OVERVIEW

 Introduction
 Sources Of Ground Water
 Discharge Of Ground Water
 Water Table
 Aquifers
 Ground Hydraulics
 Pumping Tests
Introduction

Water that collects or flows beneath the earth’s

surface, filling the porous spaces in soil ,sediment, and
rocks. Ground water originates from melting of snow
and ice and is the source of water for aquifers, springs
and wells.
Sources of Ground water
 Precipitation seeping through Pores and cracks in
ground
 Rain and melted snow soak.
Types of ground water
There are three main types of ground water.

 Meteoric Water
 Connate Water
 Juvenile Water
Meteoric water
Most groundwater is meteoric water. Other forms
normally do not play a significant role in
the hydrologic cycle. Meteoric water is a hydrological
term for long term standing water in the ground.
Non meteoric water
Non-meteoric forms of groundwater are connate
water and magmatic water, also termed juvenile water.

Connate water is trapped in rock stratum at the time of

formation. Because rock containing connate water is
typically formed from ocean sediments, connate water
is normally saline.

Magmatic water rises from great depth

accompanying magma intrusion and
affects mineralogy
Subsurface zones
Two major sub surface zones divided by a boundary
called water table.

 Vadose zone (zone of aeration) is above the water

table in which soil pores may either contain air or
water.

 Phreatic zone(zone of saturation) is below the water

table where the pores are filled with water.
Vadose zone
Three moisture regions in vadose zone.

 Soil water region; ranging 10 m below soil surface, having

roots of vegetation etc. this region fluctuates in amount
due to moisture uptake from vegetation.

 Intermediet region; is a region between soil water region

and capillary fringe. Here the moisture levels remain
constant at field capacity of soil and rocks of the region.

 Capillary fringe; is the region just above the water table

where moisture rises due to capillary action.
Phreatic zone
 The phreatic zone is the area in an aquifer below the
water table in which relatively all the pores and
fractures are saturated with water. The phreatic zone
may fluctuate with changes of season and during wet
and dry periods.
Subsurface zones
Water Table
 The water table is the level at which the submarine
pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be
conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the
subsurface materials that are saturated
with groundwater in a given vicinity.

 The water table is the locus of point (in unconfined

material) where hydrostatic pressure equals
atmospheric pressure.
Aquifer
 A geologic formation which contains water and
transmits it from one point to another in quantities
sufficient to permit economic development is called
an aquifer.
Types of Aquifers
1- Confined Aquifer

2- Unconfined Aquifer
Aquifers
Confined aquifer
An aquifer which is sandwiched between two layers of less
permeable material is called confined aquifer.

 A confined aquifer is a water-bearing stratum that is

confined or overlain by a rock layer that does not transmit
water in any appreciable amount or that is impermeable.
There probably are few truly confined aquifers, because
tests have shown that the confining strata, or layers,
although they do not readily transmit water, over a period
of time contribute large quantities of water by slow.
Unconfined aquifer
 An unconfined aquifer is one that is open to receive
water from the surface, and whose water table surface
is free to fluctuate up and down, depending on the
recharge/discharge rate. There are no overlying
"confining beds" of low permeability to physically
isolate the groundwater system.
LEAKY AQUIFERS
 The levels to which the water from the confined aquifer rises
define the piezometric surface.
 The potentiometric surface can be under the top of the semi-
pervious layer, above it but under the water table of the
unconfined aquifer overlying it, or finally above the water table.
 A special case is when the potentiometric surface is above the
ground level, the well penetrating the confined aquifer being
artesian. The differences in hydraulic head between the
unconfined and the confined aquifer lead to vertical fluxes
directed from the aquifer having the upper value to the aquifer
with the lower value of the hydraulic head. The vertical water
transfer is called leakage and will thus be directed upward or
downward
Semi confined / Leaky aquifers
 RECHARGE IN UNCONFINED AQUIFERS
 Natural recharge of the unconfined aquifers is mainly
due to the downward seepage (or percolation) through
the unsaturated zone of the excess water over passing
the field capacity of the soil. Recharge can also occur
through upward seepage (leakage) from underlying
aquifers
Water Divide

 When two rivers drain an unconfined aquifer, an

underground water divide corresponding to the crest
of the water table separates the drainage areas of each
river
Recharge In Confined Aquifer
 A regional confined aquifer is directly recharged by
precipitation in the area where the aquifer crops out,
having the same characteristics as an unconfined
aquifer, Another source of recharge is the infiltration
in the same cropping out area of the runoff born on
the hillslopes during rains or snowmelt .
 Recharge in Leaky Aquifers

 The confined aquifers are recharged by direct

infiltration and percolation or by leakage. In the
case of a multi-strata aquifer, depending on the
value of the water abstraction, a confined layer
can be recharged by vertical fluxes coming from
the overlying and underlying aquifers.

 The confined aquifer denoted by 1 is

characterized by the hydraulic head H1,
where H2 is the hydraulic head of the second
confined aquifer; thus there will be a flux
directed from the confined aquifer no.2 toward
the aquifer no.1. At the same time, the hydraulic
head H1 is under the water table of the
unconfined aquifer, which explains the
downward flux from the unconfined aquifer to
the first confined aquifer.
Drawdown
 When water is pumped
from a well the water
level in the well falls. This
fall is called drawdown.
The amount of water that
can be pumped is limited
by the drawdown
produced. Typically,
drawdown also increases
with the length of time
that the pumping
continues
Storativity, specific storage….
 Specific storage (Ss), storativity (S), specific
yield (Sy) and specific capacity are material physical
properties that characterize the capacity of
an aquifer to release groundwater from storage in
response to a decline in hydraulic head.

 For that reason they are sometimes referred to as

"storage properties". In the field of hydrogeology, these
properties are often determined using some
combination of field hydraulic tests (e.g., aquifer tests)
and laboratory tests on aquifer material samples
Storage/storativity
Storativity is the volume of water
released from storage per unit decline
in hydraulic head in the aquifer, per
unit area of the aquifer, or:
This is a measure of the water stored and
released in an aquifer and is used to quantify
the safe yield of an aquifer system
Storativity(S)
 Storativity is the volume of water released from storage per unit
decline in hydraulic head in the aquifer, per unit area of the
aquifer, or:

 Storativity is the vertically integrated specific storage value for a

confined aquifer or aquitard. For a confined homogeneous
aquifer or aquitard they are simply related by:

where
 b is the thickness of aquifer.
 Storativity is a dimensionless quantity, and ranges between 0 and
the effective porosity of the aquifer; although for confined
aquifers, this number is usually much less than 0.01
 The storage coefficient of an unconfined aquifer is approximately
equal to the specific yield, Sy, since the release from specific
storage, Ss is typically orders of magnitude less
Specific Storage(Ss)
 In hydrogeology, volumetric specific storage is much more
commonly encountered than mass specific storage.
Consequently, the term specific storage generally refers
to volumetric specific storage.
 It is the volume of water that an aquifer releases from storage, per
volume of aquifer, per unit decline in hydraulic head

where
 Ss is the volumetric specific storage ([L-1]);
 Va is the bulk volume of that portion of the aquifer from which
the water is released ([L3]);
 dVw is the volume of water released from storage ([L3]);
 dp is the decline in pressure(N•m-2 or [ML-1T-2]) ;
 dh is the decline in hydraulic head ([L]) and
 γw is the specific weight of water (N•m-3 or [ML-2T-2]).
Specific yields (Sy)
 Specific yield, also known as the drainable porosity, is a ratio,
less than or equal to the effective porosity, indicating the
volumetric fraction of the bulk aquifer volume that a given
aquifer will yield when all the water is allowed to drain out of it
under the forces of gravity:
 where
 Vwd is the volume of water drained, and
 V T is the total rock or material volume
It is primarily used for unconfined aquifers, since the elastic
storage component, Ss, is relatively small and usually has an
insignificant contribution. Specific yield can be close to effective
porosity, but there are several subtle things which make this
value more complicated than it seems. Some water always
remains in the formation, even after drainage; it clings to the
grains of sand and clay in the formation. Also, the value of
specific yield may not be fully realized for a very long time, due
to complications caused by unsaturated flow.
Specific yield
Specific Yield (%)
Material
min avg max

Unconsolidated deposits

Clay 0 2 5

Sandy clay (mud) 3 7 12

Silt 3 18 19

Fine sand 10 21 28

Medium sand 15 26 32

Coarse sand 20 27 35

Gravelly sand 20 25 35

Fine gravel 21 25 35

Medium gravel 13 23 26

Coarse gravel 12 22 26

Consolidated deposits

Fine-grained sandstone 21

Medium-grained sandstone 27

Limestone 14

Schist 26

Siltstone 12

Tuff 21

Other deposits

Dune sand 38

Loess 18

Peat 44

Till, predominantly silt 6

Till, predominantly sand 16

Till, predominantly gravel 16

Transmittivity
 Transmissivity is the rate at
which water is transmitted
through a unit width of
an aquifer under a unit hydraulic
gradient. It is expressed as the
product of the average hydraulic
conductivity and thickness of
the saturated portion of an
aquifer. Transmissivity is a
measure of the ease with
which groundwater flows in the
subsurface
Hydrualic conductivity(K)
 Hydraulic conductivity, symbolically represented as
K, is a property of vascular plants, soil or rock, that
describes the ease with which water can move through
pore spaces or fractures. It depends on the intrinsic
permeability of the material and on the degree of
saturation. Saturated hydraulic conductivity, Ksat,
describes water movement through saturated media.
 Hydraulic Conductivities
Hydraulic conductivity Hydraulic conductivity
Unconsolidated deposits Rocks
(m/s) (m/s)

Dense clay 10-13 ……10-8 Dense sandstone 10-9 ……10-7

Weathered clay 10-8 ……10-6 Karstic sandstone 10-7 ……10-5

Silt 10-7 ……10-5 Dense limestone 10-9……10-7

Alluvial deposits 10-5 ……10-3 Karstic limestone 10-5 ……10-3

Fine sand 10-5 ……10-4 Dolomite 10-10 ……10-8

Medium sand 5x10-4 ……5x10-3 Dense crystalline rocks 10-13 ……10-12

Coarse sand 10-4 ……10-3 Fractured crystalline rocks 10-10 ……10-6

Fine gravel 10-3 ……5x10-1 Dense basalt 10-13 ……10-10

Medium gravel 5x10-2 ……10-1 Fractured basalt 10-7 ……10-4

Coarse gravel 10-2 ……5x10-1 Claystone 10-13 ……10-9

Hydraulic head (h)
 Hydraulic head is the height
above a datum plane such as sea
level of the column of water that
can be supported by the hydraulic
pressure at a given point in
a groundwater system. Elevation
to which water will rise in
a borehole connected to a point in
an aquifer under pressure.
Hydraulic heads provide an
indication of the direction of
groundwater flow and is used to
determine hydraulic gradients.
Hydraulic gradients and hydraulic
heads
 If in the flow sense, the contour
lines are distanced, being followed
by close contour lines, in the first
zone the hydraulic conductivities
are greater than in the second zone.
The hydraulic gradients being
greater in the second region than in
the first area, the energy losses are
greater, meaning a greater
hydraulic resistance or, what is the
same thing, smaller hydraulic
conductivities than in the first area
Steady state condition

 It can be assumed that if water from a well is pumped

at a constant flow rate for a long period of time, the
cone of depression will have a constant position over
time around the well
Aquifer tests
 Confined aquifer under Steady state conditions

Unconfined aquifer under steady state conditions

Theim solution
Aquifer tests
 Confined aquifer under un-Steady flow conditions

Theis solution
cooper jackob method

Unconfined aquifer under un-steady flow conditions

Neuman method solution
Pumping through confined aquifer
Theim solution for steady state
confined aquifers
 Transmittivity

 Hydraulic conductivity
Pumping through un-confined
aquifer
Theim solution for un-confined aquifers
 Hydraulic conductivity

h1= saturated thickness of aquifer, at radial distance r from

pumping well
h2=head in an observation well situated at a
distance r2 from the same pumping well
K=hydraulic conductivity
Flow rate (Q)
 Theis solution for confined aquifers under
unsteady conditions

 Transmittivity

 H0= hydraulic head before pumping start

 S-S0= s is the drawdown
 Q=discharge of the well
 t=time since pumping has started
 T=transmisivity
 W(u)= well function or exponential integral and has
the following expression
 Cooper Jacob solution for confined
aquifers under unsteady conditions
 Drawdown
 Leaky aquifer with unsteady flow
conditions
 Hantush and jacob formula

r= distance from the pumping well to the observation well

B=Leakage factor
t=time since pumping has started
The solution for a leaky aquifer will be obtained in the same way as for the Theis method,
with a superposition of drawdown data on top of leaky type curves. A curve of best fit is
selected, and values of W, 1/u, s, and t are found. Then the transmisivity T and the
storativity S may be determined using the relations stated above. The values
of K'and b' may be computed based on the value of r/B:

K’=vertical hydraulic conductivity of aquitard

b’=thickness of aquitard
Slug tests
A slug test is a particular type of aquifer test where water is quickly added or
removed from a groundwater well, and the change in hydraulic head is
monitored through time, to determine the near-well aquifer characteristics. It
is a method used by hydrogeologists and civil engineers to determine
thetransmissivity/hydraulic conductivity and storativity of the material the
well is completed in.
The pumping tests for assesment of the hydraulic conductivity are difficult to be
performed for the area where the permeability of the soil is too low. In such
area, the slug test method is a viable alternative.
 These types of tests allow to determine the hydraulic conductivity in the area
around the small diameter monitoring wells.
 The principle of the method consists in measuring the rate at which the water
level falls or rises in the well after a known volume of water was drawn from or
added into the well.
 Many methods have been developed to analyze the data from such tests.
 SLUG TEST =METHOD 1(confined)

 The Cooper - Bredehoeft - Papadopulos method is

designed to assess the transmisivity and the storativity
for confined aquifers. A known volume of water is
suddenly added into the well and as the levels fall the
water head and the coresponding time are measured
and recorded. Type curves will help then to manage
the measured data and to determine the transmisivity
and the storativity of the area in the vecinity of the
monitoring well (Fetter, 1994).
 SLUG TEST –METHOD 2
 The Hvorslev method uses some piezometers installed in
the aquifer to monitor groundwater levels in which a
known volume of water is added or drawn. The water level
is measured both before and after the volume of water is
added; then it is measured at timed intervals upon which
the water level comes back to its initial value. The data
obtained from this experiment are plotted on
semilogarithmic axes as head ratio H/H0 versus time, that
should plot on a straight line.
 H0 is the maximum height to which the water level rises
above the initial water level (static level);
 H is the height of water level above the initial water level at
time t.
Hydraulic conductivity by Slug Test
 In case the length of the piezometer well is greater
than 8 times the radius, the hydraulic conductivity
may be determined by the folowing relation (Fetter,
1994):
 SLUG TEST-METHOD 3
 The Bouwer and Rice method
may be used both for unconfined and confined
aquifers. In order to solve the Bouwer and Rice
equation of the hydraulic conductivity, some graphs
have been plotted and may be found in the literature
(Fetter, 1994).
In the Bouwer and Rice method, the water level is
lowered so that the water flows from the aquifer into
the well or water is added into the well. If the well
screen is above the static level, the water from the well
will drain into the vadose zone as well as in the
saturated area and this will result in an overestimation
of the hydraulic conductivity of the saturated area
Slug test in unconfined aquifer