Groundwater Basics
Origin of groundwater
• The ultimate source of groundwater is precipitation
• Connate waters are those which have been out of the water cycle
for at least an appreciable part of the geological period. They
consist essentially of fossil interstitial water that has migrated
from its original burial location by means of various phenomena,
being also entrapped within particular groundwater reservoirs,
They may have been derived from oceanic or fresh water sources
and are typically highly mineralized.
• Magmatic waters are those which are derived from magmas
through hydrothermal phenomena. If the separation from the
magma is very deep they are called plutonic waters, while
volcanic waters are those which come from relatively shallow
depths.
• Metamorphic waters are those which are or have been
associated with rocks during their metamorphism.
• Juvenile waters are new waters of magmatic or cosmic origin
which have not previously been part of the hydrospere.
Hydrologic Cycle and Groundwater
(watershed scale)
Saturated and unsaturated zone
Vertical profile of water
Three-dimensional view of groundwater
Basic terms
• Porosity
• Permeability
• Hydraulic conductivity
• Transmissivity
• Storativity/Specific yield
• Hydaulic resistance
• Aquifer, aquitard, aquifuge
• etc.
Porosity and void ratio
• Porosity refers the portions of soils and rocks which are not occupied
by solid matter, but possibly by water and air. These portions are
normally called voids, interstices, pores or empty spaces.
• Since these empty spaces serve as water conduits or storages, they
are very important when groundwater problems are concerned. Open
spaces are characterized by their sizes, shapes, irregularities and
distributions, which depend on their origin. Porosity may be classified
as primary or secondary.
• Primary porosity are those which are originated by the same
geological processes which gave rise to the various geological
formations, and are found in sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic
rocks.
• Secondary porosity are those which develop after the rocks were
formed, and are found in all types of rocks as joints, fractures, faults,
solution openings, etc.
• Void ratio (e), is expressed as the ratio (in percentage) of the volume
of the voids to the volume of the solid matter:
e = (Vv / Vs) x 100
Porosity
Permeabilities
(Primary and secondary)
Fracture permeability
Porosity (illustration)
Values of porosity
Coefficient of Permeability (k) and Hydraulic Conductivity (K)
• The permeability of soils or rock materials constituting the porous media is a
function of their effective porosity, structure, texture and geological history.
By structure is meant the grain size, distribution, orientation, arrangement
and shape of the solid particles.
• Hydraulic conductivity (K) is a measure of the ability of a fluid to move
through interconnected void spaces in the sediment or rock. Hydraulic
conductivity may also be defined as the volume of water that will move
through a porous medium in unit time under a unit hydraulic gradient
through a unit area measured at right angles to the direction of flow.
• Hydraulic conductivity is a function of both the medium and the fluid. To
separate the effects of the medium from those of the fluid, the permeability
(k) is defined by the following equation:
kg
K
The parameters and are the dynamic viscosity and fluid density
respectively.
Permeability of materials
Hydraulic conductivity (illustrated)
Groundwater Reserve depends on permeability and extent of
aquifers
Averaging hydraulic conductivity
1. In perfectly stratified medium, n layers, with layer thickness di and effective
hydraulic conductivity Ke has the following relation applies.
Flow parallel to layering: n
di
K e K H n
di
i 1
i 1 K i
Flow perpendicular to layering n
di Ki
K e K A n
i 1
d
i 1
i
2. In hetrogeneous medium, non stratified, m measurements
Two-dimensional model (geometric mean)
K e K G ( K1K 2 ...K m )1 / m
Three-dimensional model
K E KG (1 Y2 / 6)
y2 is the variance of the natural logarithms of the hydraulic conductivity
Hydraulic conductivity values
Kv/Kh
Kv and Kh
Transmissivity (T)
• The coefficient of transmissivity is the rate at
which water flows through a vertical strip of the
aquifer one meter wide and extending through
the full saturated thickness, under the hydraulic
gradient of one (100 %).
• It indicates how much water will move through
the formation. It can also be defined as the
product of the average hydraulic conductivity
and the saturated thickness of the aquifer.
• It is one of the most important parameter in
groundwater system analysis
Transmissivity (illustrated)
T = Kb
Q = T.w.dh/dl
Factors affecting estimation of T
Storativity or Storage Coefficient (S)
• The storage coefficient (or storativity) is defined as the volume of water that
an aquifer releases from or takes into storage per unit surface area of aquifer
per unit change in the component of head normal to that surface.
• For a vertical column of unit area extending through a confined aquifer, the
storage coefficient S equals the volume of water released from the aquifer
when the piezometric surface declines a unit height.
• The storativity S is a dimensionless quantity involving a volume of water per
volume of aquifer.
• In most confined aquifers, values fall in the range 0.00005 to 0.005.The value
for unconfined aquifers range from 0.01 to 0.3.
• This coefficient can best be determined from pumping tests of wells or from
groundwater fluctuations in response to atmospheric pressure or ocean tide
variations.
• Storativity is a function of the elasticity of the water and the aquifer solid
matrix and it is given by:
S = w b ( + me )
w : the water specific weight
b : the saturated thickness of the aquifer
: the water compressiblity coefficient
me : the effective porosity or the specific yeld of the medium
: the solid matrix compressibility coefficient
Storage coefficient (illustrated)
Specific Storage (Ss)
• Amount of water per unit volume of a saturated formation that is
stored or expelled from storage due to compressibility of the
aquifer skeleton and pore water per unit change in head.
S = bSs
S- storativity (confined)
• Pump water from a confined aquifer (Diagram – non - pumping
conditions versus pumping - conditions)
• 1) Head declines 2) Hydraulic head remains above the aquifer unit.
• Hence, where does water come from?
• Answer: Water is released from storage
• Aquifer remains saturated
• Water release is accounted for by the compressibility of mineral
skeleton and the pore water.
• S < 0.005 for confined aquifers
Storativity and Specific Yield
• Storativity (Storage Coefficient) (S) - the volume of
water that a permeable unit will adsorb or expel from the
storage per unit surface area unit change in head.
• Below the water table or potentiometric surface in the
saturated zone
• Hydraulic head creates pressure affects arrangement of
mineral grains affects density of water
• If pressure increases or decreases - mineral skeleton
expands or contracts( respectively)
• Elasticity - aquifers are elastic changes effective
porosity
Specific yield (illustrated)
Specific yield/porosity
Cone of depression
Specific yield
Specific yield (Sy)
•Sy is several orders of magnitude > h Ss
• Sy = 0.02 to 0.30
• Volume of water drained from an aquifer as head lowers
• Vw = SA dh
•The storage coefficient for an unconfined aquifer corresponds to its
specific yield (Sy) or effective porosity. Some values of specific yield
for rocks and soils:
Hydraulic resistance and leakage factor
• The hydraulic resistance (c) characterizes the resistance of an
aquitard to vertical flow, either upward or downward. It is the
receprocal of the leakage coefficient (K’/D’). K’ and D’ are the
hydraulic conductivity and the the thickness of the aquitard
respectively. It is often expressed in days.
• The leakage factor (L) or characterstics length is a measure of the
spatial distribution of the leakge through an aquitard into a leaky
aquifer and vice versa.
L KDc
K and D are the hydraulic conductivity and thickness of the leaky
aquifer respectively while c is hydraulic resistivity. Large value of L
indicate a low leakge rate through the aquitard.
Homogeneity and Isotropy
• Homogeneous - a geologic unit that has the same properties at all
locations. K, n, b, vary little T,S are constant throughout the unit.
• Heterogeneous - Hydraulic properties vary spatially.
• Isotropic - The condition in which hydraulic properties of the aquifer are
equal in all directions. Varies with grain shape and orientation
• Anisotropy - The condition under which one or more of the hydraulic
properties of an aquifer vary according to the direction.
Aquifer and aquitard (definition)
Aquiclude – neither store nor transmit water
Types of aquifers
•Semi-confined – leaky aquifers
Aquifer types
aquifers
Unconfined aquifer
Confined aquifer
Leaky and perched aquifers
Shallow and deep water table aquifers
Artisian aquifers (flowing wells)
Confined aquifers and cone of depression
Aquifers and water level
Multi-layer aquifers
Aquifers, water level and geology)
Locally and regionally connected systems
Cone of depression
(shape varies wit aquifer material type)
Aquifer boundary
Vertical changes
Composite logging
Where to get Groundwater?
Very challenging!!!
To get the answer it should account:
• Regional and local hydrogeology
•Topography
•Hydro-climatic conditions
•Recharge and discharge conditions
•If use is considered quality and pollution
Generally the most favorable areas are:
-Existence of favorable geological structures (folds and faults)
- Permeable rock zones
- Topographically depressed areas
- With good groundwater recharge possibilities
- Presence of localizing structures or boundary conditions
- For shallow aquifers areas close to major surface water bodies
