cm day Laffects total infiltration considerably and
even large ponding depths result in barely 80% of the applied water being
recharged. For infiltration rates above 4 0 c m d a y -~ and ponding depths of"
more than 100cm, always more than 90% of the applied water is recharged.
It is concluded that systems with ponding depths above 150 cm will recharge
at least 80% of the applied water. Therefore, delayed action dams and offline
systems with lagoons are the most effective methods for artificial groundwater
recharge on alluvial fans with stony soils in the Quetta Valley.

CONCLUSIONS

This case study of an alluvial fan with deep stony soils in the Quetta Valley
(Pakistan) showed that evaluation of groundwater recharge is possible on the
basis of scanty soil texture and soil profile data. The analysis of groundwater
recharge in four homogeneous standard soils revealed that the travel time of
the recharged water increases with the depth of the water table and decreases
with increasing infiltration rate. in addition, in deep profiles at large inlil-
tration rates, differences in travel time between standard soils become less. In
stony soils, travel times are reduced almost proportionally with the volume of
stones and, as a consequence, differences in travel time between standard soils
are reduced by almost 50%.
Calculations carried out with the transient model ONZAT and calculations
with the steady-state analytical approach yielded travel times which agree
reasonably well, especially at deeper depths in standard soils with 60 vol. '!o
stones. This indicates that in this study the steady-state approach can be used
to compare a wide range of conditions.
Travel times proved to be less sensitive to differences in soil physical
characteristics than to differences in annual infiltration volumes. Therefore,
estimation of soil physical characteristics from soil texture data alone appears
justified for this study, although this may not necessarily be valid for other
cases. Calculations of travel time in the representative soil profile with the
transient simulation model O N Z A T yielded the same features as found in the
standard soils. The travel times on the Ziargai fan in the Quetta Valley vary
between 1.6 years through a soil profile of 25m at an infiltration rate of
120cmyear ~ to 18.3 years through a soil profile of 100m at an infiltration
rate of 40cmyear ~.
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE THROUGH STONY SOLES 191

W h e n the infiltration rate o f the soil exceeds 40 cm d a y -~ , the v o l u m e o f

w a t e r r e c h a r g e d d e p e n d s for the m o s t p a r t o n the d e p t h o f p o n d i n g , U n d e r
these c o n d i t i o n s , if the d e p t h o f p o n d i n g is m o r e t h a n 1 m, the r e c h a r g e
efficiency will be at least 9 0 % .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

T h e a u t h o r s wish to t h a n k the N e t h e r l a n d s a n d Baluchistan G o v e r n m e n t s

for financing a n d a r r a n g i n g the s t u d y u n d e r the bilateral a r r a n g e m e n t for the
Baluchistan M i n o r I r r i g a t i o n a n d A g r i c u l t u r a l D e v e l o p m e n t Project.
T h e a u t h o r s are i n d e b t e d to Ir. Cees Balk o f the N e t h e r l a n d s E m b a s s y ,
I s l a m a b a d , for his assistance and e n c o u r a g e m e n t .
T h e fieldwork w o u l d n o t have been possible w i t h o u t the assistance o f N i s a r
A h m e d , K h u d a d K h a j j a k a n d Shakeel A z a m all o f B M I A D P . T h e i r
e n t h u s i a s m , even w o r k i n g long h o u r s in the sun d u r i n g the h o l y m o n t h o f
R a m a d a n , was very m u c h appreciated.

REFERENCES

Bannink, M.H., Hendrickx, J.M.H. and Bles, B.J., 1988. Quantitative evaluation of large areas
in respect of vulnerability to moisture deficit. Soil Surv. Land Eval., 8: 47-63.
Bashir-U1-Haque, 1986. Watertable behaviour in Northern part of Quetta Valley. Seminar on
Water Resource Development in Baluchistan, 21-23 April 1986, Quetta, 13 pp.
Bloemen, G.W., 1980. Calculations of hydraulic conductivities of soils from texture and
organic matter content. Z. Pflanzenernaehr. Bodenkd., 143: 581-605.
BMIADP Quetta, Pilot Project Cell, 1985. Ziargai Groundwater Recharge Pilot Scheme.
Detailed design report. Baluchistan Minor Irrigation and Agricultural Development
Project, Publ. No. 3, Quetta, 230 pp.
Boesten, J.J.T.I., 1986. Behaviour of Herbicides in Soil: Simulation and Experimental
Assessment. Institute for Pesticide Research, Wageningen, 262 pp.
Bouwer, H. and Rice, R.C., 1984. Effect of stones on hydraulic properties of vadose zones.
ASAE Winter Meeting, New Orleans, LA, Paper No. 84-2515, 11 pp.
Brakensiek, D.L., Engleman, R.L. and Rawls, W.J., 1981. Variation within texture classes of
soil water parameters. Trans. ASAE, 24: 335-339.
Caro, R. and Eagleson, P.S., 1981. Estimating aquifer recharge due to rainfall. J. Hydrol., 53:
185-211.
De Ridder, N.A. and Erez, A., 1977. Optimum use of water resources. International Institute
for Land Reclamation and Improvement/ILRI, Wageningen, Publ. 21,250 pp.
De Vries, J.J., 1984. Holocene depletion and active recharge of the Kalahari groundwater
--- a review and an indicative model. J, Hydrol., 70: 221-232.
Feddes, R.A., Kowalik, P.J. and Zaradny, H., 1978. Simulation of field water use and crop
yield. Simulation Monograph, PUDOC, Wageningen, 188 pp.
Gee, G.W. and Hillel, D., 1988. Groundwater recharge in arid regions: review and critique of
estimation methods. Hydrol. Process., 2: 255-266.
Halcrow-ULG, 1987. Ziargai Artificial Groundwater Project Inception Report. BMIADP,
Government of Baluchistan, 55 pp.
] 9 3- J.MH. HENDRI('KX [| A~

Halcrow-ULG, 1988a. Artificial Groundwater Recharge 1. Hydrological and Econom~

Aspects. BMIADP, Government of Baluchistan.
Halcrow-ULG, 1988b. Artificial Groundwater Recharge 2. Soil Physical Aspects. BMIADP,
Government of Baluchistan, 60 pp.
Hills, R.G., Hudson, D.B., Porro, I. and Wierenga, P.J., 1988. Modelling one-dimensional
infiltration at the Jordana test facility. In: P.J. Wierenga and D. Bachelet (Eds.1, ValidatioE~
of Flow and Transport Models for the Unsaturated Zone, Conf. Proc. 23-26 May, Rvidos(~
pp. 147-157.
Kelly, B.I., 1985. Evaluating groundwater recharge potential in an arid climate: Sultanate ~,i
Oman. Bull. Assoc. Eng. Geol., 22: 13-16.
Memon, B.A., Kazi, A., Powell, W.J. and Bazuhair, A.S., 1986. Estimation of groundwatet
recharge in Wadi al-Yammaniyah, Saudi Arabia. Environ. Geol. Water Sci., 8:153 I ~tl
Puckett, W.E., Dane, J.H. and Hajek, B.F., 1985. Physical and mineralogical data to determine
soil hydraulic properties. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 49: 831-836.
Simmers. I. (Ed.), 1988. Estimation of Natural Groundwater Recharge. Reidet, l)ordrecht.
510pp.
Sophocleous, M. and McAllister, J.A., 1987. Basin-wide water-balance modelling wilh
emphasis on spatial distribution of ground water recharge. Water Resouv. Bull.. 23:
997-1010.
Sutton, S.E., 1987. Changing drainage patterns in a semi-arid area and their effects t,~
groundwater resources. Earth Surf. Process. Landforms, 12: 567-570.
Techno-Consult, 1988. Wuch Mangai groundwater recharge pilot scheme. Detailed engi~a-
eering design rep., Vol. 1 (draft), 160pp.
Van Drecht, G., 1983. Simulation of Unsaturated Transient Water Flow and Solute Franspor!
National Institute for Public Health and Environmental Hygiene, Bilthoven. Rcp
No. 83-11 (in Dutcb).
Williamson, R., 1987. Impact of Watershed Management Works on Hydrology Near Quctt~
Shedden Pacific Pry. Ltd., South Melbourne, Vie., 101 pp.
W6sten, J.H.M. and Van Genuchten, M.Th., 1988. Using texture and other soil properties ~,~
predict the unsaturated soil hydraulic properties. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 52: 1762-1770.
W6sten, J.H.M., Bouma, J. and Stoffelsen, G . H , 1985. Use of soil survey data for regional st,il
water simulation models. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 49: 1238-1244.
W6sten, J.H.M., Bannink, M.H. and Beuving, .I., 1987. Water Retention and Hydraulic
Conductivity Curves of Dutch So~ls: The Staring Catalogue. Institute for Integrated Land.
Soil and Water Research, Wageningen, Stiboka-rapport 1932, 75 pp. (in Dutch).