Module IV

Ground water hydrology

30% of fresh water exist in the form
of ground water
Forms of subsurface water
(water in the soil mantle)
 Forms of subsurface water
Saturated zone OR ground water zone
All pores of soil are filled with water
Water table is its upper limit and it is at
atmospheric pressure
Zone of aeration
Soil water zone lies close to ground surface
Capillary fringe water held by capillary action
Intermediate zone -
 Saturated formation
Aquifer- stores and yields water in sufficient
quantity. Eg. Sand, gravel
Aquitard cant store sufficient quantity, but
through which seepage is possible. Eg. Sandy clay
Aquiclude can store, but impermeable.
Eg. clay
Aquifuge neither porous nor permeable
Eg. Rock
Confined and unconfined aquifers
Unconfined aquifer (Water table aquifer) is one in which a
free water surface or water table exists.
Recharge takes place through infiltration
A well driven into an unconfined aquifer will indicate a static
water level corresponding to water table level at that location
Confined aquifer (artesian aquifer) is an aquifer confined
between two impervious beds such as aquicludes or
aquifuges
Recharge takes place through only an area where it is exposed
at the ground surface
Water will be under pressure and hence piezometric level will
be at higher level
Leaky aquifer A confined aquifer is called a leaky aquifer if
either or both of its confining beds are aquitards.
Perched aquifer
Effluent and Influent streams
 Aquifer properties
Porosity volume voids/total volume
Specific yield volume of water that can be
extracted by the force of gravity from unit
volume of aquifer water
Specific retention fraction of water held back in
the aquifer
Porosity = Specific yield + Specific retention
 Darcys law
velocity of flow in a porous medium
v=ki
V is apparent velocity of seepage = Q/A
Q = discharge
A = c/s area of porous medium
i is hydraulic gradient
h is piezometric head
s is distance measured in the direction of flow
Q= kiA
K is coefficient of permeability or hydraulic
conductivity
 Coefficient of permeability
Reflects combined effects of porous medium
and fluid properties
Laminar flow through conduit (Hagen-Poiseuille
flow)

Mean particle size of porous medium

Unit weight of fluid

Dynamic viscosity of fluid

Shape factor, depends on porosity, packing, shape of grains

 Transmissibility
For an aquifer of unit width and thickness B,
discharge under a unit hydraulic gradient is
T= KB
T is transmissibility
Stratification
 At a certain point in an unconfined aquifer of 3
km2 area, the water table was at an elevation of
102.00 m. Due to natural recharge in a wet
season, its level rose to 103.20m. A volume of
1.5 Mm3 of water was then pumped out of the
aquifer causing the water table to reach a level of
101.20m. Assuming the water table in the entire
aquifer to respond in a similar way, estimate
a. Specific yield of the aquifer
b. Volume of recharge during the wet season
a. Volume pumped out = area drop in water
table specific yield
1.5 106 = 3 106 (103.20-101.20) Sy
Sy =0.25

b. Recharge volume = 0.25 (103.20-102.00) 3

106 = 0.9 Mm3
 Storage coefficient (Storativity)
Volume of water released by a column of
confined aquifer of unit cross sectional area
under a unit decrease in the piezometric head

Storage coefficient
Unit weight of water
Porosity
Compressibility of pore water
Compressibility of the pores
Thickness of aquifer
 Confined ground water flow equation

Basic differential equation governing unsteady ground

water flow in a homogeneous isotropic confined aquifer.
S and T are called formation coefficients
If flow is steady,
This equation is called Laplace equation
 Confined ground water flow between two
water bodies

Steady flow in x direction only

Equation of hydraulic grade line
By Darcys law, discharge per unit width of aquifer is

If h0 = 35m , h1 = 15m, L=3km, B= 10m and K = 10m/day,

estimate the seepage discharge from river A to B per
unit length of the rivers.
 Unconfined flow by Dupuits assumptions
Laplace equation in h is applicable for steady flow of both
confined and unconfined aquifers
In unconfined aquifers, the free surface of the water table,
known as phreatic surface has the boundary condition of
constant pressure equal to atmospheric pressure
Line representing water table is also a stream line
These boundary conditions cause difficulties in analytical
solutions of steady unconfined flow problems by using
Laplace equation in h
Hence simplified assumptions of Dupuits came
The curvature of the free surface is very small, so that the
stream lines at all sections can be assumed to be horizontal
The hydraulic grad line is equal to the free surface slope
and does not vary with depth
 Steady unconfined flow governed by
Dupuits assumptions

Unconfined ground water flow

without recharge Unconfined ground water flow with
recharge
 Wells
Cone of depression due
to the radial flow into the
well through the aquifer,
water table assumes a
conical shape
Drawdown drop in
water table elevation at
any point from its
previous static level
Areal extent of cone of
depression is area of
influence
Its radial extent is radius
of influence
 At a constant rate of pumping, the drawdown
curve develops gradually with time
This phase is called unsteady flow as the
water table near the well changes with time
On prolonged pumping, drawdown attains
constant position and the well is known to
operate under steady flow conditions
As soon as pumping is stopped, a gradual
accumulation of storage till original static level
is reached and this stage is called
recuperation or recovery. It is an unsteady
phenomenon.
 Steady flow into a well
Confined flow (Thiems equation)
At a radial distance r
from the well, if h is
piezometric head,
velocity of flow by
Darcys law is
If drawdown at the observation wells are given,

At the edge of the zone of influence,

At the well wall

Assumptions
1. Complete penetration
of well into the aquifer
2. Steady state of flow
 A 30cm diameter well completely penetrates a
confined aquifer of permeability 45m/day. The
length of the strainer is 20m. Under steady state
of pumping the drawdown at the well was found
to be 3m and the radius of influence was 300m.
Calculate the discharge.

rw=0.15 m K=45/2460 60 B=20m

sw=3m R=300m
= 0.02583 m3/s
The discharge from a fully penetrating well
operating under steady state in a confined
aquifer of 35m thickness is 2000 lpm. Values of
drawdown at two observation wells 12 and 120
m away from the well are 3 and 0.3 m
respectively. Determine the permeability of the
aquifer.
 Unconfined flow
Steady flow from a well completely penetrating an
unconfined aquifer
Curved free surface is present and stream lines are
not strictly radial straight lines
To obtain a solution, Dupuits assumptions are
used
For small inclinations at the free surface, stream
lines can be assumed to be horizontal
Hydraulic gradient is the slope of the free surface
and does not vary with depth
At any radial distance r, the velocity of flow into the well is
If h is the height of water table above aquifer bed at that location

Integrating between limits r1 and r2

 A 30cm well completely penetrates an
unconfined aquifer of saturated depth 40m.
After a long period of pumping at a steady rate
of 1500 lpm, the drawdown in two observation
wells 25 and 75 m from the pumping well were
found to be 3.5 and 2 m respectively. Determine
the transmissibility of the aquifer. What is the
drawdown at the pumping well?

Q=150010-3/60=0.025 m3/s
h2=40-2=38 r2=75m
h1=40-3.5=36.5 r1=25m
Solving, K=7.82310-5 m/s
T=KH=3.1310-3 m2/s

At the pumping well, rw=0.15m

Solving, hw=28.49 m
Sw=40-28.49 = 11.51m
 Open wells
They are sunk to a depth of 10m and lined.
Flow is through the joints and other opening and at
the bottom or lower portions of the well
When the water in an open well is pumped out, the
water level lowers
Difference between water table elevation and water
level inside the well is called depression head (H)
Flow into the well (Q) is proportional to H

K0 is the proportionality constant which depends on

the characteristics of the aquifer and area of the well
K0 represents discharge per unit drawdown and it is
called as specific capacity
 Well loss
Total drawdown Sw can be divided into 3
components
Head loss required to cause laminar porous
media flow called formation loss SwL
Drop of piezometric head required to sustain
turbulent flow in the region nearest to the
well, Swt
Head loss through the well screen and casing
Swc

C2Q2 is termed as well loss

 Yield of an open well
Constant level pumping test
Recuperation test
 Constant level pumping test

A pump with a suitable regulating

arrangement is used
Water level is depressed by h
Maintain this level by adjusting pumping
Amount of water pumped in one hour gives
the yield of the well
 Recuperation test
Water level is depressed
to any level below normal
and pumping is stopped
Time taken for the water
to recuperate to the
normal level is noted

K/A is known as specific yield of a well

During a recuperation test, the water in an open
well was depressed by pumping by 2.5 m and it
recuperated 1.8 m in 80 minutes. Find yield from
a well of 4 m diameter under a depression head
of 3 m.

T=80/60 hrs
h1 = 2.5
h2 = 2.5-1.8 = 0.7 m
K/A = 0.955 /h
A= /4(4)2
Q=(K/A).A.H =36 m3/h
 Seawater intrusion
Seawater intrusion is the movement of seawater
into fresh water aquifers due to natural processes
or human activities. Seawater intrusion is caused
by decreases in groundwater levels or by rises in
seawater levels.