Lecture 2: Groundwater

Engineering
Darcy’s Law
2 types of groundwater
GROUNDWATER VS SURFACE WATER
GROUNDWATER ANG GEOTECHNICAL
PROBLEM
GROUNDWATER AND FOUNDATION
Groundwater Movement : A closer look…
 Many factors influence groundwater movement
such as hydraulic head, hydraulic gradient, and
velocity which was based on Darcy's Law. Other
influencing factors include soil and aquifer
properties, aquifer type, geology, and topography.

 Hydraulic Head
 H is a measure of the mechanical energy that
causes groundwater to flow. Hydraulic head (h) can
be calculated two ways:
 1. the sum of pressure head (hp) and elevation
head (z), or h=(hp + z).
 2. the difference between the land surface
elevation and depth to water, or h=(land elevation
- depth to water)
 The pressure head (hp) is the height that water rises
in a piezometer (a well that is open only at the top
and bottom of its casing). The elevation head (z) is
the elevation of the bottom of the piezometer or
measuring point in feet above sea level.
Hydraulic gradient
Example 1
Example 2
Calculate darcy’s law
Conclusion
Two basic functions:
• 1. Stores – reservoir.
- Water is stored between pore spaces of
sediment or in fault, fractures or solutions
cavities of rock.

• 2. Transmits water – conduit system.

- Gw is transmitted from areas of recharge to
areas of discharge when these void spaces are
connected
• The following properties of the aquifer are
required for study of groundwater hydrology:

1. Porosity
2. Coefficient of permeability
3. Specific Yield
4. Specific Retention
5. Transmissivity
6. Specific Storage
7. Storage Coefficient
What happens to water when it is added to the soil?
 • Porosity: Percent of
Porosity
volume that is void
space.

– Sediment: Determined
by how tightly packed
30% and how clean (silt and
clay), (usually between
20% and 40%)
5%

– Rock: Determined by
size and number of
fractures (most often
very low, <5%) 1%
 volume of voids of a sample
n
total volume of the sample

n is the porosity (percentage)

Vv is the volume of void space in a unit volume of earth material (L3, cm3 or
m3)
V is the unit volume of earth material, including both voids and solids (L3,
cm3 or m3)
• The porosity of well-rounded sediments, which have
been sorted so that they are all about the same size, is
independent of particle size, depending upon the
packing.
• Well-rounded coarse-grained sediments usually have
higher porosity than fine-grained sediments, because the
grains don’t fit together well
Relation Between Texture and Porosity A. Well –Sorted Sand Having High
Porosity; B. Poorly- Sorted Sand Having Low Porosity; C. Fractured Crystalline
Rocks (Granite); D. Soluble Rock-Forming Material (Limestone).
 Lists representative porosity ranges from various geologic
materials.

Range of Values of Porosity (after Freeze & Cherry, 1979)

Formation n (%)
Unconsolidated deposits
Gravel 25 - 40
Sand 25 - 50
Silt 35 - 50
Clay 40 - 70
Rocks
Fractured basalt 5 - 50
Karst limestone 5 - 50
Sandstone 5 - 30
Limestone, dolomite 0 - 20
Shale 0 – 10
Fractured crystalline rock 0 - 10
Dense crystalline rock 0–5
Coefficient of Permeability (K)
The capacity of a geological formation,
whether consolidated or not, to allow
the transmission of a fluid under the
influence of a hydraulic gradient

Two measures can be used to quantify

permeability:
1. hydraulic conductivity
2. intrinsic permeability
Hydraulic conductivity, K

- Volume of mobile water in m3 transmitted

perpendicularly to the flow direction in unit time (s)
through a unit cross-section in m2, under the effect of
a unit hydraulic gradient.

- Hydraulic conductivity has the dimensions of velocity

and is expressed in m/s

Intrinsic permeability, k

- Volume of liquid (in m3) having unit kinematic

viscosity that passes through a unit cross-section
area (m2) perpendicular to the flow direction under
the effect of a unit hydraulic gradient.

- It is expressed in m2 or in Darcys
 Permeability
• Permeability is a function of the
sizes of particles, pores, and the
way they are arranged.
• Permeability is how quickly water
will flow through the soil
• The straighter and larger the
pores, the faster the permeability.
• Clays tend to reduce the
permeability of soil material due to
the small pores.
 Permeability
• Permeability: Ease
with which water will
flow through a porous
material
– Sediment: Proportional
to sediment size
• GravelExcellent
• SandGood Excellent
• SiltModerate
• ClayPoor
– Rock: Proportional to
fracture size and
number. Can be good to
excellent Poor
 Permeability – Water Transmission

• Sandy soils will

have fast water
transmission
and low water
retention
• Clay soil will
have slow water
transmission
and high water
retention.
• Hydraulic
Conductivity
of bedrock is
controlled by

– Size of fracture openings

– Spacing of fractures
– Interconnectedness of fractures
 Porosity and
Permeability
• Permeability is not
proportional to
porosity.

30% 5%

1%
 Hydraulic Conductivity for Unconsolidated and Hard Rocks

Medium K (m/day)
Unconsolidated deposits
Clay 10-8 – 10-2
Fine sand 1-5
Medium sand 5 - 20
Coarse sand 20 - 102
Gravel 102 - 103
Sand and gravel mixes 5 - 102
Clay, sand, gravel mixes (e.g. till) 10-3 – 10-1
Hard Rocks
Chalk (very variable according to fissures if not soft) 30.0
Sandstone 3.1
Limestone 0.94
Dolomite 0.001
Granite, weathered 1.4
Schist 0.2
 K Medium

Dependent on location heterogeneous

constant homogeneous

K A , K B , KC , K D are _ not _ equal heterogeneity

K (at a point) independent of isotropic

direction of measurement
K (at a point) varies with direction anisotropic
 Transmissivity
• The rate which groundwater flows horizontally through an aquifer
• The discharge capacity of a well in an aquifer depends on the hydraulic
conductivity K and the thickness of the aquifer

T  Kh
Unconfined aquifer

T  Kb
Confined aquifer
 Classification of Transmissivity
Magnitude Class Designation Specific Groundwater Expected Q
(m2/day) Capacity supply (m3/day) if
(m2/day) potential s=5m

> 1000 I Very high > 864 -Regional > 4320

Importance
100-1000 II High 86.4 – 864 -Lesser regional 432 – 4320
Importance
10-100 III Intermediate 8.64 – 86.4 -Local water 43.2 – 432
supply
1-10 IV Low 0.864 – 8.64 -Private 4.32 – 43.2
consumption
0.1-1 V Very low 0.0864 – 0.864 -Limited 0.423 – 4.32
consumption
<0.1 VI Imperceptible < 0.0864 -Very difficult < 0.432
to utilize for
local water
supply
 Specific Yield, Sy
-The volume of water, expressed as a percentage of the
total volume of the saturated aquifer, that can be drained by
gravity.
- The water removed from unit volume of aquifer by pumping
or drainage and is expressed as percentage volume of
aquifer.
- It depends upon grain size, shape and distribution of pores
and compaction of the formation

Vw
Sy  x100%
V

S y  n  Sr Specific yield  Porosity  Specific retention

• All the water stored in a water bearing stratum cannot be
drained out by gravity or by pumping, because a portion of
the water is rigidly held in the voids of the aquifer by
molecular and surface tension forces
Specific Yield in Percent (after Freeze & Cherry, 1979)

Formation Sy (range) Sy (average)

Clay 0-5 2
Sandy clay 3 - 12 7
Silt 3 - 19 18
Fine sand 10 - 28 21
Medium sand 15 - 32 26
Coarse sand 20 - 35 27
Gravelly sand 20 - 35 25
Fine gravel 21 - 35 25
Medium gravel 13 - 26 23
Coarse gravel 12 - 26 22
Limestone 14
What is storativity? The storativity of a confined aquifer (or aquitard) is defined
as the volume of water released from storage per unit surface area of a confined
aquifer (or aquitard) per unit decline in hydraulic head. Storativity is also known by
the terms coefficient of storage and storage coefficient.
In a confined aquifer (or aquitard), storativity is defined as
S = Ssb
where S is storativity [dimensionless], Ss is specific storage [L-1] and b is aquifer
(or aquitard) thickness [L]. Specific storage is the volume of water that a unit
volume of aquifer (or aquitard) releases from storage under a unit decline in head
by the expansion of water and compression of the soil or rock skeleton.
What is specific storage? Specific storage is related to the compressibilities of
the aquifer (or aquitard) and water as follows:
Ss = ρg(α + neβ)
where ρ is mass density of water [M/L3], g is gravitational acceleration (= 9.8
m/sec2) [L/T2], α is aquifer (or aquitard) compressibility [T2L/M], ne is effective
porosity [dimensionless], and β is compressibility of water (= 4.4x10-10 m sec2/kg
or Pa-1) [T2L/M].
What is specific storage? Specific storage is related to the compressibilities of
the aquifer (or aquitard) and water as follows:
Ss = ρg(α + neβ)
where ρ is mass density of water [M/L3], g is gravitational acceleration (= 9.8
m/sec2) [L/T2], α is aquifer (or aquitard) compressibility [T2L/M], ne is effective
porosity [dimensionless], and β is compressibility of water (= 4.4x10-10 m sec2/kg or
Pa-1) [T2L/M].
 Specific Storage, Ss
• Specific Storage (Ss) is the amount of water per unit
volume of a saturated formation that is stored or expelled
from storage owing to compressibility of the mineral
skeleton and the pore water per unit change in head.
This is also called the elastic storage coefficient. The
concept can be applied to both aquifers and confining
units.
• The specific storage is given by the expression (Jacob
1940, 1950; Cooper 1966):

S = coefficient of storage w = unit weight of water

S   w b  n  n = porosity of aquifer = 1/Kw, Kw = 2.1 GN/m2

b = saturated thick. of aquifer  = 1/Es
Values of Specific Storage assuming Porosity equal to 15 % (after Younger,1993)

Typical Lithologies Specific Storage (m-1)

Clay 9.81 x 10-3
Silt, fine sand 9.82 x 10-4
Medium sand, fine 9.87 x 10-5
Coarse sand, medium gravel, highly fissured 1.05 x 10-5
Coarse gravel, moderately fissured rock 1.63 x 10-6
Unfissured rock 7.46 x 10-7
SOURCE: (Younger, 1993)

In a confined aquifer, the head may decline-yet the potentiometric surface remains
above the unit. Although water is released from storage, the aquifer remains
saturated. Specific storage (Ss) of a confined aquifer is the storage coefficient per
unit-saturated thickness of the aquifer. Thus,

S
Ss  where, b is the thickness of aquifer
b
Storage in elastic confined aquifer
 Storage Coefficient, S

• The storage coefficient is also called Storativity.

• The storage coefficient is a dimensionless as it is the
ratio of the volume of water released from original unit
volume.
• The water-yielding capacity of an aquifer can be expressed
in terms of its storage coefficient.
• In unconfined aquifers, Storativity is the same as the
specific yield of the aquifer.
• In confined aquifer, Storativity is the result of compression
of the aquifer and expansion of the confined water when
the head (pressure) is reduced during pumping.
-The volume of water discharged from a unit prism, i.e., a vertical column of
aquifer standing on a unit area (1m2) as water level (piezometric level in
confined aquifer-artesian conditions) falls by a unit depth (1 m).
-The storage coefficient for confined aquifers range from 0.00005 to 0.005
and for water table aquifers 0.05 to 0.30.
-Under artesian conditions, when the piezometric surface is lowered by
pumping, water is released from storage by the compression of the water
bearing material (aquifer) and by expansion of the water itself. Thus the
coefficient of storage is a function of the elasticity of water and the aquifer
skeleton and is given by (Jacob, 1950) as
Thank You