Basi c Ground-Water

Hydrol ogy
By
RALPHC.
HEATH
Prepared i n cooperati on wi th the
North Carol i na Department of
Natural Resources and Communi ty
Devel opment
U
. S .
Depar t ment
of t he I nt er i or
Gal e A.
Nor t on, Secr et ar y
U. S . Geol ogi cal Sur vey
Char l es
G.
Gr oat ,
Di r ect or
U. S . Geol ogi cal Sur vey, Rest on, Vi r gi ni a: 1983
F i r st pr i nt i ng 1983
Second pr i nt i ng 1984
Thi r d pr i nt i ng 1984
F our t h pr i nt i ng 1987
F i f t h pr i nt i ng 1989
Si xt h pr i nt i ng 1991
Sevent h pr i nt i ng 1993
Ei ght h pr i nt i ng 1995
Ni nt h pr i nt i ng 1998
Tent h
pr i nt i ng 2004, r evi sed
F or sal e by
U. S . Geol ogi cal Sur vey, I nf or mat i on Ser vi ces
Box 25286, Denver
F eder al Cent er
Denver , CO80225
F or mor e i nf or mat i on about t he
USGS and i t s pr oduct s :
Tel ephone: 1- 888- ASK- USGS
Wor l dWi deWeb: ht t p: / / www. usgs . gov
/
Any
use of t r ade, pr oduct , or f i r mnames i n t hi s publ i cat i on i s f or descr i pt i ve pur poses onl y and does not i mpl y endor se-
ment by
t he U. S . Gover nment .
Al t hough t hi s r epor t
i s
i n
t he publ i c domai n, i t cont ai ns copyr i ght ed mat er i al s t hat ar e not ed i n t he t ext . Per mi ssi on t o
r epr oduce t hose i t ems
must be secur ed f r omt he i ndi vi dual copyr i ght owner s .
Suggest ed ci t at i on:
Heat h, Ral ph C. , 1983, Basi c
gr ound- wat er hydr ol ogy: U. S . Geol ogi cal Sur vey Wat er - Suppl y Paper 2220, 86 p.
Li br ar y of Congr ess Cat al ogi ng- i n- Publ i cat i ons Dat a
Heat h, Ral ph C.
Basi c gr ound- wat er hydr ol ogy
( Geol ogi cal Sur vey wat er - suppl y paper

;

2220
Bi bl i ogr aphy : p. 81
1 .
Hydr ol ogy.

I . Nor t h Car ol i na Dept . of Nat ur al Resour ces
and
Communi t y Devel opment.

I I . Ti t l e.

I I I . Ser i es .
G131003. 2 . H4

1982

551 . 49

82- 6000384
I SBN 0- 607- 68973- 0
CONTENTS
Page
Ground- water
hydrol ogy . . . . . . .
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 1
Rocks andwater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Underground water
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 4
Hydrol ogi c cycl e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Aqui f ers and
conf i ni ng
beds .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
Porosi ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Speci f i c yi el d
andspeci f i c retenti on
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
Heads and gradi ents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0
Hydraul i c
conducti vi ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 1 2
Functi ons of ground- water systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 4
Capi l l ari ty
and unsaturated f l ow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 1 6
Strati f i cati on and unsaturated f l ow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8
Saturated
f l owand di spersi on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 1 9
Ground- water movement andtopography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Ground- water f l ownets
. .
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 21
Ground- water movement and strati f i cati on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
.
. . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Ground- water
vel oci ty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
.
.
.
. . . . . . . 25
Transmi ssi vi ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Storage
coef f i ci ent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 28
Cone of depressi on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
. . . . .
. .
. . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Source of water deri ved f romwel l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 32
Aqui f ertests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .
. . .
. . . . .
.
. . . . .
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Anal ysi s of aqui f er- test data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Ti me- drawdownanal ysi s . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Di stance- drawdownanal ysi s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Si ngl e- wel l tests . . .
. . .
. . .
. . . .
. .
. . . .
. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 42
Wel l i nterf erence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Aqui f er boundari es
. . . . .
.
. . . . .
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
.
. . . . . 46
Tests af f ected by l ateral boundari es . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Tests af f ected
by l eaky conf i ni ng beds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
50
Wel l - constructi on methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Wel l
l ogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 54
Water- wel l desi gn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Wel l - acceptance tests andwel l ef f i ci ency
. . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 58
Speci f i c capaci ty andtransmi ssi vi ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Wel l - f i el d
desi gn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 62
Qual i ty of ground water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Pol l uti on of ground water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 66
Sal twater encroachment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Temperature of ground water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Measurements of water l evel s andpumpi ng rates . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Protecti on of suppl y wel l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Suppl y- wel l probl ems- Decl i ne
i n yi el d
. . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Suppl y- wel l probl ems- Changes i n water qual i ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
78
Wel l records andf i l es . . . . . . . . .
.
. . . . . . .
. .
. . . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Ref erences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Numbers, equati ons,
andconversi ons
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Def i ni ti ons of terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Rel ati on of uni ts of hydraul i c conducti vi ty, transmi ssi vi ty, recharge rates, andf l owrates . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 86
Contents
i i i
PREFACE
Gr ound
wat er i s one of t he Nat i on' s mos t val uabl e nat ur al r es our ces . I t i s t he
s our ce of
about 40 per cent of t he wat er us ed f or al l
pur pos es excl us i ve of hydr opower gener at i on and
el ect r i c power pl ant cool i ng.
Sur pr i s i ngl y, f or a r es our ce t hat i s s o wi del y
us ed and s o i mpor t ant t o t he heal t h and t o t he
economy of t he count r y, t he occur r ence
of gr ound wat er i s not onl y poor l y under s t ood but i s
al s o, i n f act , t he s ubj ect of many wi des pr ead mi s concept i ons . Common mi s concept i ons i n-
cl ude t he bel i ef t hat gr ound wat er occur s i n under gr ound r i ver s r es embl i ng
s ur f ace s t r eams
whos e pr es ence can be det ect ed by cer t ai n i ndi vi dual s . Thes e
mi s concept i ons and ot her s
have hamper ed t he devel opment and cons er vat i on of gr ound wat er and have
adver s el y af -
f ect ed t he pr ot ect i on of i t s
qual i t y.
I n or der f or t he Nat i on
t o r ecei ve maxi mumbenef i t f r om i t s gr ound- wat er r es our ce, i t i s
es s ent i al t hat ever yone, f r om
t he r ur al homeowner t o manager s of i ndus t r i al and muni ci pal
wat er s uppl i es
t o heads of Feder al and St at e wat er - r egul at or y agenci es , become mor e
knowl edgeabl e about t he occur r ence,
devel opment , and pr ot ect i on of gr ound wat er . Thi s
r epor t has been pr epar ed t o hel p meet
t he needs of t hes e gr oups , as wel l as t he needs of
hydr ol ogi s t s , wel l dr i l l er s , and ot her s engaged
i n t he s t udy and devel opment of gr ound- wat er
s uppl i es . I t cons i s t s of 45 s ect i ons on t he
bas i c el ement s of gr ound- wat er hydr ol ogy, ar r anged
i n or der f r om
t he mos t bas i c as pect s of t he s ubj ect t hr ough a di s cus s i on of t he met hods us ed
t o det er mi ne
t he yi el d of aqui f er s t o a di s cus s i on of common pr obl ems encount er ed i n t he
oper at i on of
gr ound- wat er s uppl i es .
Each s ect i on
cons i s t s of a br i ef t ext and one or mor e dr awi ngs or maps t hat i l l us t r at e t he
mai n poi nt s cover ed i n t he t ext . Becaus e
t he t ext i s , i n ef f ect , an expanded di s cus s i on of t he i l -
l us t r at i ons , mos t of t he i l l us t r at i ons ar e
not capt i oned. However , wher e mor e t han one dr aw-
i ng i s i ncl uded i n a s ect i on, each dr awi ng
i s as s i gned a number , gi ven i n par ent hes es , and
t hes e number s ar e i ns er t ed at pl aces i n
t he t ext wher e t he r eader s houl d r ef er t o t he dr awi ng .
I n accor dance wi t h U. S . Geol ogi cal
Sur vey pol i cy t o encour age t he us e of met r i c uni t s ,
t hes e uni t s ar e us ed i n mos t s ect i ons
. I n t he s ect i ons deal i ng wi t h t he anal ys i s of aqui f er
( pumpi ng) t es t dat a, equat i ons ar e gi ven
i n bot h cons i s t ent uni t s and i n t he i ncons i s t ent i nch-
pound uni t s s t i l l i n r el at i vel y common
us e among gr ound- wat er hydr ol ogi s t s and wel l dr i l l er s .
As an ai d t o t hos e who ar e not f ami l i ar wi t h met r i c uni t s and wi t h
t he conver s i on of gr ound-
wat er
hydr aul i c uni t s f r om i nch- pound uni t s t o met r i c uni t s ,
conver s i on t abl es ar e gi ven on
t he
i ns i de back cover .
Def i ni t i ons
of gr ound- wat er t er ms ar e gi ven wher e
t he t er ms ar e f i r s t i nt r oduced. Becaus e
s ome of t hes e t er ms
wi l l be new t o many r eader s , abbr evi at ed def i ni t i ons ar e
al s o gi ven on
t he i ns i de f r ont cover f or
conveni ent r ef er ence by t hos e who wi s h t o r evi ew
t he def i ni t i ons
f r omt i me t o t i me as t hey
r ead t he t ext . Fi nal l y, f or t hos e who need t o r evi ew
s ome of t he s i m-
pj e
mat hemat i cal
oper at i ons t hat ar e us ed i n gr ound- wat er hydr ol ogy, a s ect i on on
number s ,
equat i ons , and conver s i ons i s i ncl uded at t he
end of t he t ext .
Ral ph C. Heat h
`MIt\VV1
\v- rrnIII L1%1 11
LAI%%--
The sci ence
of hydrol ogy woul d be rel ati vel y
si mpl e i f waterwere
unabl eto penetrate
bel owtheearth' s surf ace.
Harol d
E. Thomas
Ground-waterhydrol ogy i s the
subdi vi si onof the sci ence of
hydrol ogy that deal s wi th the
occurrence, movement, and
qual i ty of
waterbeneath the Earth' s surf ace. It
i s i nterdi sci pl i -
nary i n
scope i nthat i t i nvol ves the appl i cati on
of the
physi cal ,
bi ol ogi cal , and mathemati cal sci ences .
It i s al so a
sci ence
whose successf ul appl i cati oni s of cri ti cal
i mportance
to the wel f are of manki nd
. Because ground-waterhydrol ogy
deal s wi th the occurrence
and movement of wateri nan
al most i nf i ni tel y compl ex
subsurf ace envi ronment, i t i s, i ni ts
most advanced state, one
of the most compl ex of the
sci ences . Onthe otherhand, many of i ts basi c
pri nci pl es and
methods canbe understood readi l y by
nonhydrol ogi sts and
used by themi nthe sol uti onof ground-water
probl ems . The
purpose of thi s report i s to present these
basi c aspects of
ground-waterhydrol ogy i n
a f ormthat wi l l encourage more
wi despread understandi ng and
use.
Theground-water
envi ronmenti s hi ddenf romvi ewexcept
i ncaves and mi nes,
andthe i mpressi onthatwegai nevenf rom
these are, to a l arge extent, mi sl eadi ng.
Fromourobservati ons
onthe l and surf ace, wef orman
i mpressi onof a "sol i d" Earth.
Thi s i mpressi oni s not al tered
very muchwhenwe entera
l i mestone cave and seewaterf l owi ng
i na channel that nature
has cut i nto what appears to be sol i d rock. Inf act, f rom
our
observati ons, both onthe l and surf ace and i ncaves, we
are
l i kel y
to concl ude that ground wateroccurs onl y i nunder-
ground ri vers and "vei ns . " Wedo notseethe myri adopeni ngs
that exi st betweenthe grai ns
of sand and si l t, betweenpar-
ti cl es of cl ay, orevenal ong the
f ractures i ngrani te. Conse-
quentl y, wedo not sense the
presenceof theopeni ngs that, i n
total vol ume, f arexceed the vol ume
of al l caves.
R. L. Naceof the U. S. Geol ogi cal Survey has esti mated
that
the total vol ume of subsurf ace openi ngs (whi chare
occupi ed
mai nl y by water, gas, and petrol eum) i s onthe
orderof
521, 000km3 (125, 000 mi 3 ) beneath the Uni ted States
al one. If
we vi sual i ze these openi ngs
as f ormi ng a conti nuous cave
beneath the enti re surf ace
of the Uni ted States, i ts hei ght
woul d beabout57m(186 f t) . The
openi ngs, of course, are not
equal l y di stri buted, the
resul t bei ng that ouri magi nary cave
woul d rangei nhei ght f romabout3 m(10f t) beneath
the Pi ed-
mont Pl ateau al ong the easternseaboard to
about 2, 500 m
(8, 200f t) beneaththe Mi ssi ssi ppi Del ta. The i mportant
poi ntto
be gai ned f rom thi s di scussi oni s that the total
vol ume of
openi ngs beneath the surf ace
of the Uni ted States, and other
l and areas of the worl d,
i s very l arge.
Most subsurf ace openi ngs
contai nwater, and the i mpor-
tance of thi s water
to manki nd canbe readi l y demonstrated
by compari ng i ts vol umewi th the vol umes of wateri n
other
parts of the hydrosphere. ) Esti mates of the vol umes of
water
i n
the hydrosphere have beenmade by the Russi anhydrol o-
gi st M. I .
L' vovi ch and are gi veni na book recentl y transl ated
i nto Engl i sh. Mostwater, i ncl udi ng
that i nthe oceans and i n
' The hydrosphere i s the
termused to ref erto the
waters of the Earth and, i n
i ts
broadest usage, i ncl udes al l
water, watervapor,
and i ce regardl ess of whether
they occurbeneath, on, orabove
the Earth' s surf ace.
the deepersubsurf ace openi ngs, contai ns rel ati vel y l arge con-
centrati ons of di ssol ved mi neral s and i s not readi l y usabl e f or
essenti al humanneeds. Wewi l l , theref ore, concentrate i nthi s
di scussi on
onl y onf reshwater. The accompanyi ng tabl e
con-
tai ns L' vovi ch' s esti mates of the
f reshwater i nthe
hydro-
sphere. Not surpri si ngl y, the l argest
vol ume
of
f reshwater
occurs as i ce i ngl aci ers . Onthe otherhand,
many
peopl e
i m-
pressed by the "sol i d" Earth are surpri sed to l earnthat about
14
percent of al l f reshwateri s ground waterand that, i f onl y
wateri s consi dered, 94 percenti s ground water.
Ground-waterhydrol ogy, as noted earl i er,
deal s not onl y
wi th the occurrence of underground water
but al so wi th i ts
movement. Contrary to ouri mpressi ons of rapi d
movementas
we observe the f l owof streams i ncaves, the
movement of
mostgroundwateri s exceedi ngl y
sl ow. Thetruthof thi s obser-
vati onbecomes readi l y apparent f rom
the tabl e, whi chshows,
i nthe l ast col umn, the rate of
waterexchange ortheti me re-
qui red to repl ace the waternow
contai ned i nthe l i sted parts
of the hydrosphere. It i s especi al l y i mportant
to note that the
rate of exchange of 280years f orf resh
ground wateri s about
119, 000the rateof exchange of wateri nri vers
.
Subsurf aceopeni ngs l arge enoughto yi el d
wateri na usabl e
quanti ty to wel l s
and spri ngs underl i e nearl y every pl ace on
the l and surf ace
and thus makeground wateroneof the most
wi del y avai l abl e
natural resources . Whenthi s f act and the
f act that ground water
al so represents the l argest reservoi r
of
f reshwaterreadi l y avai l abl eto manare
consi dered together, i t
i s obvi ous that the val ue of ground water, i n
terms of both
economi cs and humanwel f are, i s i ncal cul abl e
. Consequentl y,
i ts sound devel opment, di l i gent conservati on,
and consi stent
protecti on
f rom pol l uti onare i mportant concerns of every-
one. These
concerns canbe transl ated i nto ef f ecti ve
acti on
onl y by i ncreasi ng
ourknowl edge of the basi c aspects
of
ground-water
hydrol ogy.
FRESHWATER OF THE
HYDROSPHERE ANDITS RATE OF
EXCHANGE
[ Modi f i ed f romL' vovi ch (1979), tabl es 2 and
10]
Ground-Water
Hydrol ogy

1
Parts of the
Vol umeof
hydrosphere km'
f reshwater
mi l
Share i ntotal
vol umeof
f reshwater
(percent)
Rate of water
exchange
(yr)
Ice sheets and
gl aci ers ------
24, 000, 000 5, 800, 000 84. 945
8, 000
Ground water-- 4, 000, 000 960, 000
14. 158 280
Lakes and
reservoi rs ---- 155, 000 37, 000
. 549 7
Soi l moi sture --- 83, 000 20, 000 . 294
1
Vapors i n
the
atmosphere -- 14, 000
3, 400 . 049 . 027
Ri verwater---- 1, 200
300 . 004 . 031
Total ------ 28, 253, 200 6, 820, 700
100. 000
ROCKSANDW
AI LK
POROUS MATERI AL
FRACTURED
ROCK
Most of
t he r ocks near t he Ear t h' s sur f ace
ar e composed of
bot h sol i ds and voi ds, as
sket ch 1 shows . The sol i d par t i s, of
cour se, much mor e
obvi ous t han t he voi ds, but , wi t hout t he
voi ds, t her e woul d be
no wat er t o suppl y wel l s and spr i ngs .
Wat er - bear i ng r ocks
consi st ei t her of unconsol i dat ed ( soi l -
l i ke) deposi t s
or consol i dat ed r ocks . The
Ear t h' s sur f ace i n
most pl aces
i s f or med by soi l and by unconsol i dat ed
deposi t s
t hat r ange
i n t hi ckness f r oma f ew
cent i met er s near out cr ops
of
consol i dat ed r ocks t o mor e t han 1 2, 000
mbeneat h t he
del t a of t he Mi ssi ssi ppi
Ri ver . The unconsol i dat ed deposi t s ar e
under l ai n ever ywher e by
consol i dat ed r ocks .
Most unconsol i dat ed deposi t s consi st of
mat er i al der i ved
f r om t he di si nt egr at i on of consol i dat ed r ocks .
The mat er i al
consi st s,
i n di f f er ent t ypes of unconsol i dat ed deposi t s, of par -
t i cl es
of r ocks or mi ner al s r angi ng i n si z e f r omf r act i ons of a
mi l l i met er ( cl ay si z e) t o sever al met er s ( boul der s) . Unconsol -
i dat ed deposi t s i mpor t ant i n gr ound- wat er hydr ol ogy i ncl ude,
2

Basi c Gr ound- Wat er Hydr ol ogy
PRI MARY OPENI NGS
n
WELL- SORTED

SAND

POORLY- SORTEDSAND
SECONDARY
OPENI NGS
FRACTURES I N

CAVERNS I N
GRANI TE

LI MESTONE
i n or der of i ncr easi ng
gr ai n si z e, cl ay, si l t , sand, and gr avel .
An
i mpor t ant gr oup of
unconsol i dat ed deposi t s al so i ncl udes
f r agment s of shel l s of
mar i ne or gani sms .
Consol i dat ed r ocks
consi st of mi ner al par t i cl es of
di f f er ent
si z es and
shapes t hat have been wel ded
by heat and pr essur e
or by
chemi cal r eact i ons i nt o a sol i d
mass . Such r ocks ar e
commonl y
r ef er r ed t o i n gr ound- wat er
r epor t s as bedr ock .
They i ncl ude sedi ment ar y r ocks t hat
wer e or i gi nal l y unconsol -
i dat ed and i gneous r ocks
f or med f r oma mol t en st at e .
Consol i -
dat ed sedi ment ar y r ocks
i mpor t ant i n gr ound- wat er
hydr ol ogy
i ncl ude l i mest one,
dol omi t e, shal e, si l t st one,
sandst one, and
congl omer at e . I gneous
r ocks i ncl ude gr ani t e and basal t .
Ther e
ar e di f f er ent ki nds of voi ds i n r ocks,
and i t i s some-
t i mes usef ul
t o be awar e of t hem. I f t he voi ds
wer e f or med at
t he same
t i me as t he r ock, t hey ar e
r ef er r ed t o as pr i mar y
openi ngs ( 2) . The por es i n sand and gr avel
and i n ot her uncon-
sol i dat ed deposi t s ar e
pr i mar y openi ngs . The l ava t ubes and
ot her openi ngs i n basal t
ar e al so pr i mar y openi ngs.
I f t he voi ds wer e f or med af t er t he r ock was f or med, t hey
ar e r ef er r ed t o as secondar y openi ngs ( 2) . The f r act ur es i n
gr ani t e and i n consol i dat ed sedi ment ar y r ocks ar e secondar y
openi ngs . Voi ds i n l i mest one, whi ch ar e f or med as gr ound
wat er sl owl y di ssol ves t he r ock, ar e an especi al l y i mpor t ant
t ype of secondar y openi ng.
I t i s
usef ul t o i nt r oduce t he t opi c of r ocks and
wat er by
deal i ng wi t h unconsol i dat ed deposi t s on one hand
and wi t h
consol i dat ed r ocks on t he ot her . I t i s i mpor t ant t o not e, how-
ever , t hat many sedi ment ar y r ocks t hat ser ve as sour ces of
gr ound wat er f al l bet ween t hese ext r emes i n a gr oup of semi -
consol i dat ed r ocks . These ar e r ocks i n whi ch openi ngs i ncl ude
bot h por es and f r act ur es- i n ot her wor ds, bot h pr i mar y and
secondar y openi ngs . Many l i mest ones and sandst ones t hat ar e
i mpor t ant sour ces of
gr ound wat er ar e semi consol i dat ed.
Rocks and Wat er

3
UNUtKUKUUNUWAI tK
Al l water beneath the l and s ur f ace i s r ef er r ed to as under -
gr ound water ( or s ubs ur f ace water ) .
The
equi val ent ter m f or
water on the l and s ur f ace i s s ur f ace water
.
Under gr ound water
occur s i n two di f f er ent zones . One zone, whi ch occur s i m-
medi atel y bel ow the l and s ur f ace i n mos t ar eas , contai ns both
water and ai r and i s r ef er r ed to as the uns atur ated zone. The
uns atur ated zone i s al mos t i nvar i abl y under l ai n by a zone i n
whi ch al l i nter connected openi ngs ar e f ul l of water . Thi s zone
i s r ef er r ed to as the s atur ated zone.
Water i n the s atur ated zone i s the onl y under gr ound water
that i s avai l abl e to s uppl y wel l s and s pr i ngs and i s the onl y
water to whi ch the name gr ound water i s cor r ectl y appl i ed .
Rechar ge of the s atur ated zone occur s by per col ati on of
water f r om the l and s ur f ace
thr ough the uns atur ated zone.
The uns atur ated
zone i s , ther ef or e, of gr eat i mpor tance to
gr ound- water
hydr ol ogy . Thi s zone may be di vi ded us ef ul l y
i nto thr ee par ts :
the s oi l zone, the i nter medi ate zone, and the
upper
par t of the capi l l ar y f r i nge .
The s oi l zone extends f r om the l and s ur f ace to a maxi mum
depth
of a meter or two and i s the zone that s uppor ts pl ant
gr owth.
I t i s cr i s s cr os s ed
by l i vi ng r oots , by voi ds l ef t by
Sur f ace
water
Of
w
Q
0
z
0
w
0
z
4

Bas i c Gr ound- Water Hydr ol ogy
decayed
r oots of ear l i er vegetati on, and by ani mal and wor m
bur r ows . The por os i ty and per meabi l i ty of thi s zone tend to be
hi gher than thos e of the under l yi ng mater i al . The s oi l zone i s
under l ai n by the i nter medi ate zone, whi ch di f f er s i n thi cknes s
f r om pl ace to pl ace dependi ng on the thi cknes s of the s oi l
zone and the depth to the capi l l ar y f r i nge.
The l owes t par t of the uns atur ated zone i s occupi ed by the
capi l l ar y f r i nge, the s ubzone between the uns atur ated and
s atur ated
zones . The capi l l ar y f r i nge r es ul ts f r om the attr ac-
ti on between water and r ocks . As a r es ul t of thi s attr acti on,
water cl i ngs as a f i l m on the s ur f ace of r ock par ti cl es and r i s es
i n s mal l - di ameter por es agai ns t the pul l of gr avi ty. Water i n
the capi l l ar y f r i nge and i n the over l yi ng par t of the uns atu-
r ated zone i s under a negati ve hydr aul i c pr es s ur e- that i s , i t i s
under a pr es s ur e l es s than the atmos pher i c ( bar ometr i c)
pr es s ur e. The water tabl e i s the l evel i n the s atur ated zone at
whi ch the hydr aul i c
pr es s ur e i s equal to atmos pher i c
pr es s ur e
and i s r epr es ented by
the water l evel i n unus ed wel l s
.
Bel ow
the water tabl e, the
hydr aul i c
pr es s ur e i ncr eas es
wi th
i ncr eas -
i ng depth .
< ( CAPI LLARY FRI NGE
Water tabl e
~M( ( (
GROUND
WATER
Wel l
rl TurcvLvv1k. IL,YtAt
Preci pi tati on
The termhydrol ogi c cycl e ref ers to the cons tant movement
of water above, on, and bel ow the Earth' s s urf ace. The con-
cept of the hydrol ogi c cycl e i s central to an unders tandi ng of
the occurrence of water and the devel opment and manage-
ment of water s uppl i es .
Al though the hydrol ogi c cycl e has nei ther a begi nni ng nor
an end, i t i s conveni ent to di s cus s i ts pri nci pal f eatures by
s tarti ng wi th evaporati on f rom vegetati on, f rom expos ed
moi s t s urf aces i ncl udi ng the l and s urf ace, and f romthe ocean.
Thi s moi s ture
f orms
cl ouds , whi ch return the water to the l and
s urf ace or oceans
i n
the
f orm
of
preci pi tati on.
Preci pi tati on occurs i n s everal f orms , i ncl udi ng rai n, s now,
and hai l , but onl y rai n i s cons i dered i n thi s di s cus s i on. The
f i rs t
rai n wets vegetati on and other s urf aces and then begi ns to i n-
f i l trate i nto the ground. Inf i l trati on rates vary wi del y, depend-
i ng on l and us e, the character and moi s ture content of the
s oi l , and the i ntens i ty and durati on of preci pi tati on, f rom
pos s i bl y as much as 25 mm/ hr i n mature f ores ts on s andy s oi l s
to a f ew mi l l i meters per hour i n cl ayey and s i l ty s oi l s to zero i n
paved areas . Whenand i f the rate of preci pi tati on exceeds the
rate of i nf i l trati on, overl and f l ow occurs .
The f i rs t i nf i l trati on
repl aces s oi l moi s ture,
and, thereaf ter,
the exces s percol ates
s l owl y
acros s
the i ntermedi ate
zone to
the zone of s aturati on. Water i n the zone of s aturati on moves
Evaporati on
Cl ouds f ormi ng
t
Ocean
downward and l ateral l y to s i tes
of ground- water di s charge
s uch as
s pri ngs on hi l l s i des or s eeps i n the bottoms of
s treams
and l akes
or beneath the ocean.
Water reachi ng
s treams , both by overl and f l ow and f rom
ground- water
di s charge, moves to the s ea, where i t i s agai n
evaporated to perpetuate the cycl e.
Movement i s , of cours e, the key
el ement i n the concept of
the hydrol ogi c cycl e. Some " typi cal "
rates of movement are
s hown i n the f ol l owi ng tabl e, al ong
wi th the di s tri buti on of the
Earth' s water s uppl y
.
RATE OFMOVEMENTANDDISTRIBUTIONOF
WATER
( Adapted
f rom L' vovi ch ( 1979) , tabl e 11
Hydrol ogi c
Cycl e

5
Locati on
Rate of
movement
Di s tri buti on of
Earth' s water
s uppl y ( percent)
Atmos phere - - - 100' s of ki l ometers per day
0. 001
Water on l and
s urf ace - - - - - -
10' s of ki l ometers per day . 019
Water
bel ow the
l and s urf ace - - Meters per year 4. 12
Ice caps and
gl aci ers - - - - - - Meters per day 1. 65
Oceans - - - - - - - - -
93. 96
Rqui rtKnoHNuk.UNrININU15tu
: 5
w
Z
O
N
W
F - -
Q
Q
Land
F rom the standpoi nt
of ground- water occurrence, al l rocks
that underl i e the Earth' s surf ace can be cl assi f i ed ei ther
as
aqui f ers or as conf i ni ng beds . Anaqui f er i s a rock uni t that wi l l
yi el d
water i n a usabl e quanti ty to a wel l or spri ng. ( In
geol ogi c
usage, " rock" i ncl udes unconsol i dated sedi ments .) A
conf i ni ng bed i s a rock uni t havi ng
very l owhydraul i c conduc-
ti vi ty that restri cts the movement
of ground water ei ther i nto
or out of adj acent aqui f ers .
Ground water occurs i n aqui f ers under
two di f f erent condi -
ti ons . Where water onl y partl y f i l l s an aqui f er, the upper sur-
f ace of the saturated zone i s f ree to ri se and decl i ne . The
water
i n
such aqui f ers i s sai d to be unconf i ned, andthe aqui -
f ers are
ref erred to as unconf i ned aqui f ers . Unconf i ned
aqui f ers are al so wi del y ref erred to as
water- tabl e aqui f ers.
6

Basi c Ground- Water Hydrol ogy
Water- tabl e

Artesi an
wel l

wel l
surf ace
v
Where water compl etel y f i l l s an aqui f er that i s overl ai n by a
conf i ni ng bed, the water i n the aqui f er i s sai d to be conf i ned.
Such aqui f ers are ref erred to as conf i ned aqui f ers or as artesi an
aqui f ers .
Wel l s
open
to unconf i ned aqui f ers are ref erred to as water-
tabl e wel l s .
The
water
l evel i n these wel l s
i ndi cates the posi -
ti on of
the water tabl e i n the surroundi ng aqui f er .
Wel l s dri l l ed i nto conf i ned aqui f ers are ref erred to as arte-
si an wel l s . The water l evel i n artesi an wel l s stands at some
hei ght above the top of the aqui f er but not necessari l y above
the l and surf ace . If the water l evel i n an artesi an wel l stands
above the l and surf ace, the wel l i s a f l owi ng artesi an wel l . The
water l evel i n ti ghtl y cased wel l s open to a conf i ned aqui f er
stands at the l evel of the potenti ometri c surf ace of the aqui f er.
rvKV3i
I I
The rat io of openings ( voids) t o t he
t ot al vol ume of a soil or
rock is ref erred t o as it s porosit y. Porosit y is
expressed eit her
as a decimal f ract ion oras a percent age. Thus,
n=
Vt -Vs Vv
V
t
V
t
where n is porosit y as a decimal f ract ion,
Vt is t he t ot al
vol ume of a soil orrock sampl e, VS is t he
vol ume of sol ids in
t hesampl e, and V, , is t he vol umeof
openings ( voids) .
I f wemul t ipl y t he porosit y det ermined
wit h t heequat ion by
100, t he resul t is porosit y
expressed as a percent age.
S oil s are among t he
most porous of nat ural mat erial s
because soil part icl es t end
t o f orml oose cl umps and because
of t he presence of root
hol es and animal burrows. Porosit y of
unconsol idat ed deposit s depends on t he range
in grain size
( sort ing) and ont heshape of t he rock part icl es but
not on t heir
size. Fine-grained mat erial s t end t o be bet t ersort ed
and, t hus,
t end t o havet he l argest porosit ies.
V
v
=
0. 3
00000000 00
000000000
000
0000
Vt =
1 . 0

m3

0
0
0o 0
Ory

o 0
ooo
0 0
sand

00
0000000000
000000000
0000000000
O
o o o
v
o o o
S ELECTEDVALUES OF POROS I TY
[ Val ues in percent by vol ume]
Mat erial
Equal -sizespheres ( marbl es) :
Loosest packing --------------
Tight est packing -------------
S oil
-------------------------
Cl ay
------------------------
S and
------------------------
Gravel -----------------------
Limest one --------------------
S andst one ( semiconsol idat ed) ----
Granit e -----------------------
Basal t ( young) -----------------
0000-0000d
0
0 b-O~S O
00
o S at urat ed
a
00
sand s
000 00 00 o 0
0-0_0
0
0-5-0
a3
0
00
0
0 0 000
0 0 D 0 O0 vo
Vol ume
of voids ( Vim)

0. 3m3
Porosit y
( n)
=

_

=0 30
Tot al vol ume Wt )

1 . 0
m3
b
o
0
-0"'.
, ' w' 10
0
100
. ooo
00
y

D
o.
o/ a . o a,
o

'
0
0111. 1
-0
0
I m
T
I rn
I
Porosit y 7
Primary
openings S econdary openings
48
26
55
50
25
20
10
10
10 1
. l
10 1
~or t t . i r i t - , TIt LUHNv

Kt
i LIN
11VIr
Por osi t y i s i mpor t ant i n gr ound- wat er hydr ol ogy because i t
t el l s us t he maxi mumamount of
wat er t hat a r ock can cont ai n
when i t i s sat ur at ed. However ,
i t i s equal l y i mpor t ant t o know
t hat onl y a par t of t hi s wat er i s
avai l abl e t o suppl y a wel l or a
spr i ng.
Hydr ol ogi st s
di vi de wat er i n st or age i n t he gr ound i nt o t he
8

Basi c Gr ound- Wat er Hydr ol ogy
Wat er
S' =0. 1 m3
Sy =
0. 2
m
n
=
Syt S, - =
GRANULAR
par t t hat wi l l dr ai n under t he i nf l uence of gr avi t y ( cal l ed spe-
ci f i c yi el d) ( 1) and t he par t t hat i s r et ai ned as a f i l m on r ock
sur f aces and i n ver y smal l openi ngs ( cal l ed speci f i c r et ent i on)
( 2) . The physi cal f or ces t hat
cont r ol speci f i c r et ent i on ar e t he
same f or ces i nvol ved i n
t he t hi ckness and moi st ur e cont ent of
t he capi l l ar y, f r i nge.
0000000000
000000000
0
0

00000
0
0
o moi st

0
0
0
00
sand
eo
o
0000000

0

0
000
0
00
0
a
0o
0
000

0o o
000000o c .
FRACTUREDROCK
( 2)
0. 2
m3
0 . 1 m
3
+__0. 3 0
I
m3

I m3
MATERIAL
Wat er r et ai ned as
a
f i l m on
r ock
sur f aces and i n
capi l l ar y- si ze
openi ngs
af t er
gr avi t y dr ai nage.
Speci f i c yi el d t el l s howmuchwat er i s avai l abl e f or man' s

SELECTEDVALUES OFPOROSITY, SPECIFICYIELD,
use, and speci f i c ret ent i on t el l s howmuchwat er remai ns i n

ANDSPECIFICRETENTION
t he rock af t er i t i s drai ned by gravi t y. Thus,

[ Val ues i n percent by vol ume]
n=Sy +Sr
V
t
Vt
where ni s porosi t y, Sy i s speci f i c yi el d, Sr i s speci f i c ret ent i on,
Vd i s t he vol ume of wat er t han drai ns f roma t ot al vol ume of
Vt ,
Vr i s t he vol ume of wat er ret ai ned i n a t ot al vol ume of Vt ,
and Vt
i s
t ot al vol ume of a soi l or rock sampl e.
Mat eri al

Porosi t y

Speci f i c yi el d Speci f i c ret ent i on
Speci f i c Yi el d and Speci f i c Ret ent i on

9
Soi l
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
55 40 15
Cl ay
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
50 2 48
Sand - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 25 22 3
Gravel - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 20 19 1
Li mest one - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 20 18 2
Sandst one ( semi consol i dat ed) 11 6 5
Grani t e - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . 1 . 09
Basal t
( young) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11 8 3
f7C/AVJ /1I NVVRf1V1CI ~I 1 . 3
rDepth
to
water
0
a
10

Basi c Ground-Water
Hydrol ogy
Measuri ng poi nt ( top of
casi ng)
( Al t 98
m
)

wel l
2
780m

.
Wel l I

( Al t
I OOm)
Di stance, L
E
0
a>
L
L
7
- - Head l oss ( h, )
Thedepthto the water tabl e has an i mportant effect on use
of the l and surface and on
the devel opment of water suppl i es
fromunconfi ned aqui fers
( 1) . Where the water tabl e i s at a
shal l owdepth, the l and may
become "waterl ogged" duri ng
wet weather and unsui tabl e
for resi denti al and many other
uses. Wherethe water tabl e i s at great depth, thecost of con-
structi ng wel l s and pumpi ng water for domesti c needs may be
prohi bi ti vel y expensi ve.
The di recti on of the sl ope of the water tabl e i s al so
i m-
portant because
i t i ndi cates the di recti on of ground-water
movement
( 1) . The posi ti on and the sl ope of the water tabl e
( or of the
potenti ometri c surface of a confi ned aqui fer) i s
determi ned by
measuri ng the posi ti on of the water l evel i n
wel l s froma fi xed poi nt ( a measuri ng poi nt) ( 1) . ( See "Measure-
ments of Water l evel s and Pumpi ng Rates . ") To uti l i ze these
measurements to determi ne the sl ope of the water tabl e, the
posi ti on of the water tabl e at each wel l must bedetermi ned
rel ati ve to a datum
pl ane that i s common to al l the wel l s .
Thedatum
pl ane most wi del y used i s the Nati onal Geodeti c
Verti cal
Datumof 1929 ( al so commonl y referred to as "sea
l evel ") ( 1) .
I f the depth to water i n a nonfl owi ng wel l i s subtracted
fromthe al ti tudeof the measuri ng poi nt, the resul t i s the total
head at the wel l . Total head, as defi ned i n fl ui d mechani cs, i s
composed of el evati on head, pressure head, and vel oci ty head.
Because
ground water moves rel ati vel y sl owl y, vel oci ty head
can be i gnored. Therefore, the total head at an observati on
wel l i nvol ves onl y two components : el evati on head and pres-
sure head ( 1) . Ground water moves i n the di recti on of decreas-
i ng total head, whi ch may or may not be i n the di recti on of
decreasi ng pressure head.
UNCONFI NED AQUI FER
Theequati onfor total head ( ht) i s
ht =z+hp
Land surface
Water tabl e,
Ground-
wherez i s el evati on head and i s thedi stance fromthe datum
pl aneto thepoi nt wherethe pressure headhpi s determi ned.
Al l other factors bei ng constant, the rate of ground-water
movement depends on the hydraul i c gradi ent . The hydraul i c
gradi ent i s the change i n head per uni t of di stance i n agi ven
di recti on. I f the di recti on i s not speci fi ed, i t i s understood to
be i n the di recti on i n whi chthe maxi mumrate of decreasei n
head occurs.
I f the
movement of ground water i s assumed to be i n the
pl ane of sketch 1-i n other words, i f i t moves fromwel l 1 to
wel l 2-the hydraul i c gradi ent can becal cul ated fromthe i n-
formati ongi venon the drawi ng. Thehydraul i c gradi ent i s hL I L,
wherehL i s the head l oss between wel l s 1 and 2 and L i s the
hori zontal di stance betweenthem, or
hL ( 100m-15m)-( 98m-18m)

85m-80m

5m
L

780m

780m

780m
When the hydraul i c gradi ent i s expressed
as i t i s i n theaboveexampl ei n whi chboththe numerator and
the denomi nator are i n meters, any other consi stent uni ts of
l ength can be substi tuted wi thout changi ng the val ue of the
gradi ent . Thus, a gradi ent of 5ft/780
ft i s the same as a gra-
di ent of 5m/780 m. I t i s al so
rel ati vel y common to express
hydraul i c gradi ents i n i nconsi stent
uni ts such as meters per
i n consi stent uni ts,
fn
v
L N
water
v Wel l
0 screen
movement
o F~-
a)
0
Bottom of aqui fer
111117 7TT7 t
ZI ~ ~
w
( Nati onal Geodeti c
Datumpl ane Verti cal Datumof 1929)
ki l omet er or f eet per mi l e . A
gr adi ent of 5 m/ 780 mcan
be
conver t ed t o met er s per ki l omet er as f ol l ows
:
780m1
X

1, 000 m
1- 6. 4 mkm- '
Bot h t he
di r ect i on of gr ound- wat er
movement and t he
hydr aul i c gr adi ent
can be det er mi ned i f t he
f ol l owi ng dat a ar e
avai l abl e f or t hr ee
wel l s l ocat ed i n any
t r i angul ar ar r ange-
ment such as
t hat shown on sket ch 2:
1 . The r el at i ve geogr aphi c
posi t i on of t he wel l s.
2. The di st ance bet ween t he
wel l s .
3. The t ot al head at each wel l .
St eps i n t he sol ut i on ar e out l i ned bel ow
and i l l ust r at ed i n
sket ch
3 :
( b) ( 26. 26 - 26. 20
) ( 26. 26- 26. 07 )
( a) Wel l
2
w. L . =26. 20 m
( e) 26. 2- 26. 07
133
_ h, =

0. 13 m
L

133 m
x

215

26. 26m
x=68m

0
me at k
`a ~Se9ca ~t o ~c
a . I dent i f y t he wel l t hat has t he i nt er medi at e
wat er l evel ( t hat
i s, nei t her t he hi ghest head nor t he l owest head) .
b. Cal cul at e t he posi t i on bet ween t he wel l havi ng
t he hi ghest
head and t he wel l havi ng t he l owest head
at whi ch t he
head i s t he same as t hat i n t he i nt er medi at e
wel l
.
c . Dr aw
a st r ai ght l i ne bet ween t he i nt er medi at e wel l and t he
poi nt i dent i f i ed i n st ep b as bei ng bet ween t he wel l
havi ng
t he hi ghest head and t hat havi ng t he l owest
head . Thi s l i ne r epr esent s a segment of t he wat er - l evel
cont our al ong whi ch t he t ot al head
i s t he same as t hat
i n t he i nt er medi at e wel l .
d. Dr aw a l i ne per pendi cul ar t o
t he wat er - l evel cont our and
t hr ough ei t her t he wel l wi t h
t he hi ghest head or t he
wel l
wi t h t he l owest head. Thi s l i ne par al l el s t he di r ec-
t i on
of gr ound- wat er movement .
e . Di vi de t he di f f er ence bet ween t he head of
t he wel l and
t hat of t he cont our by t he di st ance
bet ween t he wel l
and t he cont our . The answer i s t he hydr aul i c gr adi ent .
Heads and Gr adi ent s

1 1
VaO/1Va- I t. \. . V119vv%. M 0 VM n
a
Aqui f er s tr ansmi t water f r om
r echar ge ar eas to di schar ge
ar eas and thus f uncti on as por ous
condui ts ( or pi pel i nes f i l l ed
wi th sand or other
water - bear i ng mater i al ) . The f actor s con-
tr ol l i ng gr ound- water
movement wer e f i r st expr essed i n the
f or mof
an equati on by Henr y Dar cy, a Fr ench engi neer , i n
1856.
Dar cy' s l awi s
Q-
~dh~
dl
wher e Qi s the
quanti ty of water per uni t of ti me; K i s the
hydr aul i c
conducti vi ty and depends on the si ze and ar r ange-
ment of
the water - tr ansmi tti ng openi ngs ( por es and f r actur es)
and on the dynami c
char acter i sti cs of the f l ui d ( water ) such as
ki nemati c vi scosi ty, densi ty, and the str ength of the gr avi ta-
ti onal f i el d; A i s the cr oss- secti onal ar ea, at ar i ght angl e to the
f l owdi r ecti on, thr ough whi ch the f l owoccur s; and dhl dl i s the
hydr aul i c gr adi ent . '
Because the quanti ty of water
( Q
i s
di r ectl y pr opor ti onal to
the hydr aul i c gr adi ent ( dhl dl ) ,
we say that gr ound- water f l owi s
l ami nar - that i s, water par ti cl es tend to
f ol l ow di scr ete
str eaml i nes and not to mi x wi th par ti cl es
i n
adj acent
str eam-
l i nes
( 1) . ( See "Gr ound- Water Fl owNets. ")
' Wher e hydr aul i c gr adi ent i s di scussed as an i ndependent enti ty, as i t i s
i n
"Heads and Gr adi ents, " i t i s
shown symbol i cal l y as h
L
I L and i s r ef er r ed to as
head l oss per uni t of di stance.
Wher e hydr aul i c gr adi ent appear s as one of the
f actor s i n an equati on, as i t does
i n equati on l , i t i s shown symbol i cal l y as dhl dl
to be consi stent wi th other gr ound- water
l i ter atur e. The gr adi ent dhl dl i ndi cates
that the uni t di stance i s r educed to
as smal l aval ue as one can i magi ne, i n
accor dance wi th the concepts of di f f er enti al cal cul us .
12

Basi c Gr ound- Water Hydr ol ogy
Uni t
pr i sm of
aqui f er
Str eaml i nes
r epr esenti ng
l ami nar
f l ow
I f we r ear r ange
equati on 1 to sol ve f or K, we obtai n
Q
K=
Qdl
-
( m3
d-
' ) ( m) -
m

( 2)
Adh

( m' ) ( M)

d
Thus, the
uni ts of hydr aul i c conducti vi ty ar e those
of vel oc-
i ty ( or di stance
di vi ded by ti me) . I t i s i mpor tant
to note f r om
equati on 2,
however , that the f actor s i nvol ved
i n the def i ni -
ti on of
hydr aul i c conducti vi ty i ncl ude the vol ume
of water ( Q
that
wi l l move i n auni t of
ti me ( commonl y, aday) under auni t
hydr aul i c gr adi ent ( such as a
meter per meter ) thr ough auni t
ar ea( such as asquar e meter )
. These f actor s ar e i l l ustr ated i n
sketch 1. Expr essi ng hydr aul i c
conducti vi ty i n ter ms of auni t
gr adi ent, r ather than
of an actual gr adi ent at some pl ace i n
an
aqui f er , per mi ts r eady
compar i son of val ues of hydr aul i c
con-
ducti vi ty f or di f f er ent
r ocks .
Hydr aul i c
conducti vi ty r epl aces the ter m "f i el d
coef f i ci ent
of per meabi l i ty" and shoul d
be used i n r ef er r i ng to the water -
tr ansmi tti ng char acter i sti c of
mater i al i n quanti tati ve ter ms. I t
i s sti l l common pr acti ce to
r ef er i n qual i tati ve ter ms to
"per meabl e" and "i mper meabl e"
mater i al .
The hydr aul i c
conducti vi ty of r ocks r anges
thr ough 12
or der s of
magni tude ( 2) . Ther e ar e f ew
physi cal par ameter s
whose
val ues r ange so wi del y. Hydr aul i c
conducti vi ty i s not
onl y
di f f er ent i n di f f er ent types of r ocks but may
al so be di f -
f er ent f r om pl ace to pl ace
i n the same r ock. I f the hydr aul i c
conducti vi ty i s essenti al l y
the same i n any ar ea, the aqui f er i n
Hydraul i c Conducti vi ty
of
Sel ected
Rocks
I GNEOUS AND METAMORPHI C
ROCKS
Unf ractured
Unf ractured
SHALE
Fractured
Unf ractured Fractured
CLAY
GLACI AL TI LL
BASALT
Froctured
SANDSTONE
Fractured
SI LT, LOESS
10 - e 10 - 7 10 - 6
10
- 5
10 - ' 4 10 - 3 10 - 2
m
d- 1
10 - 7
10 - 6 10 - 5 10 - 4 10 - 3 10 - 2
f t d- '
10 - 7 10 - 6 10 - 5 10 - 4 10 - 3
10 - 2
that area i s sai d to behomogeneous
. I f , on the other hand, the
hydraul i c conducti vi ty di f f ers
f romone part of the area
to
another, the aqui f er i s sai d to beheterogeneous
.
Hydraul i c conducti vi ty may al so be di f f erent
i n di f f erent
di recti ons
at any pl ace i n an aqui f er. I f the
hydraul i c con-
ducti vi ty
i s essenti al l y the same i n al l
di recti ons, the aqui f er i s
sai d to be i sotropi c
.
I f
i t i s di f f erent i n di f f erent di recti ons,
the
aqui f er i s sai d to be
ani sotropi c .
- L
10 - ~
gal d- ' f t - 2
Fractured
Semi consol i dated
CARBONATE ROCKS
SI LTY SAND
CLEAN SAND
Fi ne Coarse
Lava

f l ow
Cavernous
GRAVEL
I

I

I

I

I

i
10 - ~

1

10

10 2 10 3 10 4
10 - 1 1

10

10 2 10 3 10 4 10
5
i

I

I

I

I

I
1

10

10
2

10
3

10 4

10 5
Al though i t i s conveni ent i n many mathemati cal anal yses of
ground- water f l ow to assume that aqui f ers are both homoge-
neousand i sotropi c, such aqui f ers are rare, i f they ex i st at al l .
The condi ti on most commonl y encountered i s f or hydraul i c
conducti vi ty i n most rocks and especi al l y i n unconsol i dated
deposi ts and i n f l at- l yi ng consol i dated sedi mentary rocks to
be
l arger i n the hori z ontal
di recti on than i t i s i n the verti cal
di recti on.
Hydraul i c Conducti vi ty

1
3
" V1
\v" " V1\mar V"

~r " ~vv~
mar
14

Basi c Gr ound-Water
Hydr ol ogy
f I . . - - V. Vm - ~
Fl ow l i nes
The aqui fer s and
confi ni ng beds that under l i e any ar ea
compr i se
the gr ound-water system of the ar ea ( 1) . Hydr aul i c-
al l y, thi s system ser ves twofuncti ons : i t stor es water to the
ex-
tent of
i ts por osi ty, and i t tr ansmi ts water fr om r echar ge ar eas
to
di schar ge ar eas . Thus, a gr ound-water system ser ves as both
a
r eser voi r and a condui t . Wi th the
excepti on
of
caver nous
l i mestones, l ava fl ows, and coar se
gr avel s, gr ound-water
systems ar e mor eeffecti ve as r eser voi r s than as
condui ts .
Water enter s gr ound-water systems
i n r echar ge ar eas and
moves thr ough
them, as di ctated by hydr aul i c gr adi ents and
hydr aul i c
conducti vi ti es, to di schar ge ar eas ( 1) .
The i denti fi cati on of
r echar ge ar eas i s becomi ng i ncr eas-
i ngl y
i mpor tant because of the expandi ng use of the l and
sur -
face for
waste di sposal . I n the humi d par t of the
countr y,
r echar ge
occur s i n al l i nter str eam ar eas-that i s, i n
al l ar eas
except
al ong str eams and thei r adj oi ni ng fl ood pl ai ns ( 1) . The
str eams and fl ood pl ai ns
ar e, under most condi ti ons, di s-
char ge ar eas .
I n the dr i er par t ( wester n
hal f) of the conter mi nous Uni ted
States, r echar ge
condi ti ons ar e mor e compl ex. Most r echar ge
occur s i n
the mountai n r anges, on al l uvi al fans that bor der
the
mountai n
r anges, and al ong the channel s of maj or str eams
wher e
they ar e under l ai n by thi ck and per meabl e
al l uvi al
deposi ts
.
Rechar ge r ates ar e gener al l y
expr essed i n ter ms of vol ume
( such as cubi c meter s or
gal l ons) per uni t of ti me ( such as a
day or a year ) per
uni t of ar ea ( such as a squar e ki l ometer , a
squar e mi l e, or anacr e) .
Whenthese uni ts ar e r educedto thei r
si mpl est
for ms, the r esul t i s r echar ge expr essed as a depth of
water on
the l and sur face per uni t of ti me. Rechar ge
var i es
fr om year
to year , dependi ng on the amount of pr eci pi tati on,
i ts seasonal
di str i buti on, ai r temper atur e, l and use, and
other
factor s . Rel ati ve to l and use,
r echar ge r ates i n for ests ar e
much hi gher thanthose i n ci ti es .
Annual r echar ge r ates r ange,
i n di ffer ent par ts of the coun-
Centur i es
tr y, fr om essenti al l y zer o
i n deser t ar eas to about 600 mmyr - '
( 1, 600 m3 km-2 d-
' or 1. 1x 106 gal mi -2 d- ' ) i n the
r ur al ar eas
on Long i sl and
and i n other r ur al ar eas i n the East
that ar e
under l ai n by
ver y per meabl e soi l s .
The r ate of
movement of gr ound water fr om r echar ge
ar eas
to di schar ge ar eas depends on
the hydr aul i c conducti vi ti es of
the aqui fer s and confi ni ng
beds, i f water moves downwar d
i nto other aqui fer s, and
on the hydr aul i c gr adi ents . ( See
"Gr ound-Water Vel oci ty
. ") A conveni ent way of showi ng the
r ate i s i n
ter ms of the ti me r equi r ed for gr ound
water to move
fr om
di ffer ent par ts of a r echar ge ar ea to
the near est di s-
char ge
ar ea . Theti me r anges fr om a fewdays
i n the zone ad-
j acent
to the di schar ge ar ea to thousands
of year s ( mi l l enni a)
for water that moves
fr om the centr al par t of some r echar ge
ar eas thr oughthe deeper
par ts of the gr ound-water system
( 1) .
Natur al di schar ge fr om
gr ound-water systems i ncl udes not
onl y the fl owof spr i ngs
and the seepage of water i nto str eam
channel s
or wetl ands but al so
evapor ati on fr om the upper
par t of
the capi l l ar y fr i nge, wher e
i t occur s wi thi n a meter or
so of the
l and sur face. Lar ge amounts of
water ar e al so wi th-
dr awn fr om
the capi l l ar y fr i nge and the zone of
satur ati on by
pl ants
dur i ng the gr owi ng season
. Thus, di schar ge ar eas i n-
cl ude not onl y the channel s of
per enni al str eams but al so the
adj oi ni ng fl ood pl ai ns and other
l ow-l yi ng ar eas .
One of the most si gni fi cant
di ffer ences between r echar ge
ar eas and di schar ge
ar eas i s that the ar eal extent of
di schar ge
ar eas i s i nvar i abl y
much smal l er than that of
r echar ge ar eas .
Thi s si ze
di ffer ence shows, as we woul d expect, that
di schar ge
ar eas ar e
mor e "effi ci ent" than r echar ge ar eas . Rechar ge
i n-
vol ves unsatur ated movement of
water i n the ver ti cal di r ec-
ti on; i n other wor ds, movement
i s i n the di r ecti on i n whi chthe
hydr aul i c conducti vi ty i s
gener al l y the l owest . Di schar ge, on
the other hand, i nvol ves
satur ated movement, much of i t i n
the hor i zontal di r ecti on-that
i s, i n the di r ecti on of the l ar gest
hydr aul i c conducti vi ty.
of the Water Tabl e i n the Coastal Pl ai n of North Carol i na
Recharge
events
Wel l Pi -533
(1978)
n
J UNE J ULY
AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
Another i mportant aspect of recharge and di scharge i n-
vol ves ti mi ng. Recharge occurs duri ng and i mmedi atel y f ol -
l owi ng peri ods of preci pi tati on and
thus i s i ntermi ttent (2 ) .
Di scharge, on the other hand,
i s
a
conti nuous process as l ong
as ground-water heads are above
the
l evel
at whi ch di scharge
occurs. However, between
peri ods of recharge, ground-water
heads decl i ne, and the rate of di scharge al so decl i nes
. Most
recharge of ground-water systems occurs duri ng l ate
f al l ,
J UNE I J ULY
1978
(2 )
Preci pi tati on at

Washi ngton, NC.
AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
wi nter, and earl y spri ng, when pl ants are dormant and
evaporati on rates are smal l . These aspects of recharge and
di scharge are apparent f rom
graphs showi ng the f l uctuati on
of the water l evel i n observati on
wel l s, such as the one shown
i n sketch 2 . The occasi onal l ack of
correl ati on, especi al l y i n
the summer, between the preci pi tati on
and the ri se i n water
l evel i s due
partl y to the di stance of 2 0 km between the
weather stati on
and the wel l .
Functi ons of Ground-Water Systems

1s
3
w
F-
w
z
I
2
J AN FEB MAR APR MAY
70
60
w
J
50
W
J
a
40
W
Z
J
a
J
30
I
2 0
~
z
10
0
J AN FEB MAR APR MAY
0
W
U
Fl uctuati on
a
W
0
z
J
h
a
w
J
W
J
3
O
J
C11 Li J
Wm
a
1 6

Basi c
Ground-Water Hydrol ogy
Sand
col umn ,
Wetti ng
front
Most recharge of ground-water systems occurs duri ng the
percol ati on of water across the unsaturated zone. The move-
ment of water i n the unsaturated zone i s control l ed by both
gravi tati onal and capi l l ary forces .
Capi l l ari ty resul ts fromtwo forces: the mutual attracti on
( cohesi on) between water mol ecul es and the mol ecul ar attrac-
ti on ( adhesi on) between water and di fferent sol i d materi al s . As
a consequence of these forces, water wi l l ri se i n smal l -
di ameter
gl ass tubes to a hei ght h, above the water l evel i n a
l arge contai ner ( 1 ) .
Most pores i n granul ar materi al s are
of capi l l ary si ze, and,
as a resul t, water i s pul l ed upward i nto a capi l l ary fri nge
above the water tabl e i n the same manner that water woul d
be pul l ed up i nto a col umn of sand whose l ower end i s i m-
mersed i n water ( 2) .
APPROXIMATE
HEIGHTOFCAPILLARYRISE( h, ) IN
GRANULAR
MATERIALS
Materi al

Ri se
( mm)
Sand:
Coarse
------------------------------------------

1 25
Medi um-----------------------------------------

250
Fi ne --------------------------------------------

400
Si l t
-----------------------------------------------

1 , 000
Steady-state fl ow of water i n the unsaturated zone can be
determi ned froma modi fi ed formof Darcy' s l aw. Steady state
i n
thi s context refers to a condi ti on i n whi ch the moi sture con-
tent remai ns
constant, as i t woul d, for exampl e, beneath a
waste-di sposal pond whose bottomi s separated fromthe
water tabl e by an unsaturated zone.
p00
O000
0
0

00o
0000
000
Oo00
0
0
00
000
' 0
-
o07,
770-0
-09
o_-00-0-
00G) _0
_
00-

-0
OO~po
h,
h, -z
Water--_-=
Rate of ri se of
water up the sand
col umn
Steady-state unsaturated fl ow ( Qi s proporti onal to the ef-
fecti ve hydraul i c conducti vi ty
( K, ) ,
the cross-secti onal area ( A)
through whi ch the fl ow occurs, and gradi ents due to both
capi l l ary forces and gravi tati onal forces. Thus,
, z dh
Q

KeA
(
h
z

I
( dl
where Q
i s the quanti ty of water, Ke i s the hydraul i c conduc-
ti vi ty under the degree of saturati on exi sti ng i n the unsatu-
rated zone, ( h, -z) l z i s the gradi ent due to capi l l ary ( surface
tensi on) forces, anddhl dl i s the gradi ent due to gravi ty.
The pl us or
mi nus si gn i s rel ated to the di recti on of
movement-pl us
for downward and mi nus for upward. For
movement i n a
verti cal di recti on, ei ther up or down, the gra-
di ent due
to gravi ty i s 1 / 1 , or 1 . For l ateral ( hori zontal ) move-
ment i n the unsaturated zone, the termfor the gravi tati onal
gradi ent can beel i mi nated.
The capi l l ary gradi ent at any ti me depends on the l ength of
the water col umn ( z) supported by capi l l ari ty i n rel ati on to the
maxi mumpossi bl e hei ght
of capi l l ary ri se ( h, ) ( 2) . For exampl e,
i f the l ower end of a
sand col umn i s suddenl y submerged i n
water, the capi l l ary
gradi ent i s at a maxi mum, and the rate of
ri se of water i s fastest . As
the wetti ng front advances up the
col umn, the capi l l ary gradi ent decl i nes, and the rate of ri se
decreases ( 2) .
The capi l l ary gradi ent can be determi ned fromtensi ometer
measurements of hydraul i c pressures. To determi ne the gra-
di ent, i t i s necessary to measure the negati ve pressures ( hp) at
two l evel s i n the unsaturated zone, as sketch 3 shows . The
equati onfor total head ( ht ) i s
z
0
a
W
J
W
24
22
2
1f
Tensi ometers
No. l

No. 2
ht =31m
ht =32+(-1)=32-1=31m
Land
surface
y. . . ,
wnwvnr~
hp=2m
i

i
ht =26m
Capi l l ary
~~~
fri nge
20
Water tabl e
4 f~

r\-

I -, I 'll
0L-_ I ---
DATUMPLANE (NATI ONALGEODETI CVERTI CAL DATUM1929)
(3)
wherezi s the el evati on of a
tensi ometer. Substi tuti ng val ues
i n thi s equati onfor tensi ometer
no. 1, weobtai n
The
total
head at tensi ometer no. 2 i s 26 m. The
verti cal
di stance betweenthetensi ometers i s 32mmi nus28m,
or 4m.
Because the combi ned
gravi tati onal and capi l l ary hydraul i c
gradi ent
equal s the headl oss di vi ded bythe
di stance between
tensi ometers, the gradi ent i s
Thi s gradi ent i ncl udes
boththe gravi tati onal gradi ent (dhl dl )
andthe capi l l arygradi ent
([ h, -z] l z)) . Becausethe headi n ten-
si ometer no. 1 exceeds that
i ntensi ometer no. 2, weknowthat
fl owi s verti cal l ydownward
andthat thegravi tati onal gradi ent
i s 111, or
1 . Therefore, the capi l l ary gradi ent i s 0. 25
mm-'
(1 . 25-1
. 00).
U
0
z
0
U
U
J
a
0
0
0
h
L

ht(j )
-
h
t(2)

31-26

5 m
L

z

z

32-28

4m

1. 25
0 20
40 60 80 100
SATURATI ON, I N PERCENT
(4)
The effecti ve hydraul i c conducti vi ty (Ke)
i s the hydraul i c
conducti vi ty of materi al that i s not compl etel y
saturated. I t i s
thus l ess than the (saturated) hydraul i c conducti vi ty (K) for
the materi al . Sketch4shows the rel ati on between degreeof
saturati on andthe rati o of saturatedandunsaturated hydrau-
l i c conducti vi ty for coarse sand. The hydraul i c conducti vi ty
(KS) of coarsesandi s about 60md-'.
Capi l l ari tyandUnsaturatedFl ow

17
34
7, 77"W"77-77\77
hp=1m
32
30
w
28
H
w
26
z
z=32m
5I KAI I F-
I CATI ONANDUNSATURATEDFLOW
Nonst r at i f i ed

I nf l ow0. 072 m3 d '
( 19 gal d 1 )
F
model
1 . 2 m
1 . 2 m-
( 2)
EXPLANATI ON
~ ~ Ar eas
r emai ni ng dr y af t er
3 8
hour s of i nf l ow
18

Basi c Gr ound- Wat er
Hydr ol ogy
Most
sedi ment s ar e deposi t ed i n l ayer s ( beds) t hat have a
di st i nct gr ai n si ze, sor t i ng, or mi ner al composi t i on. Wher e ad-
j acent l ayer s di f f er i n one of t hese char act er i st i cs or mor e, t he
deposi t i s sai d t o be st r at i f i ed, and i t s l ayer ed st r uct ur e i s r e-
f er r ed t o as st r at i f i cat i on .
The l ayer s compr i si ng a st r at i f i ed
deposi t commonl y di f f er
f r omone anot her i n bot h
gr ai n si ze and sor t i ng and, conse-
quent l y, di f f er f r omone
anot her i n hydr aul i c conduct i vi t y.
These di f f er ences i n hydr aul i c
conduct i vi t y si gni f i cant l y af -
f ect bot h
t he per col at i on of wat er acr oss t he unsat ur at ed
zone and
t he movement of gr ound wat er .
I n most ar eas, t he unsat ur at ed zone i s composed of hor i -
zont al or near l y hor i zont al l ayer s . The movement of wat er , on
t he ot her hand, i s pr edomi nant l y i n a ver t i cal di r ect i on
. I n
many gr ound- wat er pr obl ems, and especi al l y
i n
t hose
r el at ed
t o t he r el ease of pol l ut ant s at t he l and sur f ace, t he ef f ect of
st r at i f i cat i on on movement of f l ui ds acr oss t he
unsat ur at ed
zone i s of gr eat
i mpor t ance.
The manner
i n whi ch wat er moves acr oss t he unsat ur at ed
zone has been
st udi ed by usi ng model s cont ai ni ng gl ass
beads. One
model ( 1) cont ai ned beads of a si ngl e si ze r epr e-
sent i ng a nonst r at i f i ed deposi t , and anot her ( 2)
consi st ed of
f i ve l ayer s, t hr ee of whi ch wer e f i ner gr ai ned and mor e i mper -
meabl e t han t he ot her t wo. The di mensi ons of t he model s
wer e about 1 . 5 mx 1 . 2 mx 76 mm.
I n t he nonst r at i f i ed model ,
wat er i nt r oduced at t he t op
moved ver t i cal l y downwar d
t hr ough a zone of const ant wi dt h
t o t he bot t omof t he model
( 1) . I n t he st r at i f i ed model , beds A,
C, and Econsi st ed of si l t - si zed beads
( di amet er s of 0. 03 6 mm)
havi ng
a capi l l ar y hei ght ( h, ) of about 1, 000 mmand a
hydr aul i c conduct i vi t y ( K) of 0. 8 md- ' . Beds B and Dcon-
si st ed of medi um- sand- si zed beads ( di amet er s of 0. 47 mm)
havi ng a capi l l ar y hei ght of about 250 mmand a hydr aul i c
conduct i vi t y of 82 md- ' .
Because of t he st r ong capi l l ar y f or ce and t he l ow hydr aul i c
conduct i vi t y i n bed A, t he wat er spr ead l at er al l y at al most t he
same r at e as i t di d ver t i cal l y, and i t di d not begi n t o ent er bed
B unt i l 9 hour s af t er
t he st ar t of t he exper i ment . At t hat t i me,
t he capi l l ar y
sat ur at i on i n bed Ahad r eached a l evel wher e
t he unsat i sf i ed
( r emai ni ng) capi l l ar y pul l i n bed Awas t he
same as t hat
i n bed B. I n ot her wor ds, z i n bed Aat t hat t i me
equal ed 1, 000 mm- 250 mm, or 750 mm
.
( For a
def i ni t i on of
z, see "Capi l l ar i t y and Unsat ur at ed
Fl ow. ")
Because t he hydr aul i c conduct i vi t y of bed B was 100 t i mes
t hat of bed A, wat er moved acr oss bed B t hr ough nar r ow
ver -
t i cal zones.
We can guess t hat t he gl ass beads i n t hese zones
wer e packed
somewhat mor e t i ght l y t han t hose i n ot her par t s
of t he
beds.
5A1
UKATEDFLOWAND
DI SPERSI ON
Cone of
di sper si on
Di r ect i on of
f l ow
Changes
i n concent r at i on i n
t he di sper si on cone
o 1 . 0
0 0 . 5
Di sper si on
i n a
gr anul ar
deposi t
Fi r st appear ance
of
subst ance
0
t o Ti me si nce
st ar t
of i nj ect i on
I n t he sat ur at ed zone, al l i nt er connect ed openi ngs ar e f ul l
of
wat er , and t he wat er moves
t hr ough t hese openi ngs i n t he
di r ect i on cont r ol l ed
by
t he hydr aul i c
gr adi ent . Movement i n
t he sat ur at ed zone may be ei t her l ami nar
or t ur bul ent . I n
l ami nar f l ow, wat er par t i cl es move i n an or der l y
manner al ong
st r eaml i nes . I n t ur bul ent f l ow, wat er par t i cl es move i n a
di s-
or der ed, hi ghl y i r r egul ar manner , whi ch r esul t s i n a compl ex
mi xi ng of t he par t i cl es . Under nat ur al hydr aul i c gr adi ent s,
t ur -
bul ent f l ow occur s onl y i n l ar ge openi ngs such
as t hose i n
gr avel , l ava f l ows, and l i mest one caver ns . Fl ows ar e l ami nar i n
most gr anul ar deposi t s and f r act ur ed r ocks .
I n l ami nar f l ow i n a gr anul ar medi um, t he di f f er ent st r eam-
l i nes conver ge i n t he nar r ow necks bet ween par t i cl es and
di ver ge i n t he l ar ger i nt er st i ces ( 1) . Thus, t her e
i s some i n-
t er mi ngl i ng of st r eaml i nes, whi ch r esul t s i n t r ansver se
di sper -
si on- t hat i s, di sper si on at r i ght angl es t o t he di r ect i on of
gr ound- wat er f l ow. Al so, di f f er ences i n vel oci t y r esul t f r om
f r i ct i on bet ween t he wat er and t he r ock par t i cl es . The sl owest
r at e of movement occur s adj acent t o t he par t i cl es, and t he
f ast est r at e occur s i n t he cent er of por es . The r esul t i ng di sper -
si on i s l ongi t udi nal - t hat i s, i n t he di r ect i on of f l ow.
Danel ( 1953) f ound t hat dye i nj ect ed at a poi nt i n a homoge-
neous and i sot r opi c gr anul ar medi umdi sper sed l at er al l y i n t he
shape of a cone about 6 wi de ( 2 ) . He al so f ound t hat t he con-
cent r at i on of dye over a pl ane at any gi ven di st ance f r omt he
i nl et poi nt i s a bel l - shaped cur ve si mi l ar t o t he nor mal pr ob-
abi l i t y cur ve. Because of t r ansver se and l ongi t udi nal di sper -
si on, t he peak concent r at i on decr eased i n t he di r ect i on of
f l ow.
The ef f ect of l ongi t udi nal di sper si on can al so be obser ved
f r omt he change i n concent r at i on of a subst ance ( C) down-
st r eamf r oma poi nt at whi ch t he subst ance i s bei ng i nj ect ed
const ant l y at a concent r at i on of Co. The concent r at i on r i ses
sl owl y at f i r st as t he " f ast est " st r eaml i nes ar r i ve and t hen r i ses
r api dl y unt i l t he concent r at i on r eaches about 0. 7 Co, at whi ch
poi nt t he r at e of i ncr ease i n concent r at i on begi ns t o decr ease
( 3) .
Di sper si on i s i mpor t ant i n t he st udy of gr ound- wat er pol l u-
t i on
. However , i t i s di f f i cul t t o measur e i n t he f i el d because
t he r at e and di r ect i on of movement of wast es ar e al so af -
f ect ed by st r at i f i cat i on, i on exchange, f i l t r at i on, and ot her
condi t i ons and pr ocesses . St r at i f i cat i on and ar eal di f f er ences
i n l i t hol ogy and ot her char act er i st i cs of aqui f er s and conf i ni ng
beds act ual l y r esul t i n much gr eat er l at er al and l ongi t udi nal
di sper si on t han t hat measur ed by Danel f or a homogeneous
and i sot r opi c medi um.
Sat ur at ed Fl ow and Di sper si on

19
I t i s des i r abl e, wher ever pos s i bl e, t o det er mi ne t he pos i t i on
of t he wat er t abl e and t he di r ect i on of gr ound- wat er move-
ment . To do s o, i t i s neces s ar y t o det er mi ne t he al t i t ude, or t he
hei ght above a dat um
pl ane, of t he wat er
l evel
i n
wel l s . How-
ever , i n mos t ar eas , gener al but ver y val uabl e concl us i ons
about t he di r ect i on of gr ound- wat er movement can be der i ved
f r omobs er vat i ons of l and- s ur f ace t opogr aphy .
Gr avi t y i s t he domi nant dr i vi ng f or ce i n gr ound- wat er move-
ment . Under nat ur al condi t i ons , gr ound wat er moves "down-
hi l l " unt i l , i n t he cour s e
of i t s movement , i t
r eaches t he l and
s ur f ace at a
s pr i ng
or t hr ough a s eep
al ong
t he s i de or bot t om
of a s t r eam
channel
or an es t uar y .
Thus , gr ound wat er i n t he s hal l owes t par t of t he s at ur at ed
zone moves f r om i nt er s t r eam ar eas t owar d s t r eams or t he
coas t
. I f we i gnor e mi nor s ur f ace i r r egul ar i t i es , we f i nd t hat
t he s l ope of t he l and s ur f ace i s al s o t owar d s t r eams or t he
coas t . The dept h t o t he wat er t abl e i s gr eat er al ong t he di vi de
bet ween s t r eams t han i t i s beneat h t he f l ood pl ai n. I n ef f ect ,
t he wat er t abl e us ual l y i s a s ubdued r epl i ca of t he l and
s ur f ace .
I n ar eas wher e gr ound wat er i s us ed f or domes t i c and ot her
needs r equi r i ng good- qual i t y wat er , s ept i c t anks , s ani t ar y
l andf i l l s , was t e ponds , and ot her was t e- di s pos al
s i t es
s houl d
not be l ocat ed uphi l l f r oms uppl y wel l s .
The pot ent i omet r i c s ur f ace of conf i ned aqui f er s , l i ke t he
wat er t abl e, al s o s l opes f r om r echar ge ar eas t o di s char ge
ar eas . Shal l ow conf i ned aqui f er s , whi ch ar e r el at i vel y com-
mon al ong t he At l ant i c Coas t al Pl ai n, s har e bot h r echar ge and
di s char ge ar eas wi t h t he s ur f i ci al unconf i ned aqui f er s . Thi s
s har i ng may not be t he cas e wi t h t he deeper conf i ned
aqui f er s . The pr i nci pal r echar ge ar eas f or t hes e ar e pr obabl y
i n t hei r out cr op ar eas near t he wes t er n bor der of t he Coas t al
Pl ai n, and t hei r di s char ge ar eas ar e pr obabl y near t he heads of
t he es t uar i es al ong t he maj or s t r eams . Thus , movement of
wat er t hr ough t hes e aqui f er s i s
i n
a gener al wes t t o eas t di r ec-
t i on, wher e i t has not been modi f i ed by wi t hdr awal s .
I n t he wes t er n par t of t he cont er mi nous Uni t ed St at es , and
es peci al l y i n t he al l uvi al bas i ns r egi on, condi t i ons ar e mor e
var i abl e t han t hos e des cr i bed above . I n t hi s ar ea, s t r eams
f l owi ng f r om mount ai n r anges ont o al l uvi al pl ai ns l os e wat er
t o t he al l uvi al depos i t s ; t hus , gr ound wat er i n t he upper par t of
t he s at ur at ed zone f l ows down t he val l eys and at an
angl e
away f r omt he s t r eams .
Gr ound wat er i s nor mal l y hi dden f r om vi ew; as a cons e-
quence, many peopl e
have di f f i cul t y vi s ual i zi ng i t s occur -
r ence and movement . Thi s
di f f i cul t y adver s el y af f ect s t hei r
abi l i t y t o under s t and and t o deal
ef f ect i vel y wi t h gr ound-
wat er - r el at ed pr obl ems . Thi s pr obl em can be par t l y
s ol ved
2 0

Bas i c Gr ound- Wat er Hydr ol ogy
Ar r ows s how di r ect i on of
gr ound- wat er movement
t hr ough t he us e of f l ow net s , whi ch ar e one of t he mos t ef -
f ect i ve means yet devi s ed f or i l l us t r at i ng condi t i ons i n gr ound-
wat er s ys t ems .
VI%VVINV-
VVf11LRUL%JVVI' ILIJ
Fl ownet s consi st of t woset s of l i nes . One set ,
r efer r ed t o as
equi pot ent i al
l i nes, connect s poi nt s of equal head and t hus
r epr esent s
t he hei ght of t he wat er t abl e, or t he pot ent i omet r i c
sur face of a
confi ned aqui fer , above a dat umpl ane. The sec-
ond set ,
r efer r ed t o as fl owl i nes, depi ct s t he i deal i zed pat hs
fol l owed by par t i cl es of wat er as t hey move
t hr ough t he
aqui fer . Because gr ound wat er moves i n t he di r ect i on of t he
st eepest hydr aul i c gr adi ent , fl ow l i nes i n i sot r opi c aqui fer s ar e
per pendi cul ar t o equi pot ent i al l i nes- t hat i s, fl ow l i nes cr oss
equi pot ent i al
l i nes
at
r i ght angl es .
Ther e ar e an
i nfi ni t e number of equi pot ent i al l i nes and fl ow
l i nes i n an
aqui fer . However , for pur poses of fl ow- net anal ysi s,
onl y a fewof
each set need
be
dr awn . Equi pot ent i al l i nes ar e
dr awn so t hat t he dr op i n head i s t he same bet ween adj acent
pai r s of l i nes . Fl owl i nes ar e dr awn so t hat t he fl owi s equal l y
di vi ded bet ween adj acent pai r s of l i nes and so t hat , t oget her
wi t h t he equi pot ent i al l i nes, t hey for ma ser i es of "squar es . "
Fl ow net s not onl y show t he di r ect i on of gr ound- wat er
movement
but can al so, i f t hey ar e dr awn wi t h car e, be used
t o est i mat e
t he quant i t y of wat er i n t r ansi t t hr ough an aqui fer .
Accor di ng t o
Dar cy' s l aw, t he fl owt hr ough any "squar e" i s
and t he t ot al fl owt hr ough any set or gr oup of "squar es" i s
Q=nq

( 2)
wher e Ki s hydr aul i c conduct i vi t y, b i s aqui fer t hi ckness at t he
mi dpoi nt bet ween equi pot ent i al l i nes, wi s t he di st ance be-
t ween fl ow l i nes, dh i s t he di ffer ence i n head bet ween equi -
pot ent i al l i nes, dl i s t he di st ance bet ween equi pot ent i al l i nes,
and n i s t he number of
squar es t hr ough whi ch t he fl ow occur s .
Dr awi ngs 1 and 2 show
a fl ow net i n bot h pl an vi ew and
cr oss sect i on for an ar ea
under l ai n by an unconfi ned aqui fer
composed of sand. The sand
over l i es a hor i zont al confi ni ng
bed, t he
t op of whi ch occur s at an el evat i on 3 mabove t he
dat um
pl ane. The fact t hat some fl ow l i nes or i gi nat e i n t he
ar ea
i n whi ch heads exceed 13 mi ndi cat es t he pr esence of
r echar ge
t o t he aqui fer i n t hi s ar ea. The r el at i ve posi t i ons of
t he l and sur face and t he
wat er t abl e i n sket ch 2 suggest t hat
r echar ge occur s t hr oughout
t he ar ea, except al ong t he st r eam
val l eys. Thi s suggest i on i s
confi r med by t he fact t hat fl ow
l i nes al so or i gi nat e i n ar eas
wher e heads ar e l ess t han 13 m.
As sket ches
1 and 2 show, fl ow l i nes or i gi nat e i n r echar ge
ar eas and
t er mi nat e i n di schar ge ar eas . Cl osed cont our s ( equi -
pot ent i al
l i nes) i ndi cat e t he cent r al par t s of r echar ge ar eas but
do not
nor mal l y i ndi cat e t he l i mi t s of t he ar eas.
In t he cr oss- sect i onal vi ew i n sket ch
2, heads decr ease
downwar d i n t he r echar ge ar ea and decr ease
upwar d i n t he
di schar ge ar ea. Consequent l y, t he deeper a
wel l
i s
dr i l l ed i n a
r echar ge ar ea, t he l ower t he wat er l evel i n t he
wel l
st ands
bel owl and
sur face. The r ever se i s t r ue i n di schar ge ar eas .
Thus, i n a
di schar ge ar ea, i f a wel l i s dr i l l ed deepl y enough i n
an
unconfi ned aqui fer , t he wel l may fl owabove l and sur face.
Consequent l y,
a fl owi ng wel l does not necessar i l y i ndi cat e
ar t esi an condi t i ons .
Dr awi ngs 3 and 4 showequi pot ent i al
l i nes and fl owl i nes i n
t he vi ci ni t y of a st r eam t hat gai ns
wat er i n i t s headwat er s and
l oses wat er as i t fl ows downst r eam
. In t he gai ni ng r eaches, t he
equi pot ent i al l i nes
for m a Vpoi nt i ng upst r eam; i n t he l osi ng
r each, t hey for ma
Vpoi nt i ng downst r eam.
Gr ound- Wat er Fl ow Net s

2 1
22

Basi cGround-Water Hydrol ogy
Pl an vi ew
Cross
sect10n
Hori zontal
scal e
Land
surface

A
0

2000

4000
METERS
14
H
6
w
4
Gai ni ng
stream

Pl an vi ew

/stream
Land
surface
Gai ni ng
Cross secti on

B~
104
102
100
98
96
94
92
90
88
86
Hori zontal
scal e
0

1000

2000

3000METERS
I I I I I I

I

I

I
a
0
w
0
m
a
w
w
Ground- Water
Fl owNets

23
VRIJVI~IV-VV/`11CR
IVIVVCIVICIN1 /AINV31KHI Int ./HIIVIV
24

Basi c Ground-Water Hydrol ogy
, Conf i ned aqui f er
i
Bedrock
Nearl y al l ground-water systems i ncl ude both aqui f ers and
conf i ni ng beds . Thus, ground-water movementthrough these
systems i nvol ves f l ow notonl y through the aqui f ers butal so
across the conf i ni ng beds ( 1) .
The
hydraul i c
conducti vi ti es of aqui f ers are tens to thou-
sands of ti mes those of conf i ni ng beds. Thus, aqui f ers of f er
the l eastresi stance to f l ow, the resul tbei ng that, f or a gi ven
rate of f l ow, the head l oss per uni tof di stance al ong a f l ow
l i ne i s tens to thousands of ti mes l ess i naqui f ers thani ti s i n
conf i ni ng beds . Consequentl y, l ateral f l ow i nconf i ni ng beds
usual l y i s negl i gi bl e, and f l owl i nes tend to "concentrate" i n
aqui f ers and be paral l el to aqui f er boundari es ( 2) .
Di f f erences i nthe hydraul i c conducti vi ti es of aqui f ers and
conf i ni ng beds cause a ref racti onor bendi ng of f l ow l i nes at
thei r boundari es . As f l ow l i nes move f romaqui f ers i nto con-
f i ni ng beds, they are ref racted toward the di recti onperpen-
di cul ar to the boundary. Inother words, they are ref racted i n
the di recti onthatproduces
the shortestf l owpath i nthe
con-
f i ni ng
bed. -As the
f l ow l i nes emerge f romthe conf i ni ng
bed,
they are ref racted back toward the di recti onparal l el to the
boundary ( 1) .
The angl es
of ref racti on( and the spaci ng of f l ow l i nes i n
adj acent
aqui f ers and conf i ni ng beds) are proporti onal to the
di f f erences
i nhydraul i c conducti vi ti es ( K) ( 3) such that
tanB,

_K,
tan0,

KZ
Incross secti on, the water tabl e
i s a f l owl i ne. Itrepresents a
boundi ng surf ace f or the ground-water
system; thus, i nthe
devel opmentof many ground-water
f l ow equati ons, i t i s as-
sumed to be coi nci dentwi th
a f l owl i ne
.
However, duri ng peri -
ods when
recharge i s arri vi ng atthe top of the capi l l ary f ri nge,
the water tabl e i s al so the poi ntof ori gi nof f l owl i nes ( 1) .
The
movement
of
water through ground-water systems i s
control l ed by the verti cal and hori zontal hydraul i c conducti v-
i ti es and thi cknesses of the aqui f ers and conf i ni ng beds and
the hydraul i c gradi ents . The maxi mumdi f f erence i nhead ex-
i sts betweenthe central parts of recharge areas and di scharge
areas . Because
of the rel ati vel y l arge head l oss thatoccurs as
water
moves across conf i ni ng beds, the mostvi gorous ci rcu-
l ati onof
ground water normal l y occurs through the shal l owest
aqui f ers .
Movementbecomes more and more l ethargi c as
depth i ncreases .
The mosti mportantexcepti ons to the general si tuati onde-
scri bed i nthe precedi ng paragraph are those systems i nwhi ch
one or more of the deeper aqui f ers have transmi ssi vi ti es
si gni f i cantl y l arger thanthose of ' the surf i ci al and other
shal l ower
aqui f ers . Thus, i neasternNorth Carol i na, the Castl e
Hayne
Li mestone, whi ch occurs atdepths rangi ng f romabout
10
to about75 mbel owl and surf ace, i s the domi nantaqui f er
because of i ts very l arge transmi ssi vi ty, al though i t i s
overl ai n
i nmostof the area by one or more l ess permeabl e aqui f ers .
Ki
=1
02
; Ie
( 3)
K2-
5
Aqui f er
Conf i ni ng
bed
Aqui f er
UK(JUND-WAI LKVLLOCITY
Water-tabl e
wel l
Capi l l ary
f ri nge
i
The rate of movement of ground water i s i mportant i n many
probl ems , parti c ul arl y thos e rel ated to pol l uti on. For exampl e,
i f a harmf ul s ubs tanc e i s i ntroduc ed i nto an aqui f er upgra-
' di ent f roma s uppl y wel l , i t bec omes a matter of great urgenc y
to es ti mate when the s ubs tanc e wi l l reac h the wel l .
The rate of movement of ground water i s greatl y overes ti -
mated by many peopl e, i nc l udi ng thos e who thi nk i n terms of
ground water movi ng through " vei ns " and underground ri vers
at the rates c ommonl y obs erved i n s urf ac e s treams . It woul d
be more appropri ate to c ompare the rate of movement of
ground water to the movement of water i n the mi ddl e of a
very
l arge l ake bei ng drai ned
by
a very s mal l s tream
.
The
ground-water vel oc i ty equati on
c an be deri ved f roma
c ombi nati on of Darc y' s l aw and the vel oc i ty equati on of
hydraul i c s .
(dl )
where Qi s the rate of f l owor vol ume per uni t of ti me, Ki s the
hydraul i c c onduc ti vi ty, Ai s the c ros s -s ec ti onal area, at a ri ght
angl e to
the f l ow di rec ti on, through whi c h the f l owQ
oc c urs ,
dhl dl i s
the hydraul i c gradi ent, and v i s the Darc i an vel oc i ty,
whi c h i s the average vel oc i ty of the enti re c ros s -s ec ti onal
area. Combi ni ng thes e equati ons , we obtai n
Av=KA( dl
Canc el i ng the area terms , wef i nd that
0 Vel oc i ty
(Darc y' s l aw)
Q=Av

(vel oc i ty
equati on)
Bec aus e thi s
equati on c ontai ns terms f or hydraul i c c onduc ti v-
i ty and gradi ent
onl y, i t
i s
not yet a c ompl ete expres s i on
of
ground-water vel oc i ty. The mi s s i ng term i s poros i ty (n)
bec aus e, as we know, water moves onl y through the openi ngs
i n a roc k . Addi ng the
poros i ty term, we obtai n
In order to demons trate the rel ati vel y s l ow rate of ground-
water movement, equati on 1 i s us ed to determi ne the rate of
movement through an aqui f er and a c onf i ni ng bed .
1 . Aqui f er
c ompos ed of c oars es and
K=60ml d
dhl dl =1 m1 1 , 000 m
n =0. 20
K dh 60m 1 1 m
v

_
n X
_
dl
_

d

X 0. 20
X-
n

m
2 . Conf i ni ngbed c ompos ed of c l ay
K=0. 0001 ml d
dhl dl =1 m1 1 0 m
n=0. 50
v=
60 mz
=0' 3md- '
200 md
_ 0. 0001 m

1

1 m
v d X X 0. 501 0m
_ 0. 0001
mz
5
md

=
0. 00002 m
d-'
Vel oc i ti es c al c ul ated wi th equati on 1 are, at bes t, average
val ues . Where ground-water pol l uti on i s i nvol ved, the f as tes t
rates of movement may be s everal ti mes the average rate.
Al s o, the rates of movement i n l i mes tone c averns , l ava tubes ,
and l arge roc k f rac tures may approac h thos e obs erved
i n
s ur-
f ac e s treams .
Further, movement i n unc onf i ned aqui f ers i s not l i mi ted to
the z one bel ow the water tabl e or to the s aturated z one.
Water i n the c api l l ary f ri nge i s s ubj ec ted to the s ame
hydraul i c gradi ent that
exi s ts
at
the water tabl e
;
water i n the
c api l l ary f ri nge moves , theref ore, i n the s ame di rec ti on as the
ground water .
As the ac c ompanyi ng s ketc h s hows , the rate of l ateral
movement i n the c api l l ary f ri nge dec reas es i n an upward
di rec ti on and bec omes z ero at the top of the f ri nge. Thi s
c ons i derati on i s i mportant where unc onf i ned aqui f ers are
pol l uted
wi th gas ol i ne and other s ubs tanc es l es s dens e than
water.
Ground-Water Vel oc i ty

2
5
I KAN5M1551V11Y
The capaci t y of an aqui f er t o t r ans mi t wat er of t he pr evai l -
i ng ki nemat i c vi s cos i t y i s r ef er r ed t o as i t s t r ans mi s s i vi t y. The
t r ans mi s s i vi t y ( T) of an aqui f er i s equal t o t he hydr aul i c con-
duct i vi t y of t he aqui f er mul t i pl i ed by t he s at ur at ed t hi cknes s
of t he aqui f er . Thus ,
wher e T i s t r ans mi s s i vi t y, Ki s hydr aul i c conduct i vi t y, and b i s
aqui f er t hi cknes s .
As i s t he cas e wi t h hydr aul i c conduct i vi t y, t r ans mi s s i vi t y i s
al s o def i ned i n t er ms of a uni t hydr aul i c gr adi ent .
I f equat i on 1 i s combi ned wi t h Dar cy' s l aw ( s ee " Hydr aul i c
Conduct i vi t y" ) , t he r es ul t i s an equat i on t hat can be us ed t o
cal cul at e t he quant i t y of wat er ( q) movi ng t hr ough a uni t
wi dt h ( w) of an aqui f er . Dar cy' s l aw i s
Expr es s i ng ar ea ( A) as bw, we obt ai n
q =Kbw
( dl )
Next , expr es s i ng t r ans mi s s i vi t y
( T)
as Kb, we obt ai n
q=Tw
( dl )
Equat i on 2 modi f i ed t o det er mi ne t he quant i t y of wat er
movi ng t hr ough a l ar ge wi dt h ( W) of an aqui f er i s
2 6

Bas i c Gr ound- Wat er Hydr ol ogy
( Q
dl
=1000m
Q=TwW
( dl )
or , i f i t i s r ecogni zed t hat T appl i es t o a uni t wi dt h ( w) of an
aqui f er , t hi s equat i on can be s t at ed mor e s i mpl y as
Q=TW
( dl ~
I f equat i on 3 i s appl i ed t o s ket ch 1, t he quant i t y of wat er
f l owi ng out of t he r i ght - hand s i de of t he s ket ch can be cal -
cul at ed by us i ng t he val ues s hown on t he s ket ch, as f ol l ows :
T=Kb=
5
d
m
X
100m
=5000ml d - 1
h

5, 000
m2 1, 000m

1 m
Q=TW(ddl )

d

x

1

X
1, 000m
=5000
m3
d - '
Equat i on 3 i s al s o us ed t o cal cul at e t r ans mi s s i vi t y, wher e
t he quant i t y of wat er ( Qdi s char gi ng f r om a known wi dt h of
aqui f er can be det er mi ned as , f or exampl e, wi t h s t r eamf l ow
meas ur ement s . Rear r angi ng t er ms , we obt ai n
T
_ _

Q

(
dl
dh
)
T-
( m3
d- ' ) ( m)
_
( m) ( m)

d
m
2
( 2 )

The uni t s of
t r ans mi s s i vi t y, as t he pr ecedi ng equat i on
demons t r at es , ar e
Sket ch 2 i l l us t r a t es t he hydr ol ogi c s i t ua t i on t ha t per mi t s
ca l cul a t i on of t r a ns mi s s i vi t y t hr ough t he us e of s t r ea m
di s -
cha r ge . The ca l cul a t i on ca n be ma de onl y dur i ng dr y- wea t her
( ba s ef l ow) per i ods , when a l l wa t er i n t he s t r ea m i s
der i ved
f r om gr ound- wa t er di s cha r ge . For t he pur pos e of t hi s exa mpl e,
t he
f ol l owi ng
va l ues a r e a s s umed:
Aver a ge
da i l y
f l ow a t s t r ea m- ga gi ng
s t a t i on
A:

2 . 485 m3 s - 1
Aver a ge da i l y f l ow a t s t r ea m- ga gi ng
s t a t i on B:

2
. 3 55
m3 s - I
I ncr ea s e i n f l ow due t o gr ound- wa t er
di s cha r ge :

0. 1 3 0 m3
s - '
Tot a l da i l y gr ound- wa t er di s cha r ge t o
s t r ea m:

1 1 , 23 2 m3 d- '
Di s cha r ge f r om ha l f of a qui f er ( one s i d
of t he s t r ea m) :

5, 61 6 m3 d - '
Di s t a nce ( x) bet ween s t a t i ons A
a nd B:

5, 000 m
Aver a ge t hi cknes s of a qui f er
( b) :

50 m
Aver a ge s l ope of t he
wa t er t a bl e ( dhl dl )
det er mi ned f r om
mea s ur ement s i n t he
obs er va t i on wel l s :

1 m1 2, 000 m
By equa t i on 4,
dl

5, 61 6 m3 2, 000m
T-
~
x
d - d x 5, 000 m
x

l m

- 2, 246
m2 d - '
The hydr a ul i c conduct i vi t y i s
det er mi ned f r om equa t i on 1
a s f ol l ows :
T

2, 246
m2
K

b

d x 50

m

45 md - '
Beca us e t r a ns mi s s i vi t y depends on bot h K a nd b, i t s va l ue
di f f er s i n di f f er ent a qui f er s a nd f r om pl a ce t o pl a ce i n t he
s a me a qui f er . Es t i ma t ed va l ues of t r a ns mi s s i vi t y f or t he pr i n-
ci pa l a qui f er s i n di f f er ent pa r t s of t he count r y r a nge f r om l es s
t ha n 1 m2 d - ' f or s ome f r a ct ur ed s edi ment a r y a nd i gneous
r ocks t o 1 00, 000 m2 d - ' f or ca ver nous l i mes t ones a nd l a va
f l ows .
Fi na l l y, t r a ns mi s s i vi t y r epl a ces t he t er m " coef f i ci ent of
t r a ns mi s s i bi l i t y" beca us e, by convent i on, a n a qui f er i s t r a ns -
mi s s i ve, a nd t he wa t er i n i t i s t r a ns mi s s i bl e .
Tr a ns mi s s i vi t y
2
7
STORAGE
COEFFICIENI
The abi l i t i es ( capaci t i es)
of wat er- beari ng mat eri al s t o st ore
and t o t ransmi t
wat er are t hei r most i mport ant
hydraul i c prop-
ert i es .
Dependi ng on t he i nt ended use
of t he i nf ormat i on,
t hese propert i es
are gi ven ei t her i n t erms of
a uni t cubeof t he
mat eri al
or i n t erms of a uni t pri smof an
aqui f er .
Propert y

Uni t cube of mat eri al

Uni t pri smof
aqui f er
Transmi ssi ve capaci t y

Hydraul i c conduct i vi t y ( K)

Transmi ssi vi t y
( T)
Avai l abl e st orage

Speci f i c yi el d ( Sy )

St orage
coef f i ci ent ( S)
The st orage
coef f i ci ent ( S) i s def i ned as t he vol ume
of wat er
t hat an
aqui f er rel eases f rom or
t akes i nt o st orage per uni t sur-
f ace area
of t he aqui f er per uni t
change i n head. The st orage
coef f i ci ent i s a di mensi onl ess
uni t , as t he f ol l owi ng equat i on
shows,
i n whi cht he uni t s i n t he
numerat or and t he denomi na-
t or cancel :
vol umeof wat er

__

( m
3
)

__ _m3
S

( uni t area) ( uni t head change)

( m
Z) ( m)

m3
The si ze of t he
st oragecoef f i ci ent depends onwhet her t he
aqui f er
i s conf i ned or unconf i ned ( 1) . If t he aqui f er i s
con-
f i ned, t hewat er rel eased f romst oragewhent hehead
decl i nes
comes f romexpansi on of t hewat er andf rom
compressi on of
t he aqui f er. Rel at i ve t o a conf i ned aqui f er,
t he expansi on of a
gi ven vol ume of wat er i n response t o a
decl i ne i n pressure i s
very smal l . In a conf i ned aqui f er
havi ng a porosi t y of 0. 2 and
cont ai ni ng wat er at a t emperat ure
of about 15C, expansi on
of t he wat er al one rel eases about
9x 10- 7 m3 of wat er per
cubi c met er of aqui f er per met er of
decl i ne i n head. To det er-
mi ne t he st orage coef f i ci ent
of an aqui f er due t o expansi on
2 8

Basi c Ground- Wat er
Hydrol ogy
of t he wat er, i t
i s necessary t o mul t i pl y
t he aqui f er t hi ckness
by 9
x
10- 7 .
Thus, i f onl y t he
expansi on of wat er i s consi d-
ered, t he
st orage coef f i ci ent of an
aqui f er 100 mt hi ck woul d
be 9
x
10- 5.
The st orage coef f i ci ent
of most conf i ned aqui -
f ers
ranges f romabout 10- 5 t o 10
- 3 ( 0. 00001 t o 0. 001) .
The
di f f erence bet ween t hese
val ues and t he val ue due t o
expan-
si on
of t he wat er i s at t ri but ed
t o compressi on of t he
aqui f er.
- Conf i ni n g bed

- -
Tot al l oad on aqui f er
Sket ch 2 wi l l ai d i n un der st an di n g
t hi s phen omen on . I t
shows
a mi cr oscopi c vi ew of t he con t act
bet ween an aqui f er
an d t he over l yi n g con f i n i n g
bed . The t ot al l oad on t he
t op of
t he aqui f er i s suppor t ed
par t l y by t he sol i d skel et on
of t he
aqui f er an d par t l y by t he
hydr aul i c pr essur e exer t ed
by t he
wat er i n t he aqui f er .
When t he wat er pr essur e decl i n es,
mor e
of t he l oad must be suppor t ed
by t he sol i d skel et on . As a
r esul t , t he r ock par t i cl es ar e di st or t ed,
an d t he por e space i s
r educed . The wat er f or ced f r omt he
por es when t hei r vol ume
i s r educed r epr esen t s t he par t of t he
st or age coef f i ci en t due
t o
compr essi on
of t he aqui f er .
I f t he aqui f er
i s un con f i n ed, t he pr edomi n an t
sour ce of
wat er i s f r om
gr avi t y dr ai n age of t he sedi men t s
t hr ough whi ch
t he decl i n e i n
t he wat er t abl e occur s .
I n an un con f i n ed
aqui f er , t he vol ume of
wat er der i ved f r om expan si on
of t he
wat er an d compr essi on
of t he aqui f er i s n egl i gi bl e .
Thus, i n
such an aqui f er , t he st or age
coef f i ci en t i s vi r t ual l y
equal t o
t he speci f i c yi el d an d r an ges
f r omabout 0. 1 t o about 0
. 3 .
Because of t he di f f er en ce i n
t he sour ces of st or age, t he
st or age coef f i ci en t of un con f i n ed
aqui f er s i s 1 00 t o 1 0, 000
t i mes
t he st or age coef f i ci en t of
con f i n ed aqui f er s ( 1 ) . How-
ever , i f
wat er l evel s i n an ar ea ar e
r educed t o t he poi n t wher e
Lan d
sur f ace
Pot en t i omet r i c
Bedr ock
o
a)
an aqui f er
chan ges f r oma con f i n ed con di t i on t o an un con -
f i n ed
con di t i on , t he st or age coef f i ci en t of t he aqui f er i mmedi -
at el y i n cr eases f r omt hat of a con f i n ed aqui f er t o t hat of an
un con f i n ed aqui f er .
Lon g- t er m wi t hdr awal s of wat er
f r om man y con f i n ed
aqui f er s r esul t i n dr ai n age of wat er bot h
f r om
cl ay l ayer s
wi t hi n t he aqui f er an d f r om adj acen t
con f i n i n g
beds.
Thi s
dr ai n age i n cr eases t he l oad on t he sol i d
skel et on an d r esul t s i n
compr essi on
of t he aqui f er an d subsi den ce of t he l an d sur -
f ace. Subsi den ce
of t he l an d sur f ace caused by dr ai n age of
cl ay l ayer s
has occur r ed i n Ar i zon a, Cal i f or n i a, Texas, an d
ot her ar eas .
The pot en t i al sour ces of wat er i n a t wo- un i t gr oun d- wat er
syst em con si st i n g of a con f i n i n g bed an d a con f i n ed aqui f er
ar e shown i n sket ch 3 . The sket ch i s based on t he assumpt i on
t hat wat er i s r emoved i n t wo separ at e st ages- t he f i r st whi l e
t he pot en t i omet r i c sur f ace i s l ower ed t o t he t op of t he aqui f er
an d t he secon d by dewat er i n g t he aqui f er .
The di f f er en ces i n t he st or age coef f i ci en t s of con f i n ed an d
un con f i n ed aqui f er s ar e of gr eat i mpor t an ce i n det er mi n i n g
t he
r espon se of t he aqui f er s t o st r esses such as wi t hdr awal s
t hr ough
wel l s . ( See " Wel l - Fi el d Desi gn . " )
a) 0r cM0
St or age Coef f i ci en t

2
9
0
U
_P
U)
O
U
r d
~4
Z
- I
- A
04
r d
U)
a)
a) w
- P
3 U
a)
- P
U)
- r - I
o
v
O
4 - 4
1 o r o
a) 0 a a)
U
. r i
- r - I
4 - a - r l
4 4 O
r d
O
4 - a
- r - I
O Or o a) O
I
a b t T
- r - I a)
v _P r.
a) U s~
U" r - {
.
~i
- r ) U) 4 4
- r - I
a) b
4 4
a) 4 - I
.
1 1 U
r d
O
O
- r - I
04
4J4 Qb
r l
. r - I
a)
r d 4 4
U A
- r - I
O
a)
04
b
a
Tot al
Avai l abl e
st or age st or age
Sour ces o

avai l abl e st or age

a)
t r
a)
a)
r o w 4 4
- r - I O r ~ - 1
- r - i
4 4
( d 4 4
a)
~4
q- 4 r d
. r
LVN
t
ur
ut mt ~OIUN
Bot h wel l s and spri ngs serve as sources of ground- wat er
suppl y . However,
most spri ngs havi ng yi el ds l arge enough t o
meet muni ci pal ,
i ndust ri al , and l arge commerci al and agri cul -
t ural needs occur
onl y i n areas underl ai n by cavernous l i me-
st ones and l ava
f l ows . Theref ore, most ground- wat er needs
are met by wi t hdrawal s f romwel l s .
The response of aqui f ers t o wi t hdrawal s f romwel l s i s an i m-
port ant t opi c i n ground- wat er hydrol ogy. When wi t hdrawal s
st art , t he wat er l evel i n t he wel l begi ns t o decl i ne as wat er i s
removed f romst orage
i n t he wel l . The head i n t he wel l f al l s
bel ow t he
l evel i n t he surroundi ng aqui f er. As a resul t , wat er
begi ns t o
move f romt he aqui f er i nt o t he wel l . As pumpi ng
cont i nues, t he
wat er l evel i n t he wel l cont i nues t o decl i ne, and
t he rat e of f l ow i nt o t he wel l f romt he aqui f er cont i nues t o i n-
crease unt i l t he rat e of i nf l ow equal s t he rat e of wi t hdrawal .
The movement of wat er f roman aqui f er i nt o a wel l resul t s
i n t he f ormat i on of a cone of depressi on ( 1) ( 2) . Because wat er
must converge on t he wel l f rom
al l
di rect i ons
and because t he
area t hrough whi ch t he f l ow
occurs decreases
t oward
t he wel l ,
t he hydraul i c gradi ent must
get st eeper t oward t he wel l .
Several i mport ant
di f f erences ex i st bet ween t he cones of
depressi on i n conf i ned and unconf i ned aqui f ers . Wi t hdrawal s
f roman unconf i ned aqui f er resul t i n drai nage of wat er f rom
t he rocks t hrough whi ch t he wat er t abl e decl i nes as t he cone
of depressi on f orms ( 1) . Because t he st orage coef f i ci ent of an
3 0

Basi c
Ground- Wat er Hydrol ogy
unconf i ned aqui f er equal s t he speci f i c yi el d of t he aqui f er
mat eri al , t he cone of depressi on ex pands very sl owl y. On t he
ot her hand, dewat eri ng of t he aqui f er resul t s i n a decrease
i n
t ransmi ssi vi t y, whi ch causes, i n t urn, an i ncrease i n drawdown
bot h i n t he wel l
and i n t he aqui f er .
Wi t hdrawal s f rom
a conf i ned aqui f er cause a drawdown i n
art esi an pressure
but do not ( normal l y) cause a dewat eri ng of
t he aqui f er
( 2) . The wat er wi t hdrawn f roma conf i ned aqui f er
i s deri ved f romex pansi on of t he wat er and compressi on of t he
rock skel et on of t he aqui f er . ( See " St orage Coef f i ci ent . " ) The
very smal l st orage coef f i ci ent of conf i ned
aqui f ers resul t s i n a
very
rapi d ex pansi on of t he cone of depressi on. Consequent l y,
t he mut ual i nt erf erence of ex pandi ng
cones around adj acent
wel l s occurs more rapi dl y i n conf i ned
aqui f ers t han i t does i n
unconf i ned aqui f ers .
Cones of depressi on caused by l arge
wi t hdrawal s f romex -
t ensi ve conf i ned aqui f ers
can af f ect very l arge areas . Sket ch 3
shows t he overl appi ng
cones of depressi on t hat ex i st ed i n
1981 i n an ex t ensi ve
conf i ned aqui f er composed of uncon-
sol i dat ed sands and
i nt erbedded si l t and cl ay of Cret aceous
age i n t he cent ral part of t he At l ant i c Coast al
Pl ai n . The cones
of depressi on are caused by wi t hdrawal s of about
277, 000 m3
d - ' ( 73 , 000, 000 gal d- ' ) f romwel l f i el ds i n Vi rgi ni a and
Nort h
Carol i na. ( See " Source of Wat er Deri ved
FromWel l s
. " )
38
37
36
wl
Ri chmond
w
2
H
POTENTIOMETRIC
SURFACEOFTHELOWERMOSTCRETACEOUS
AQUIFER IN
SOUTHEASTERNVIRGINIAANDNORTHEASTERNNORTHCAROLINA
77

76
EXPLANATION
Wat er
l evel s ar e
i n
f eet
NATIONALGEODETICVERTICAL DATUM1929
( 3)
0

10

20

30

40

50 MILES
l

I

I

I

I
I

I

1

I
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80 KILOMETERS
Cone of Depr es s i on

31
3"l)1(l. C kJf VV/A1 CRVCR1V[lJ
FIRVMVVLLLJ
Bot h t he economi cal development and t he effect i ve
man-
agement of
any gr ound- wat er syst em r equi r e an under st and-
i ng of t he
r esponse of t he syst em t o wi t hdr awals fr om wells .
The fi r st
conci se descr i pt i on of t he hydr ologi c pr i nci ples i n-
volved
i n
t hi s
r esponse was pr esent ed by C. V. Thei s i n a paper
publi shed i n 1940.
Thei s poi nt ed out t hat t he r esponse of an aqui fer t o wi t h-
dr awals fr omwells depends on:
1 . The r at e of expansi on of t he cone of depr essi on caused by
t he wi t hdr awals, whi ch depends on
t he t r ansmi ssi vi t y
andt he st or age coeffi ci ent oft he
aqui fer .
2. The di st ance t o ar eas i n whi ch t he r at e
of wat er di schar g-
i ng fr omt he aqui fer can be
r educed
.
3. The di st ance
t o r echar ge ar eas i n whi ch t he r at e of r e-
char ge can be i ncr eased.
Over
a suffi ci ent ly long per i od of t i me under nat ur al
condi t i ons- t hat
i s, befor e t he st ar t of wi t hdr awals- t he di s-
char ge fr omever y gr ound- wat er syst emequals
t he r echar ge
t o
i t (1) . In ot her wor ds,
nat ur al di schar ge (D)=nat ur al r echar ge (R)
In t he east er n par t of t he Uni t ed St at es and
i n t he mor e
humi d ar eas
i n t he West , t he amount and di st r i but i on of pr e-
ci pi t at i on
ar e such t hat t he per i od of t i me over whi ch di s-
char ge and
r echar ge balance may be less t han a year or , at
most , a few
year s
.
In t he dr i er par t s of t he count r y- t hat i s, i n
t he ar eas t hat gener ally r ecei ve less t han about 500
mmof
pr eci pi t at i on annually- t he per i od over
whi ch di schar ge and
r echar ge balance may be sever al year s or
even cent ur i es.
Over shor t er per i ods of t i me, di ffer ences
bet ween di schar ge
and r echar ge
i nvolve changes i n gr ound- wat er st or age . In
ot her
wor ds, when di schar ge exceeds r echar ge, gr ound- wat er
st or age (S)
i s r educed by an amount AS equal t o t he di ffer ence
bet ween
di schar ge and r echar ge . Thus,
D=R+dS
Conver sely, when r echar ge exceeds
di schar ge, gr ound- wat er
st or age i s i ncr eased. Thus,
D=R- AS
When wi t hdr awal t hr ough a well begi ns, wat er i s r emoved
fr omst or age i n i t s vi ci ni t y as t he cone of depr essi on develops
(2) . Thus, t he wi t hdr awal (Qi s balanced
by a r educt i on i n
gr ound- wat er st or age . In ot her wor ds,
Q=dS
As
t he cone of depr essi on expands out war d fr omt he pump-
i ng
well, i t may r each an ar ea wher e wat er i s di schar gi ng fr om
32

Basi c
Gr ound- Wat er Hydr ology
t he aqui fer .
The hydr auli c gr adi ent wi ll be r educed t owar d t he
di schar ge ar ea,
and t he r at e of nat ur al di schar ge wi ll decr ease
(3) .
To t he ext ent t hat t he decr ease i n nat ur al
di schar ge com-
pensat es for t he pumpage, t he r at e at whi ch
wat er
i s
bei ng
r emoved fr om st or age wi ll also decr ease,
and t he r at e of ex-
pansi on of t he cone of depr essi on
wi ll decli ne . If and when
t he r educt i on i n nat ur al di schar ge
(AD) equals t he r at e of wi t h-
dr awal (Q, a new balance
wi ll
be
est abli shed i n t he aqui fer .
Thi s balance i n symboli c for mi s
(D- OD)+Q=R
Conver sely, i f t he cone
of depr essi on expands i nt o a r e-
char ge ar ea r at her t han
i nt o a nat ur al di schar ge ar ea, t he
hydr auli c
gr adi ent bet ween t he r echar ge ar ea and
t he pump-
i ng well
wi ll be i ncr eased. If, under nat ur al
condi t i ons, mor e
wat er was
avai lable i n t he r echar ge ar ea
t han t he aqui fer
could accept
(t he condi t i on t hat Thei s r efer r ed
t o as one of r e-
j ect ed r echar ge), t he i ncr ease
i n t he gr adi ent away fr omt he r e-
char ge ar ea wi ll per mi t mor e
r echar ge t o occur , and t he r at e
of gr owt h of t he cone of depr essi on
wi ll decr ease. If and when
t he i ncr ease i n r echar ge (AR) equals
t he r at e of wi t hdr awal
(Q, a new balance wi ll be
est abli shed i n t he aqui fer , and ex-
pansi on of t he cone of
depr essi on wi ll cease. The new balance
i n symboli c for m i s
D+Q=R+OR
In
t he east er n par t of t he Uni t ed St at es,
gai ni ng st r eams ar e
r elat i vely
closely spaced, and ar eas i n
whi ch r ej ect ed r e-
char ge occur s ar e
r elat i vely uni mpor t ant . In t hi s r egi on, t he
gr owt h of cones of
depr essi on fi r st commonly causes a r educ-
t i on i n nat ur al
di schar ge . If t he pumpi ng wells ar e near a
st r eam or i f t he
wi t hdr awals ar e cont i nued long enough,
gr ound- wat er
di schar ge t o a st r eammay be st opped
ent i r ely i n
t he
vi ci ni t y of t he wells, and wat er may
be i nduced t o move
fr om
t he st r eam i nt o t he aqui fer
(4). In ot her wor ds, t he
t endency i n t hi s r egi on i s for
wi t hdr awals t o change di schar ge
ar eas i nt o r echar ge
ar eas . Thi s consi der at i on i s i mpor t ant
wher e t he st r eams
cont ai n br acki sh or pollut ed wat er or
wher e
t he st r eamflow i s
commi t t ed or r equi r ed for ot her pur poses
.
To summar i ze,
t he wi t hdr awal of gr ound wat er t hr ough
a
well r educes
t he wat er i n st or age i n t he
sour ce aqui fer dur i ng
t he
gr owt h of t he cone of depr essi on
. When and i f t he cone
of
depr essi on ceases t o expand, t he r at e
of wi t hdr awal i s bei ng
balanced by a r educt i on i n t he r at e of
nat ur al di schar ge and
(or ) by an i ncr ease
i n t he r at e of r echar ge . Under t hi s
condi t i on,
Q=OD+OR
Di scharge (D) = Recharge (R)
Wi thdrawal (Q) = Reducti on i n storage
(LS)
(2)
Q
Wi thdrawal
(Q)
= Reducti on i n storage (Z~S) +
Reducti on
i n di scharge
(pD)
(3)
Wi thdrawal (Q) =
Reducti on i n di scharge
(, n~D)
+I ncrease i n recharge (Z~R)
(4)
Sourceof Water
Deri ved f romWel l s

3 3
MAP OF AQUIFER TEST SITE
34
Basi c Ground- Water Hydrol ogy
Determi ni ng the yi el d of ground- water systems and
eval uati ng the movement and f ate of ground- water pol l utants
requi re, amongother i nf ormati on, knowl edge of :
1 . Theposi ti on andthi ckness of aqui f ers andconf i ni ng beds.
2 . Thetransmi ssi vi ty andstoragecoef f i ci ent of theaqui f ers .
3 . Thehydraul i c characteri sti cs of theconf i ni ngbeds .
4. Theposi ti on andnatureof theaqui f er boundari es .
5 . Thel ocati on andamounts of ground- water wi thdrawal s .
6 . The l ocati ons, ki nds, and amounts of pol l utants and pol -
l utant practi ces .
Acqui ri ng knowl edge on these f actors requi res both geo-
l ogi c and
hydrol ogi c i nvesti gati ons . One of the most i mpor-
tant
hydrol ogi c studi es i nvol ves anal yzi ng the change, wi th
ti me, i n water l evel s ( or total heads) i n an aqui f er caused by
wi thdrawal s through wel l s . Thi s type of study i s ref erred to as
an aqui f er test and, i n most cases, i ncl udes pumpi ng a wel l at
a constant rate f or a peri od rangi ng f romseveral hours to sev-
eral days and measuri ng the change i n water l evel i n obser-
vati on wel l s l ocated at di f f erent di stances f romthe pumped
wel l ( 1 ) .
Successf ul aqui f er tests requi re, amongother thi ngs:
1 . Determi nati on of the prepumpi ng water- l evel trend ( that
i s,
the regi onal trend) .
2 . Acaref ul l y control l ed constant pumpi ngrate.
3 . Accurate water- l evel measurements made at preci sel y
known ti mes duri ng both the drawdown and the re-
covery
peri ods .
Drawdown i s the di f f erence between the water l evel at
any
ti me duri ng the test and the posi ti on at whi ch the water l evel
woul d have been
i f wi thdrawal s had not started. Drawdown i s
very rapi d at
f i rst
.
As pumpi ng conti nues and the cone of de-
pressi on expands, the rate of drawdown decreases ( 2) .
The recovery of the water l evel under i deal condi ti ons i s a
mi rror i mage of the drawdown. The
change i n water l evel dur-
i ng the recovery peri od i s the sameas
i f wi thdrawal s had con-
ti nued at the same rate f romthe pumped
wel l but, at the mo-
ment of pump cutof f , a recharge
wel l had begun rechargi ng
water at the
same poi nt and at the same rate. Theref ore, the
recovery
of the water l evel i s the di f f erence between the ac-
tual
measured l evel and the proj ected pumpi ng l evel ( 2) .
In addi ti on to the
constant- rate aqui f er test menti oned
above,
anal yti cal methods have al so been devel oped
f or sev-
eral
other types of aqui f er tests . These
methods i ncl ude tests
i n
whi ch the rate of wi thdrawal i s
vari abl e and tests that i n-
vol ve l eakage of water across conf i ni ng
beds i nto conf i ned
aqui f ers . The anal yti cal
methods avai l abl e al so permi t anal y-
si s of tests conducted on
both verti cal wel l s and hori zontal
wel l s or drai ns .
The most commonl y
used method of anal ysi s of aqui f er-
test data- that
f or a verti cal wel l pumped at a
constant rate
f roman
aqui f er not af f ected by verti cal l eakage and
l ateral
boundari es- wi l l
be covered i n the di scussi on of
"Anal ysi s of
Aqui f er- Test
Data. " The method of anal ysi s requi res the
use of
a type curve based onthe val ues of
W( u) and i l u l i sted i n the
f ol l owi ng tabl e. Preparati on and use
of the type curve are cov-
ered i n the f ol l owi ng di scussi on
.
CHANGE OF WATER LEVEL IN WELL B
3
N
ac
T
Pump on
w
Regi onal
trend
w
_Z
O
0-
Z
6
w
ac
7
3
0
Q
3
a
w
v
3
O
T
O
H
O
3
9
Pump
O
U
d
O
of f \
a
w
w
m
1 0
0
II
Prepumpi ng Pumpi ng
peri od
- 4
- - tj
~
- peri od - peri od -
Recovery
1 2
i i i i I i I i
6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5
1 6
DAYS
SELECTEDVALUESOFW(u) FORVALUESOFl l u
Exampl es: Whenl 1u=10x10- ' , W(u)=0. 219;
whenl l u=3. 33x102, W(u)=5. 23.
Aqui fer Tests

35
1l u 10 7. 69 5. 88 5. 00 4. 00 3. 33 2. 86 2. 5
2. 22 2. 00 1. 67 1 . 43 1. 25 1. 11
10- ' 0. 219 0. 135 0. 075 0. 049 0. 025 0. 013 0. 007 0. 004
0. 002 0. 001 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000
1 1. 82 1. 59 1. 36 1. 22 1. 04 . 91 . 79
. 70 . 63 . 56 . 45 . 37 . 31 . 26
10
4. 04 3. 78 3. 51 3. 35 3. 14 2. 96 2. 81 2. 68 2. 57
2. 47 2. 30 2. 15 2. 03 1. 92
102 6
. 33 6. 07 5. 80 5. 64 5. 42 5. 23 5. 08 4. 95 4. 83 4. 73
4. 54 4. 39 4. 26 4. 14
10,
8. 63 8. 37 8. 10 7. 94 7. 72 7. 53 7. 38 7. 25 7. 13
7
. 02 6. 84
6. 69 6. 55 6. 44
10
4
10. 94 10. 67 10. 41 10. 24 10. 02 9. 84 9. 68 ; 9. 55 9. 43 9. 33
9. 14 8. 99 8. 86 8. 74
105 13. 24 12. 98 12. 71 12. 55
12. 32 12. 14 11. 99 11. 85 11. 73 11. 63 11. 45 11. 29 11. 16 11
. 04
106 15. 54 15. 28 15. 01 14. 85
14. 62 14. 44 14. 29 14. 15 14. 04 13. 93 13. 75 13. 60 13. 46
13. 34
107 17. 84 17. 58 17. 31 17. 15 16. 93 16
. 74
16. 59
16. 46 16. 34 16. 23 16. 05 15. 90 15. 76
15. 65
108 20. 15 19. 88 19. 62 19. 45 19. 23 19. 05 18
. 89 18. 76 18. 64 18. 54 18. 35 18. 20 18. 07 17. 95
109
22. 45 22. 19 21. 92 21. 76 21. 53 21. 35 21. 20 21. 06 20. 94
20. 84 20. 66 20. 50 20. 37 20. 25
10
10 24. 75 24. 49 24. 22 24. 06 23. 83 23. 65 23. 50 23. 36 23. 25
23. 14 22. 96 22. 81 22. 67 22. 55
101 '
27. 05 26. 79 26. 52 26. 36 26. 14 25. 96 25. 80 25. 67 25. 55
25. 44 25. 26 25. 11 24. 97 24. 86
1012
29. 36 20. 09 28. 83 28. 66 28. 44 28. 26 28. 10 27. 97
27. 85 27. 75 27. 56 27. 41 27. 28 27. 16
1013
31. 66 31. 40 31. 13
30. 97 30. 74 30. 56 30. 41 30. 27 30. 15 30. 05 29. 87 29
. 71
29
. 58 29. 46
1014 33. 96 33. 70 33. 43 33
. 27 33. 05 32. 86 32. 71 32. 58 32. 46 32. 35 32. 17
32. 02 31. 88 31. 76
AivAL1313
y
r
/ +% . , j v
i r r r c- i r - ; 3i vHi r %
10
3
6

Basic Gr ound- Water Hydr ol ogy
THEIS TYPE CURVE
0. 011

1

I
0. 1

I

10
In 1935, C. V. Theis of the NewMexico Water Resour ces
Distr ict of the U. S. Geol ogical Sur vey
devel oped the f ir st
equation to incl ude time of pumping as a f actor that
coul d be
used to anal yze the ef f ect of withdr awal s
f r oma wel l . Thus,
the Theis equation per mitted,
f or
the
f ir st time, deter mination
of
the hydr aul ic char acter istics of an aquif er bef or e the
devel opment of newsteady- state conditions r esul ting f r om
pumping. The impor tance of this capabil ity maybe r eal ized
f r omthe f act that, under most conditions, a newsteady state
cannot be devel oped or
that, if it can, manymonths or year s
maybe r equir ed.
103 104
105
100
Type Cur ve
Theis
assumed in thedevel opment of the equation that:
1. The
tr ansmissivity of the aquif er tapped by the
pumping
wel l is constant
dur ing the test to the l imits of the
coneof depr ession
.
2 . The water withdr awn
f r om the aquif er is der ived entir el y
f r om stor age
and is dischar ged instantaneousl y with
thedecl inein head.
3.
The dischar ging wel l penetr ates the
entir e thickness of the
aquif er , and its diameter is
smal l in compar ison with
the pumping r ate, so that stor age
in the wel l is neg-
l igibl e.
DATAPLOT
Q= 1. 9 m3min- '
r = 187 m
Match
Point
MATCH- POINT COORDINATES
/
W(
u) =
I,
s=
2
. 20
m
l
l u
= I, t =
1 .
8
min
These assumpt i ons ar e most near l y met by conf i ned
aqui f er s at si t es r emot e f r om t hei r boundar i es . However , i f
cer t ai n pr ecaut i ons ar e obser ved, t he equat i on can al so be
used
t o anal yze t est s of unconf i ned aqui f er s .
The f or ms of t he Thei s equat i on used t o det er mi ne t he
and u=( r ' S) I ( 4Tt ) .
or
U
z
U
a
U
a
-0. 577216-l ogeu+u-
2x2 + 3x3!

4x4! +
T( i n f t z d-' ) =
15 . 3QW( u)
S
wher e T
i s t r ansmi ssi vi t y,
S
i s t he st or age coef f i ci ent ,
Q
i s t he
pumpi ng
r at e, s i s dr awdown, t i s t i me, r i s t he di st ance f r om
t he
pumpi ng wel l t o t he obser vat i on wel l , W( u) i s t he wel l
f unct i on of u, whi ch equal s
The f or m of t he Thei s equat i on i s such t hat i t cannot be
sol ved di r ect l y. To over come t hi s pr obl em, Thei s devi sed a
conveni ent gr aphi c met hod of sol ut i on t hat
i nvol ves t he use
of a t ype cur ve ( 1) . To appl y t hi s met hod, a
dat a pl ot of dr aw-
down ver sus t i me ( or dr awdown ver sus t l r 2
) i s mat ched t o t he
t ype cur ve of W( u) ver sus l l u ( 2) . At some
conveni ent poi nt on
t he over l appi ng par t of t he sheet s cont ai ni ng t he dat a pl ot and
t ype cur ve, val ues of s, t ( or t / r 2) , W( u) , and l l u ar e not ed ( 2) .
These val ues ar e t hen subst i t ut ed i n equat i ons 1 and 2, whi ch
ar e sol ved f or T and S, r espect i vel y .
A Thei s t ype cur ve of
W( u) ver sus l l u can be pr epar ed f r om
t he val ues gi ven i n t he t abl e
cont ai ned i n t he pr ecedi ng sec-
t i on, " Aqui f er Test s
. "
The
dat a poi nt s ar e pl ot t ed on l ogar i t h-
mi c gr aph paper -t hat i s,
gr aph paper havi ng l ogar i t hmi c di vi -
si ons i n bot h t he x and y di r ect i ons .
The di mensi onal uni t s of t r ansmi ssi vi t y ( T) ar e L zt - ' , wher e
L i s l engt h and t i s t i me i n days . Thus, i f Q i n equat i on 1 i s i n
cubi c met er s per day and s i s i n met er s, T wi l l be i n squar e me-
t er s per
day. Si mi l ar l y, i f , i n equat i on
2, T i s i n squar e met er s
per day, t i s i n days, and r
i s
i n
met er s, S
wi l l
be di mensi onl ess .
Tr adi t i onal l y, i n t he
Uni t ed St at es, T has been expr essed i n
uni t s of
gal l ons
per day per f oot . The common pr act i ce nowi s
t o r epor t t r ansmi ssi vi t y i n uni t s of squar e met er s per day or
squar e f eet per day . I f Qi s measur ed i n gal l ons per mi nut e, as
i s st i l l nor mal l y t he case, and dr awdown i s measur ed i n f eet ,
as i s al so nor mal l y t he case, equat i on 1 i s modi f i ed t o obt ai n T
i n squar e f eet per day as f ol l ows:
T- QW( U) - gal
x
1, 440 mi n X

f t 3

X 1 XW( U)
4r s

mi n

d

7. 48 gal

f t

47r
( when Q i s i n gal l ons per mi nut e and s i s i n f eet ) . To conver t
squar e f eet per day t o squar e met er s per day, di vi de by 10. 76.
The st or age coef f i ci ent i s di mensi onl ess. Ther ef or e, i f T
i s
i n
squar e f eet per day, t i s i n mi nut es, and r i s i n f eet , t hen,
by
equat i on 2,
or
S

4Tt u __4

_f t , mi n

d
r 2 1 X d
x

f t 2

X 1, 440mi n
Tt u
S

360r 2
( when T i s
i n squar e f eet per day, t i s i n mi nut es, and r i s i n
f eet ) .
Anal ysi s of
aqui f er -t est dat a usi ng t he Thei s equat i on i n-
vol ves pl ot t i ng
bot h t he t ype cur ve and t he t est dat a on l oga-
r i t hmi c gr aph paper . I f t he aqui f er and
t he condi t i ons of t he
t est sat i sf y Thei s' s assumpt i ons, t he t ype
cur ve has t he same
shape as t he cone of depr essi on al ong
any l i ne r adi at i ng away
f r omt he pumpi ng wel l and t he dr awdown
gr aph at any poi nt
i n t he cone of depr essi on
.
Use of t he Thei s
equat i on f or unconf i ned aqui f er s i nvol ves
t wo consi der at i ons.
F i r st , i f t he aqui f er i s r el at i vel y f i ne
gr ai ned, wat er i s
r el eased sl owl y over a per i od of hour s or
days,
not i nst ant aneousl y wi t h t he decl i ne
i n
head.
Ther ef or e,
t he val ue of S det er mi ned f r oma shor t -per i od
t est may be t oo
smal l .
Second, i f t he pumpi ng r at e i s l ar ge and
t he obser vat i on
wel l i s near
t he pumpi ng wel l , dewat er i ng of t he aqui f er may
be si gni f i cant ,
and t he assumpt i on t hat t he t r ansmi ssi vi t y
of t he
aqui f er i s const ant i s not sat i sf i ed . The ef f ect of de-
wat er i ng of
t he aqui f er can be el i mi nat ed wi t h t he f ol l owi ng
equat i on :
s
2
S' -S
-

( 2b
wher e s i s t he
obser ved dr awdown i n t he unconf i ned aqui f er ,
b i s t he
aqui f er t hi ckness, and s' i s t he dr awdown t hat woul d
have occur r ed
i f t he aqui f er had been conf i ned ( t hat i s, i f
no
dewat er i ng had occur r ed) .
To det er mi ne t he t r ansmi ssi vi t y and st or age coef f i ci ent of
an unconf i ned aqui f er , a dat a pl ot consi st i ng of s' ver sus t ( or
t / r 2) i s mat ched wi t h t he Thei s t ype cur ve of W( u) ver sus l / u.
Bot h s and b i n equat i on 3 must be i n t he same uni t s, ei t her
f eet or met er s .
As not ed above, Thei s assumed i n t he devel opment of hi s
equat i on t hat t he di schar gi ng wel l penet r at es t he ent i r e t hi ck-
ness of t he aqui f er
.
However , because i t i s not al ways pos-
si bl e, or necessar i l y desi r abl e, t o desi gn a wel l t hat f ul l y pene-
t r at es t he aqui f er under devel opment , most di schar gi ng wel l s
ar e open t o onl y a par t of t he aqui f er t hat t hey dr aw f r om.
Such par t i al penet r at i on cr eat es ver t i cal f l ow i n t he vi ci ni t y of
t he di schar gi ng wel l t hat may af f ect dr awdowns
i n
obser va-
t i on wel l s l ocat ed
r el at i vel y cl ose t o t he di schar gi ng wel l .
Dr awdowns i n obser vat i on wel l s t hat ar e open t o t he same
zone as t he di schar gi ng wel l wi l l be l ar ger t han t he dr aw-
downs i n wel l s at t he same di st ance f r om t he di schar gi ng wel l
but open t o ot her zones . The possi bl e ef f ect of par t i al pene-
t r at i on on dr awdowns must be consi der ed i n t he anal ysi s of
aqui f er -t est dat a. I f aqui f er -boundar y and ot her condi t i ons
per mi t , t he pr obl em can be avoi ded by l ocat i ng obser vat i on
wel l s beyond t he zone i n whi ch ver t i cal f l owexi st s .
Anal ysi s of
Aqui f er -Test Dat a

37
t r ansmi ssi vi t y and st or age coef f i ci ent ar e
T=
QW( u)
( 1)
4i r s
S
4Tt u
=
( 2)
r 2
The
Thei s equat i on i s onl y one of sever al met hods t hat have
been
devel oped f or t he anal ysi s of aqui f er - t est dat a
.
( See
" Anal ysi s
of Aqui f er - Test Dat a
. " )
Anot her met hod, and one
t hat
i s somewhat mor e conveni ent t o use, was devel oped by
C.
E
.
J acob f r om t he Thei s equat i on
.
The gr eat er conveni ence
of
t he J acob met hod der i ves par t l y f r om i t s use of semi l oga-
r i t hmi c
gr aph paper i nst ead of t he l ogar i t hmi c paper used i n
t he
Thei s met hod and f r om t he f act t hat , under i deal condi -
t i ons,
t he dat a pl ot al ong a st r ai ght l i ne r at her t han al ong a
cur ve
.
However ,
i t i s essent i al t o not e t hat , wher eas t he Thei s
equat i on
appl i es at al l t i mes and pl aces ( i f t he assumpt i ons
ar e
met ) , J acob' s met hod appl i es onl y under cer t ai n addi t i onal
condi t i ons.
These condi t i ons must al so be sat i sf i ed i n or der t o
obt ai n
r el i abl e answer s
.
To
under st and t he l i mi t at i ons of J acob' s met hod, we must
consi der
t he changes t hat occur i n t he cone of depr essi on dur -
i ng
an aqui f er t est
.
The changes t hat ar e of concer n i nvol ve
bot h
t he shape of t he cone and t he r at e of dr awdown
.
As t he
cone
of depr essi on mi gr at es out war d f r oma pumpi ng wel l , i t s
shape
( and, t her ef or e, t he hydr aul i c gr adi ent at di f f er ent
poi nt s
i n t he cone) changes
.
We can r ef er t o t hi s condi t i on as
unst eady
shape
.
At t he st ar t of wi t hdr awal s, t he ent i r e cone of
depr essi on
has an unst eady shape ( 1 )
.
Af t er a t est has been
under way
f or some t i me, t he cone of depr essi on begi ns t o
assume
a r el at i vel y st eady shape, f i r st at t he pumpi ng wel l and
t hen
gr adual l y t o gr eat er and gr eat er di st ances ( 2 )
.
I f wi t h-
dr awal s
cont i nue l ong enough f or i ncr eases i n r echar ge and
( or )
r educt i ons i n di schar ge t o bal ance t he r at e of wi t hdr awal ,
dr awdowns
cease, and t he cone of depr essi on i s sai d t o be i n a
st eady
st at e ( 3 )
.
The
J acob met hod i s appl i cabl e onl y t o t he zone i n whi ch
st eady- shape
condi t i ons pr evai l or t o t he ent i r e cone onl y
af t er
st eady- st at e condi t i ons have devel oped
.
For pr act i cal
pur pose, ,
t hi s condi t i on i s met when u =( r 2 S) I ( 4 Tt ) i s equal t o
or
l ess t han about 0
. 05 .
Subst i t ut i ng t hi s val ue i n t he equat i on
f or
u and sol vi ng f or t , we can det er mi ne t he t i me at whi ch
st eady- shape
condi t i ons devel op at t he out er most obser vat i on
wel l .
Thus,
wher e
t , i s t he t i me, i n mi nut es, at whi ch st eady- shape condi -
t i ons
devel op, r i s t he di st ance f r omt he pumpi ng wel l , i n f eet
( or
met er s) , S i s t he est i mat ed st or age coef f i ci ent ( di mensi on-
l ess) ,
and T i s t he est i mat ed t r ansmi ssi vi t y, i n squar e f eet per
day
( or squar e met er s per day)
.
Af t er
st eady- shape condi t i ons have devel oped, t he dr aw-
downs
at an obser vat i on wel l begi n t o f al l al ong a st r ai ght l i ne
on
semi l ogar i t hmi c gr aph paper , as sket ch 4 shows
.
Bef or e
t hat
t i me, t he dr awdowns pl ot bel ow t he ext ensi on of t he
st r ai ght
l i ne
.
When a t i me- dr awdown gr aph i s pr epar ed,
dr awdowns
ar e pl ot t ed on t he ver t i cal ( ar i t hmet i c) axi s ver sus
t i me
on t he hor i zont al ( l ogar i t hmi c) axi s
.
3 8

Basi c
Gr ound- Wat er Hydr ol ogy
t

7, 2 00
r 2 S
( 1 )
`
_
T
The
sl ope of t he st r ai ght l i ne i s pr opor t i onal t o t he pumpi ng
r at e
and t o t he t r ansmi ssi vi t y
.
J acob der i ved t he f ol l owi ng
equat i ons
f or det er mi nat i on of t r ansmi ssi vi t y and st or age co-
ef f i ci ent
f r omt he t i me- dr awdown gr aphs
:
T=
S
=
wher e
Qi s t he pumpi ng r at e, As i s t he dr awdown acr oss one
l og
cycl e, t o i s t he t i me at t he poi nt wher e t he st r ai ght l i ne
i nt er sect s
t he zer o- dr awdown l i ne, and r i s t he di st ance f r om
t he
pumpi ng wel l t o t he obser vat i on wel l
.
2 . 3
Q
( 2 )
4 7r As
2 . 2 5
Tt o
( 3 )
r z
w
0
~-
2
w
z
3
6
0
8
3
a
010
12
10- 5
10- 4 10- 3 10- 2 0. 1
TIME, IN DAYS
Equat i ons
2 and 3ar e i n consi st ent uni t s
. Thus, i f Qi s i n
cubi c met er s
per day ands i s i n met er s, T
i s i n squar e met er s
per day. S
i s di mensi onl ess, so t hat , i n
equat i on 3, i f Ti s i n
squar e met er s per
day, t hen r must be i n met er s
andt o must be
i n days .
It i s st i l l common pr act i ce i n
t he Uni t ed St at es t o expr ess
Q
i n gal l ons per mi nut e, s i n f eet ,
t i n mi nut es, r i n f eet , and
Ti n
squar e f eet per day. We can
modi f y equat i ons 2 and
3 f or
di r ect
subst i t ut i on of t hese uni t s as f ol l ows :
TIME- DRAWDOWN

GRAPH
( wher e Ti s i n squar e f eet per
day, Qi s i n gal l ons per
mi nut e,
andAs i s i n f eet ) and
S=
2. 25 Tt o -
2. 25
x
r z

1
T_

35 Q
As
f t z
d
mi n d
f t z
x
1,440mi n
S=
Tt o

( 5)
640r z
_

2. 3Q_ 2. 3

gal

1,440mi n

f t 3

1

( wher e Ti s i n squar e
f eet
per
day, t o i s i n mi nut es, and r
i s i n
T

4r As

4v
x
mi n X

d

X7. 48 gal
_X_
f t
f eet ) .
Ti me- Dr awdown Anal ysi s

39
t o
x
x
~
t c
_
0s=1. 2 m
If t f t
Log
Dr awdown
measur ement s
cycl e
r =
75
m _
Q= 9. 3 m3 mi n- ' ( 2455 gal
mi n - I )
t o =2. 5 x
10- 5
d
vM.
.AMi 1 1 L I I s I %-
a.. v01 ki I L VV arvVV I I V

i 1 1 L 1 1 1 1 1 1 L ~~Mv.u
I t is desirabl e in aquif ert est s t o have at l east
t hree observa-
t ion wel l s
l ocat ed at dif f erent dist ances f rom t he pumping
wel l ( 1 ) .
Drawdowns measured at t he same t ime in t hese wel l s
can
be
anal yzed wit h t he Theis equat ion and t ype curve t o
det ermine t he aquif ert ransmissivit y and st orage coef f icient .
Af t ert he t est has been underway l ong enough, drawdowns
in t he wel l s can al so be anal yzed by t he J acob met hod, eit her
t hrough t he use of at ime-drawdown graph usingdat af romin-
dividual wel l s ort hrough t he use of adist ance-drawdown
graph using
"simul t aneous" measurement s in al l of t he wel l s.
To det ermine
when suf f icient t ime has el apsed, see "Time-
Drawdown
Anal ysis."
I n t he J acob
dist ance-drawdown met hod, drawdowns are
pl ot t ed on t he vert ical ( arit hmet ic) axis versus dist ance on t he
horizont al ( l ogarit hmic) axis ( 2) . I f t he aquif erand t est condi-
t ions sat isf y t he Theis assumpt ions and t he l imit at ion of t he
J acob met hod, t he drawdowns measured at t he same t ime
in
dif f erent wel l s shoul d pl ot
al ongast raight l ine ( 2) .
The sl ope of t he st raight
l ine
is
proport ional t o t he pumping
rat e and t o t he t ransmissivit y .
J acob derived t he f ol l owing
equat ions f ordet erminat ion of t he
t ransmissivit y and st orage
coef f icient
f romdist ance-drawdown graphs:
T
S=
where Qis t he pumping rat e, As is t he drawdown across one
l og cycl e, t is t he t ime at which t he drawdowns
were meas-
ured, and r0 is t he dist ance f romt he pumpingwel l t o
t he point
where t he st raight l ine int ersect s t he zero-drawdown
l ine
.
Equat ions 1 and 2 are in consist ent unit s.
Fort he inconsist -
ent unit s st il l in rel at ivel y common use
in t he Unit ed St at es,
equat ions 1 and 2 shoul d be used
in t he f ol l owingf orms:
40

Basic Ground-Wat erHydrol ogy
AS
( where T is
in square f eet perday, Qis in gal l ons perminut e,
and As is in f eet )
and
S
_ Tt
640 r02
( where T is in square f eet
perday, t is in minut es, and ro is in
f eet ) .
The dist ance ro does not
indicat e t he out erl imit of t he cone
of depression . Because nonst eady-shape
condit ions exist in
t he
out erpart of t he cone, bef ore t he devel opment of st eady-
st at e condit ions, t he J acob met hod does not appl y t o t hat
part . I f t he Theis equat ion were used t o cal cul at e drawdowns
in t he out erpart of t he cone, it woul d be f ound t hat t hey
woul d pl ot bel owt he st raight l ine . I n ot herwords,
t he measur-
abl e l imit of t he cone of depression is beyond t he dist ance
r0.
I f t he st raight l ine of t he dist ance-drawdown
graph
is
ex-
t ended inward t o t he radius of
t he pumping wel l , t he draw-
down
indicat ed at t hat point is t he drawdown in t he aquif er
out side
of t he wel l . I f t he drawdown inside t he wel l is f ound t o
be
great ert han t he drawdown out side, t he dif f erence is at -
t ribut abl e t o wel l l oss. ( See "Singl e-Wel l Test s.")
As not ed in t he sect ion on "Hydraul ic Conduct ivit y, " t he
hydraul ic
conduct ivit ies and, t heref ore, t he t ransmissivit ies of
aquif ers
may be dif f erent in dif f erent direct ions. These dif f er-
ences
may cause drawdowns measured at t he same t ime in
observat ion wel l s l ocat ed at t he same dist ances but in dif f er-
ent direct ions f romt he discharging wel l t o be
dif f erent . Where
t his condit ion exist s, t he dist ance-drawdown
met hod may
yiel d sat isf act ory resul t s onl y where t hree ormore observat ion
wel l s are l ocat ed in t he same direct ion but at
dif f erent
dis-
t ances f romt he
discharging wel l .
2 .3Q
( 1 )
27rAs
2 .25Tt
( 2)
r
02
w
w
z
z
3
0
0
0
2
4
S
12
De
Observati on
wel l s
\ /Pumpi ng wel l
C

6 A
( 1)
DI STANCE- DRAWDOWNGRAPH
r
1

10 100 1000 10, 000
DI STANCE, I N METERS
Di stance- DrawdownAnal ysi s
~ 1 . . WT, , TT1T
t
~
= 4days
Q= 3 mi n- ' (
-
mi n' s
T ~ i
Trrri ~ r /
rol
9. 3
m 2, 455
ro= 30, 000
m
gal
~s=2
. 4m
Log
cycl e
pth to
Water--- I Stati c water l evel
i s
Pumpi ng
wate
l evel
Confi ni ng bed
ho = Confi ned
- aqui fer
Confi ni ng bed
Datum Pl ane
st =sa +sw
42

Ba si c Ground-Wa t er Hydrol ogy
Cone
of
Conf i ned
Pumpi ngwel l

Q
yt
The most usef ul a qui f er t est s a re t hose t ha t i ncl ude wa t er-
l evel mea surement s i n observa t i on
wel l s
. Such t est s
a re
com-
monl y ref erred t o a s
mul t i pl e-wel l t est s
.
I t
i s a l so
possi bl e t o
obt a i n usef ul da t a f rom
product i on wel l s, even whereobser-
va t i on wel l s a re not a va i l a bl e. Such t est s a re ref erred t o a s
si ngl e-wel l t est s a nd ma y consi st of pumpi nga wel l a t a si ngl e
const a nt ra t e, or a t t wo or moredi f f erent but const a nt ra t es
( see "Wel l -Accept a nce Test s a nd Wel l Ef f i ci ency") or, i f t he
wel l i s not equi pped
wi t h a pump,
by
"i nst a nt a neousl y" i n-
t roduci ng
a knownvol umeof wa t er i nt o t hewel l . Thi s di scus-
si on
wi l l be l i mi t ed t ot est s i nvol vi ng a si ngl econst a nt ra t e.
I n order t o a na l yze t he da t a , i t i s necessa ry t o underst a nd
t he na t ure of t he dra wdown i n a pumpi ng wel l . The t ot a l
dra wdown( st ) i n most , i f not a l l , pumpi ngwel l s consi st s of t wo
component s ( 1) . One i s t hedra wdown ( sa ) i n t he a qui f er, a nd
t he ot her i s t he dra wdown ( s w) t ha t occurs a s wa t er moves
f romt he a qui f er
i nt o t he wel l a nd upt he wel l bore t o t he
pumpi nt a ke. Thus, t he
dra wdown i n most pumpi ngwel l s i s
grea t er t ha n t he dra wdown
i n t he a qui f er a t t he ra di us of t he
pumpi ngwel l .
Thet ot a l dra wdown( st ) i n a pumpi ngwel l ca n beexpressed
i n t hef ormof t he f ol l owi ngequa t i ons:
s t =BQ+CQz

( 1)
La ndsurf a ce
St a t i c pot ent i omet ri c surf a ce
t
ess' o10
deP
Conf i ni ngbed\
a qui f er
F
f
F- Ef f ect i vewel l ra di us
7

77-7TI T///////
`Conf i ni ng bed
wheresa i s t hedra wdown i n t he a qui f er a t t heef f ect i ve ra di us
of t he pumpi ngwel l , s, i s wel l l oss, Qi s t he pumpi ngra t e, B i s
a f a ct or rel a t ed t o t he hydra ul i c cha ra ct eri st i cs of t he a qui f er
a ndt he l engt h of t he pumpi ngperi od, a ndCi s a f a ct or rel a t ed
t ot hecha ra ct eri st i cs of t hewel l .
Thef a ct or Ci n equa t i on 1 i s norma l l y consi dered t obecon-
st a nt , sot ha t ,
i n
a const a nt ra t et est ,
CQz
i s a l soconst a nt . As a
resul t ,
t he wel l
l oss
( s, )
i ncrea ses t he t ot a l dra wdown i n t he
pumpi ng wel l
but
does not a f f ect t he ra t e
of cha nge i n t he
dra wdownwi t h t i me. I t i s, t heref ore,
possi bl et oa na l yzedra w-
downs i n t he pumpi ng wel l wi t h t he J a cob t i me-dra wdown
met hod usi ng semi l oga ri t hmi c gra ph pa per. ( See "Ti me-
Dra wdownAna l ysi s. ") Dra wdows a re pl ot t ed on t he a ri t h-
met i c sca l e versus t i me ont he l oga ri t hmi c sca l e ( 2) , a ndt ra ns-
mi ssi vi t y
i s det ermi ned f romt he sl ope
of t he st ra i ght l i ne
t hrough t he use of t he f ol l owi ngequa t i on:
_ 2. 3Q
47rAs
Wherewel l l oss i s present i n t he pumpi ngwel l , t he st ora ge
coef f i ci ent ca nnot be det ermi ned by ext endi ng t he st ra i ght
l i ne t ot he l i ne of zerodra wdown. Evenwherewel l l oss i s not
present , t he det ermi na t i on of t he st ora ge coef f i ci ent f rom
dra wdowns i n a pumpi ngwel l l i kel y wi l l be subj ect t o l a rge
error beca use t he ef f ect i ve ra di us of t he wel l ma y di f f er si gni f -
i ca nt l y f romt he "nomi na l " ra di us.
0
I n
equati on 1, drawdown i n the pumpi ng
wel l i s propor-
ti onal to the pumpi ng rate . The
f actor Bi n the aqui f er- l os s
term(BQi ncreas es wi th ti me
of pumpi ngas l ong as water
i s
bei ng deri ved f roms torage i n the
aqui f er. The f actor Ci n the
wel l - l os s term(CQ) i s a cons tant i f
the characteri s ti cs of the
wel l remai n unchanged, but, becaus e the pumpi ng
rate i n the
wel l - l os s
termi s s quared, drawdown due
to wel l l os s i ncreas es
RELATI ON
OF PUMPI NG RATE
AND
DRAWDOWN
I

2

3
PUMPI NGRATE, I N
CUBI C METERS PER
MI NUTE
4
0
5
w
F
w
z
z
3
0
0
rapi dl y as the pumpi ngrate i s i ncreas ed
.
The
rel ati on between
pumpi ng rates anddrawdown i n a pumpi ng
wel l , i f the wel l
was pumpedf or the s ame l ength of ti me at each rate, i s s hown
i n s ketch 3. The ef f ect of wel l l os s on drawdown i n the pump-
i ng wel l i s i mportant both i n the anal ys i s of data f rompump-
i ngwel l s
andi n the des i gn of s uppl y wel l s .
Si ngl e- Wel l Tes ts

4
3
to
0
_v \
r I
1
\
\
A
ac
w
2
\
\
w
x
\
SW
\
\
wi th
3
A
\ no
z
0
4
~x n9
\ /
\x~x. wel l
\
s s
~~
Sa
xx`x~
Wl . f h
\
Q
5
x
`xw
Tom- I l og
cycl e
~~x, ~yel l
/
0
x`x
s s
6
x
x
xx.
x
7
I ~l 1 1I I I I I I
I
I I I I I 1 I I I I I CI
0. 1 I 10 100
TI ME, I N
MI NUTES
Cone of
depressi on wi t h
wel l A pumpi ng
Pot ent i omet rI c
S urf oce
Qt
s
, _

T, S , rz
44

Basi c Ground-Wat er Hydrol ogy
Wel l
A
Wel l
A
' 1L1////////!//1_
Di vi de
2
Pumpi ng a
wel l causes a drawdown i n t he ground-wat er
l evel i n t he surroundi ng area. The drawdown i n wat er l evel
f orms a coni cal -shaped depressi on i n t hewat er t abl e or pot en-
t i omet ri c surf ace, whi ch i s ref erred t o as a cone of depressi on.
( S ee "Cone of Depressi on. ") S i mi l arl y, a wel l t hrough whi ch
wat er i s i nj ect ed i nt o an
aqui f er ( t hat i s, a recharge or i n-
j ect i on
wel l )
causes
a bui l dup i n ground-wat er l evel i n t he
f ormof a
coni cal -shaped mound.
The drawdown ( s) i n an aqui f er caused by pumpi ng at any
poi nt i n t he aqui f er i s di rect l y proport i onal t o t he pumpi ng
rat e ( Qand t he l engt h of t i me ( t ) t hat pumpi ng has been i n
progress and i s i nversel y proport i onal t o t het ransmi ssi vi t y ( T) ,
t he st orage coef f i ci ent ( S ) , and t he square of t he di st ance ( r z )
bet ween t he
pumpi ngwel l and t he poi nt . I n ot her words,
Wel l
B
Wel l
B
S t at i c
Pot ent i omei ri c surf ace
Cone of
depressi on i f wel l B were
pumpi ng and
wel l A
were
i dl e
Conf i ned aqui f er
Cone
of
depressi on wi t h bot h
wel l A and B pumpi ng
E--
E-
- Conf i ned aqui f er
E ~--
E
-- 0
Where
pumpi ng wel l s are spaced rel at i vel y cl ose
t oget her,
pumpi ng of one wi l l cause a drawdown
i n t he ot hers. Draw-
downs are addi t i ve, so t hat t he t ot al drawdown
i n a pumpi ng
wel l i s equal t o i t s owndrawdownpl us t hedrawdowns
caused
at i t s l ocat i on by
ot her pumpi ngwel l s ( 1) ( 2) . The drawdowns
i n pumpi ng wel l s
caused by wi t hdrawal s f romot her pumpi ng
wel l s are
ref erred t o as wel l i nt erf erence. As sket ch 2 shows, a
di vi de
f orms i n t he pot ent i omet ri c surf ace ( or t he wat er t abl e,
i n t hecaseof an unconf i ned aqui f er) bet ween
pumpi ngwel l s.
At any poi nt i n an aqui f er af f ect ed by
bot h a di schargi ng
wel l and a rechargi ng wel l , t he
change i n wat er l evel i s equal
t o t he di f f erence bet ween t he
drawdown and t he bui l dup. I f
t he rat es of
di scharge and recharge are t he same and i f t he
wel l s are operat ed
on t he same schedul e, t hedrawdownand
t he bui l dup
wi l l cancel mi dway bet ween t he wel l s, and t he
wat er l evel
at t hat poi nt wi l l remai n unchanged f romt he
st at i c
l evel ( 3 ) . ( S ee "Aqui f er Boundari es. ")
Wes ee f r om t he above f unct i onal equat i on
t hat , i n t he
abs ence of wel l i nt er f er ence, dr awdown i n
an aqui f er at t he
ef f ect i ve
r adi us of a pumpi ng wel l i s di r ect l y
pr opor t i onal t o
t he pumpi ng r at e
. Conver s el y, t he maxi mum pumpi ng
r at e i s
di r ect l y pr opor t i onal t o
t heavai l abl edr awdown . For
conf i ned
aqui f er s , avai l abl edr awdown
i s nor mal l y cons i der ed
t o bet he
di s t ance bet ween t he
pr epumpi ng wat er l evel and t he
t op of
t he aqui f er . For unconf i ned aqui f er s ,
avai l abl e dr awdown i s
nor mal l y cons i der ed t o beabout 60
per cent of t he s at ur at ed
aqui f er t hi cknes s .
Wher et he pumpi ng r at e of a wel l i s
s uch t hat onl y a par t of
t he avai l abl e
dr awdown i s ut i l i z ed, t he onl y
ef f ect of wel l
i nt er f er ence
i s t o l ower t he pumpi ng l evel
and, t her eby,
i ncr eas e pumpi ng
cos t s . I n t he des i gn of a wel l f i el d,
t he i n-
cr eas e i n pumpi ng
cos t mus t be eval uat ed al ong wi t h
t he cos t
Pump
of t he addi t i onal wat er l i nes and
power l i nes t hat mus t be i n-
s t al l ed i f t he s paci ng of wel l s i s
i ncr eas ed t o r educewel l i nt er -
f er ence. ( See " Wel l - Fi el d Des i gn . " )
Becaus e wel l i nt er f er ence r educes
t he avai l abl e dr awdown,
i t al s o r educes t hemaxi mumyi el d of a wel l . Wel l i nt er f er ence
i s , t her ef or e, an i mpor t ant mat t er i n t he des i gn of wel l f i el ds
wher e
i t i s des i r abl e f or each wel l t o bepumped at t he l ar ges t
pos s i bl e r at e. Wecan s eef r omequat i on 1 t hat , f or a gr oup
of
wel l s pumped at t he
s amer at eand on t he s ames chedul e, t he
wel l i nt er f er ence caus ed
by any wel l on anot her wel l i n t he
gr oup i s i nver s el y pr opor t i onal
t o t he s quar e of t he di s t ance
bet ween t he t wo wel l s
( r
Z ) .
Ther ef or e, exces s i ve wel l i nt er -
f er ence i s avoi ded by i ncr eas i ng t he s paci ng
bet ween wel l s
and by l ocat i ng t hewel l s al ong a l i ne r at her
t han i n a ci r cl e or
i n a gr i d pat t er n .
Wel l I nt er f er ence

45
f - %%. 4vIIa_1% u%_'vi'Ivr- %1%aIL7
Oneof
t heassumpt ions inherent in t heTheis equat ion ( and
in most ot her f undament al ground- wat er f l ow equat ions) is
t hat t heaquif er t o which it is beingappl ied is inf init ein ext ent .
Obviousl y, no such aquif er exist s on Eart h. However, many
aquif ers are areal l y ext ensive, and, because pumping wil l not
af f ect recharge or
discharge signif icant l y f or many years,
most wat er pumped is
f romground- wat er st orage; as aconse-
quence, wat er l evel s
must decl ine f or many years. Anexcel -
l ent exampl eof such an
aquif er is t hat underl ying t he High
Pl ains f romTexas t o Sout h Dakot a.
Al l aquif ers are bounded in bot h t he vert ical direct ion and
t he horizont al direct ion. For exampl e, vert ical boundaries may
incl ude t he wat er t abl e, t he pl ane of cont act bet weeneach
aquif er and each
conf ining bed, and t he pl ane marking t he
l ower l imit of t he zoneof
int erconnect ed openings- inot her
words, t hebaseof t he
ground- wat er syst em.
Hydraul ical l y, aquif er boundaries
are of t wo t ypes:
recharge
boundaries and impermeabl eboundaries. Arecharge
boundary
is aboundary al ong which f l ow l ines originat e. In
ot her words, such aboundary wil l , under cert ain hydraul ic
HYDRAULICCOUNTERPART OF REALSYSTEM
PLANVIEW
OF THE HYDRAULICCOUNTERPART
4
6

Basic Ground- Wat er Hydrol ogy
condit ions, serve as a
source of recharge t o t he aquif er. Ex-
ampl es
of recharge boundaries incl ude t hezones of cont act
bet ween
an aquif er and a perennial st ream t hat compl et el y
penet rat es t heaquif er ort heocean.
Animpermeabl eboundary is aboundary t hat f l ow l ines do
not cross. Such boundaries
exist where aquif ers t erminat e
against "impermeabl e" mat erial
. Exampl es incl ude t he con-
t act bet weenan aquif er composed
of sand and al at eral l y ad-
j acent bed composed of cl ay.
Theposit ion and nat ure
of aquif er boundaries are of crit ical
import ance in many ground- wat er probl ems, incl uding t he
movement and f at e of pol l ut ant s and t he responseof aquif ers
t o wit hdrawal s. Depending ont hedirect ion of t he hydraul ic
gradient , ast ream, f or exampl e, may be eit her t he source
or
t hedest inat ionof a
pol l ut ant .
Lat eral boundaries
wit hin t he cone of depression have a
prof ound ef f ect ont he
responseof an aquif er t o wit hdrawal s.
To anal yze, or t o predict ,
t heef f ect of al at eral boundary, it is
necessary t o
"make" t he aquif er appear t o be of inf init e
ext ent .
This f eat is accompl ished t hrough t heuseof imaginary
Discharging
real wel l
HYDRAULICCOUNTERPART OF REALSYSTEM
Drawdown

I

Drawdownby
J kDISchargl ng
~byimagewel l
- I

real wen

I

I

imagewel l
y
.

J I -
REALSYSTEM
, ee1
- Conf iningbed-- -
-
PLAN
VIEWOF THE
HYDRAULICCOUNTERPART
I
r,
9_~
t o
i
l
as,W,
C
reiacha
rgin
d
iechargin~
real wel l

imagewel l
/ Er~\
0
E
wel l s and t he t heor y of i mages . Sket ches 1 and 2 show, i n bot h
pl an vi ew and pr of i l e, how i mage wel l s ar e used t o compen-
sat e, hydr aul i cal l y, f or t he ef f ect s of bot h
r echar gi ng and i m-
per meabl e boundar i es . ( See "Wel l I nt er f er ence . ")
The key f eat ur e of a r echar ge boundar y i s t hat wi t hdr awal s
f r om t he aqui f er do not pr oduce dr awdowns acr oss t he
boundar y .
Aper enni al st r eam i n i nt i mat e cont act wi t h an
aqui f er
r epr esent s a r echar ge boundar y because pumpi ng
f r om t he aqui f er wi l l i nduce r echar ge f r om t he st r eam. The
hydr aul i c ef f ect of a r echar ge boundar y can be dupl i cat ed by
assumi ng t hat a r echar gi ng i mage wel l i s pr esent on t he si de of
t he boundar y opposi t e t he r eal di schar gi ng wel l . Wat er i s i n-
j ect ed i nt o t he i mage wel l at t he same r at e and on t he same
schedul e t hat wat er i s wi t hdr awn f r om t he r eal wel l . I n t he
pl an vi ew i n sket ch
1 , f l ow l i nes or i gi nat e at t he boundar y, and
equi pot ent i al
l i nes par al l el t he boundar y at t he cl osest poi nt
t o t he pumpi ng
( r eal ) wel l .
The key f eat ur e
of an i mper meabl e boundar y i s t hat no
wat er can cr oss i t . Such a boundar y, somet i mes t er med a "no-
f l ow boundar y, " r esembl es a di vi de i n t he wat er t abl e or t he
pot ent i omet r i c sur f ace of a conf i ned aqui f er . The ef f ect of an
i mper meabl e boundar y can be dupl i cat ed by assumi ng t hat a
di schar gi ng i mage wel l i s pr esent on
t he
si de
of t he boundar y
opposi t e t he r eal di schar gi ng wel l
. The
i mage
wel l wi t hdr aws
wat er at t he same r at e and on t he same schedul e as t he r eal
wel l . Fl ow l i nes t end t o be par al l el t o an i mper meabl e bound-
ar y, and
equi pot ent i al l i nes i nt er sect i t at a r i ght angl e.
The i mage- wel l t heor y i s an essent i al t ool i n t he desi gn of
wel l
f i el ds near aqui f er boundar i es . Thus, on t he basi s of
mi ni mi zi ng t he l ower i ng of wat er l evel s, t he f ol l owi ng condi -
t i ons appl y :
1 . Pumpi ng wel l s shoul d be l ocat ed par al l el t o and as cl ose as
possi bl e t o r echar gi ng boundar i es .
2. Pumpi ng wel l s shoul d be l ocat ed per pendi cul ar t o and as
f ar as
possi bl e f r omi mper meabl e boundar i es .
Sket ches
1
and 2
i l l ust r at e t he ef f ect of si ngl e boundar i es
and show
how t hei r hydr aul i c ef f ect i s compensat ed f or
t hr ough t he use of
si ngl e i mage wel l s . I t i s assumed i n t hese
sket ches t hat ot her boundar i es ar e so r emot e t hat t hey have a
negl i gi bl e ef f ect on t he ar eas depi ct ed. At many pl aces,
however , pumpi ng wel l s ar e af f ect ed by t wo or mor e bound-
ar i es . One exampl e i s an al l uvi al aqui f er composed of sand
and gr avel bor der ed on
one si de by a per enni al st r eam ( a r e-
char ge boundar y) and on
t he ot her by i mper meabl e bedr ock
( an i mper meabl e
boundar y) .
Cont r ar y t o f i r st i mpr essi on,
t hese boundar y condi t i ons can-
not be
sat i sf i ed wi t h onl y a r echar gi ng i mage
wel l and a di s-
char gi ng
i mage wel l . Addi t i onal i mage wel l s ar e
r equi r ed, as
sket ch 3 shows, t o compensat e f or t he ef f ect
of t he i mage
wel l s
on t he opposi t e boundar i es . Because each
new i mage
wel l added t o t he ar r ay af f ect s
t he opposi t e boundar y, i t i s
necessar y t o cont i nue addi ng
i mage wel l s unt i l t hei r di st ances
f r om t he boundar i es ar e so
gr eat t hat t hei r ef f ect becomes
negl i gi bl e .
Aqui f er
Boundar i es

47
CROSS SECTI ONTHROUGHAQUI FER
St r eam
Land sur f ace
Pumpi ng
wel l , ,
~~
wat er
t abl e
Aqui f er _- ___-
- - - Conf i ni ng
mat er i al _ _- -
- - - - - - - - - - -
_-
PLAN VI EW OF
BOUNDARI ES, PUMPI NGWELLS,
ANDI MAGEWELLS
I mper meabl e Rechar ge
boundar y \ I
/boundar y
A4- - - B- I - `A4- - - B- - ~A4 B- ~- A~
F- - B- }- A4- - B-
0 0
. 0
. 0 0
I i o I s I s I a
. ~
z
PW
I i 1 3 I s 1 7 I s
Di schar gi ng
i mage Rechar gi ng i mage
wel l
wel l
E Repeat s t o i nf i ni t y
Pumpi ng
Repeat s t o
i nf i ni t y- -
-~-
wel l
BALANCI NGOF WELLS ACROSS BOUNDARI ES
I mper meabl e Rechar ge
boundar y boundar y
I
z
PW PW
I ,
I
a
I
l
I z
1 3
I s
1 3 I a 1 1
I
s
1 ,
I
s I ,
I i o 1 7
I a I s
" ~. v" v

i ~" " rv" rv
w
H
w
Z
z
0
Q
0
W
0. 01
0
0. 2
TIME, IN MINUTES
10 102
103
104 105
TIME, IN MINUTES
1

10

102

10,
10
4
When an aqui f er t es t i s conduct ed near one of t he l at eral
boundari es of an aqui f er, t he
drawdown dat a depart f romt he
Thei s t ypecurve and f rom
t he i ni t i al s t rai ght l i ne produced by
t he J acob met hod
.
The
hydraul i c ef f ect of l at eral boundari es
i s as s umed, f or anal yt i cal conveni ence,
t o be due t o t he pres -
ence of ot her wel l s . ( See " Aqui f er Boundari es . " ) Thus , a
recharge boundary has t he s ame ef f ect on drawdowns as a re-
chargi ng i mage wel l l ocat ed acros s t he boundary and at t he
s ame di s t ance f romt he boundary as t he real wel l . The i mage
wel l i s as s umed t o operat e
on t he s ame s chedul e and at t he
s ame rat e as t he real wel l . Si mi l arl y,
an i mpermeabl e bound-
ary has t he s ame ef f ect on drawdowns
as a di s chargi ng i mage
wel l .
To anal yze aqui f er- t es t
dat a af f ect ed by ei t her a recharge
boundary or an i mpermeabl e boundary, t he earl y drawdown
dat a i n t he obs ervat i on wel l s neares t t he pumpi ng wel l
mus t
not be af f ect ed by t he boundary. Thes e dat a, t hen, s howonl y
t he ef f ect of t he real wel l and can be us ed t o det ermi ne t he
t rans mi s s i vi t y ( T) and t he
s t orage coef f i ci ent ( S) of t he aqui f er.
( See " Anal ys i s of Aqui f er- Tes t
Dat a" and " Ti me- Drawdown
Anal ys i s . " ) In t heThei s met hod, t he t ype curve i s mat ched
t o
48

Bas i c Ground- Wat er Hydrol ogy
vVV1 ~ v/ 1 " ~" L. ` J
t he earl y dat a, and a " mat ch poi nt " i s s el ect ed f or us e i n
cal cul at i ng
val ues of Tand
S.
The pos i t i on of t he t ype curve,
i n
t he regi on where t he drawdowns depart f rom t he t ype
curve, i s t raced ont o t hedat a pl ot ( 1) ( 3 ) . Thet race of t he t ype
curves hows wheret hedrawdowns woul d havepl ot t ed i f t here
had been no boundary ef f ect . The di f f erences i n drawdown
bet ween t he dat a pl ot and t he t race of t he t ype curve s how
t he ef f ect of an aqui f er boundary. The di rect i on i n whi ch t he
drawdowns depart f rom t he t ype curve- t hat i n t he di rec-
t i on of ei t her great er
drawdowns
or
l es s er
drawdowns - s hows
t het ype of boundary .
Drawdowns great er t han
t hos e def i ned by t he
t race of t he
t ype curve i ndi cat e t he pres ence of an
i mpermeabl e
boundary
becaus e, as not ed above, t heef f ect of s uch boundari es can be
dupl i cat ed wi t h an i magi nary di s chargi ng wel l ( 1) . Convers el y,
a recharge boundary caus es drawdowns t o be l es s t han t hos e
def i ned by t het race of t he t ype curve ( 3 ) .
10
w
w
Z
z
O
0
Q
TIME, IN MINUTES
101

10 102
10, 10
4
10,
0
. 01
0
1
0. 2
0. 4
0. 6
0. 8
TIME, IN MINUTES
10

102

103

104
( 4)
In t he J acob
met hod, drawdowns begi n t o pl ot al ong a
s t rai ght l i ne af t er
t het es t has been underway f or s omet i me( 2)
( 4) . The
t i me at whi ch t hes t rai ght - l i ne pl ot begi ns depends on
t he val ues
of Tand Sof t he aqui f er and on t he s quare of t he
x
x
s ;
x
x
x
x
x
x ` Trace of Thei s
x t ype
curve
x
x
x
s r
t yp
e
curve
X x
x
. \ 5
x
x
~
"
x
\ Si
x
ok
x~x
x/
~~~x
x
X
Sr
H
w
0. 4
Z
w
H
W
1 . 0
Z
Z
0. 6
Z
O
0. 8
O
0. 1
1. 0
Q
0
1 . 2
di st ance
bet ween t he obser vat i on wel l and t he
pumpi ng wel l .
( See
"Ti me- Dr awdown Anal ysi s . ") Val ues of T
and S ar e det er -
mi ned f r om
t he f i r st st r ai ght - l i ne segment
def i ned by t he dr aw-
downs af t er
t he st ar t of t he aqui f er t est . The sl ope
of t hi s
st r ai ght l i ne depends on t he
t r ansmi ssi vi t y ( T) and on t he
pumpi ng r at e ( Q. I f a boundar y i s
pr esent , t he dr awdowns wi l l
depar t f r om t he f i r st st r ai ght - l i ne
segment and begi n t o f al l
al ong anot her st r ai ght l i ne ( 2 ) ( 4 ) .
Accor di ng t o
i mage- wel l t heor y, t he ef f ect of a r echar ge
boundar y can be
dupl i cat ed by assumi ng t hat wat er i s
i n-
j ect ed i nt o t he
aqui f er t hr ough a r echar gi ng i mage wel l at
t he
same r at e
t hat wat er i s bei ng wi t hdr awn f r omt he r eal wel l
. I t
f ol l ows, t her ef or e, t hat , when t he
f ul l ef f ect of a r echar ge
boundar y i s
f el t at an obser vat i on wel l , t her e wi l l be no f ur t her
i ncr ease
i n dr awdown, and t he wat er l evel i n t he wel l wi l l st a-
bi l i z e . At
t hi s poi nt i n bot h t he Thei s and t he J acob met hods,
dr awdowns
pl ot al ong a st r ai ght l i ne havi ng a const ant
dr awdown
( 3 ) ( 4 ) . Conver sel y, an i mper meabl e boundar y
causes
t he r at e of dr awdown t o i ncr ease . I n t he J acob
met hod, as a r esul t , t he dr awdowns pl ot al ong a newst r ai ght
l i ne havi ng t wi ce t he sl ope as t he l i ne
dr awn t hr ough t he dr aw-
downs t hat occur r ed bef or e t he ef f ect of
t he boundar y was
f el t ( 2 ) .
A wor d of caut i on shoul d be
i nj ect ed her e r egar di ng use of
t he J acob
met hod when i t i s suspect ed t hat an aqui f er t est
may be
af f ect ed by boundar y condi t i ons. I n many cases, t he
boundar y
begi ns t o af f ect dr awdowns bef or e t he met hod i s
appl i cabl e, t he r esul t bei ng t hat T and S val ues det er mi ned
f r omt he dat a ar e er r oneous, and t he ef f ect of
t he boundar y i s
not i dent i f i ed . When i t i s suspect ed t hat an aqui f er
t est may
be af f ect ed by boundar y condi t i ons, t he dat a shoul d,
at l east
i ni t i al l y, be anal yz ed wi t h t he Thei s met hod .
The posi t i on and
t he nat ur e of many boundar i es ar e ob-
vi ous . For exampl e,
t he most common r echar ge boundar i es
ar e st r eams and
l akes; possi bl y, t he most common i m-
per meabl e boundar i es
ar e t he bedr ock wal l s of al l uvi al
val l eys . The hydr aul i c di st ance t o t hese boundar i es,
however ,
may not be obvi ous . A st r eam or l ake may penet r at e
onl y a
shor t di st ance i nt o an aqui f er , and t hei r bot t oms may be
under l ai n by f i ne- gr ai ned mat er i al t hat hamper s movement of
wat er i nt o t he aqui f er . Hydr aul i cal l y,
t he boundar i es f or med
by t hese sur f ace- wat er bodi es wi l l appear
t o be f ar t her f r om
t he pumpi ng wel l t han t he
near shor e
.
Si mi l ar l y, i f a smal l
amount of wat er moves acr oss
t he bedr ock wal l of a val l ey,
t he
hydr aul i c di st ance t o t he i mper meabl e boundar y wi l l be
gr eat er t han
t he di st ance t o t he val l ey wal l .
For t unat el y,
t he hydr aul i c di st ance t o boundar i es can be
det er mi ned
f r omt he anal ysi s of aqui f er - t est dat a . Accor di ng
t o t he Thei s equat i on, i f we
deal wi t h equal dr awdowns
caused by t he r eal wel l and t he
i mage wel l ( i n ot her wor ds, i f
s
r
=s; ) , t hen
wher e
r r i s t he di st ance f r om
t he obser vat i on wel l t o t he
r eal
wel l , r
; i s t he di st ance f r om
t he obser vat i on wel l t o t he i mage
wel l ,
t
r
i s t he t i me at whi ch a
dr awdown of s
r
i s caused by t he
r eal
wel l at t he obser vat i on
wel l , and t ; i s t he t i me at whi ch
a
dr awdown of s ; i s caused
by t he i mage wel l at
t he obser vat i on
wel l .
t r t ;
Sol vi ng equat i on
1 f or t he di st ance t o t he i mage
wel l f r om
t he
obser vat i on wel l , we
obt ai n
The i mage
wel l i s l ocat ed at some poi nt on
a ci r cl e havi ng a
r adi us of
r ; cent er ed on t he obser vat i on
wel l ( 5 ) . Because t he
i mage
wel l i s t he same di st ance f r omt he
boundar y as t he r eal
wel l ,
we knowt he boundar y i s hal f way
bet ween t he i mage
wel l and t he pumpi ng wel l
( 5 )
.
I f t he boundar y i s a
st r eam or val l ey wal l or some ot her
f eat ur e whose physi cal
posi t i on i s obvi ous, i t s "hydr aul i c posi -
t i on" may be det er mi ned by
usi ng dat a f r om a si ngl e obser va-
t i on wel l .
I f , on t he ot her hand, t he boundar y
i s t he wal l of a
bur i ed val l ey
or some ot her f eat ur e not
obvi ous f r omt he l and
sur f ace,
di st ances t o t he i mage wel l
f r om t hr ee obser vat i on
wel l s may be
needed t o i dent i f y t he posi t i on
of t he boundar y .
Test s Af f ect ed by
L at er al Boundar i es

4 9
. . . _ . v - . . . a. . v. I . -
I n t he devel opment of
t he
Thei s
equat i on f or t he anal ysi s of
aqui f er - t est dat a, i t was assumed t hat al l wat er di schar ged
f r om t he pumpi ng wel l was der i ved i nst ant aneousl y f r om
st or age i n t he aqui f er . ( See " Anal ysi s of Aqui f er - Test Dat a . " )
Ther ef or e, i n t he case of a conf i ned aqui f er , at l east dur i ng t he
per i od of t he t est , t he movement of wat er i nt o t he aqui f er
acr oss i t s over l yi ng and under l yi ng conf i ni ng beds i s negl i gi -
bl e . Thi s assumpt i on
i s sat i sf i ed by many conf i ned aqui f er s .
Many ot her aqui f er s, however ,
ar e bounded by l eaky conf i n-
i ng beds t hat t r ansmi t wat er i nt o t he aqui f er i n r esponse
t o
t he
wi t hdr awal s and cause dr awdowns t o di f f er f r om t hose
t hat
woul d be pr edi ct ed by t he Thei s equat i on . The anal ysi s
of
aqui f er t est s conduct ed on t hese aqui f er s
r equi r es t he use of
t he met hods t hat have been devel oped f or semi conf i ned
5
0

Basi c
Gr ound- Wat er Hydr ol ogy
V" E. L . /
\ E, % 1%_%_V1 N1 1

1 1 1

41 1 1 1 1 1 \ V

V
1 1 1 -
V
1 - i
Unconf i ned
aqui f er
Leaky_- conf i ni ng - bed- - -
Senni conf i ned
aqui f er
aqui f er s ( al so r ef er r ed
t o i n gr ound- wat er l i t er at ur e as " l eaky
aqui f er s" ) .
Sket ches 1 t hr ough 3 i l l ust r at e t hr ee di f f er ent condi t i ons
commonl y encount er ed
i n t he f i el d
.
Sket ch 1 shows a con-
f i ned aqui f er bounded by
t hi ck, i mper meabl e conf i ni ng
beds .
Wat er i ni t i al l y pumped
f r om
such
an aqui f er i s f r om st or age,
and aqui f er - t est dat a can be
anal yzed
by
usi ng t he Thei s equa-
t i on . Sket ch 2 shows an aqui f er over l ai n by a t hi ck, l eaky con-
f i ni ng bed t hat , dur i ng an aqui f er t est , yi el ds si gni f i cant wat er
f r omst or age . The aqui f er i n t hi s case may pr oper l y be r ef er r ed
t o as a semi conf i ned aqui f er , and t he r el ease of wat er f r om
st or age i n t he
conf i ni ng
bed
af f ect s t he anal ysi s of aqui f er - t est
dat a . Sket ch 3 shows an
aqui f er over l ai n by a t hi n conf i ni ng
bed t hat does not yi el d
si gni f i cant wat er f r om st or age but t hat
10
HANTUSHTYPE CURVESFOR SEMICONFINED
AQUIFERS
THATRECEIVE WATER
FROMSTORAGE IN CONFININGBEDS
102
10- ~
10- 3
10-
10- ' 1
10 102 10, 104 105 10,
1/ u
( 4 )
i s s uf f i c i ent l y per meabl e
t o t r ans mi t wat er f r omt he over l yi ng
unc onf i ned aqui f er i nt o t he s emi c onf i ned
aqui f er . Met hods
have been
devi s ed, l ar gel y by Madhi Hant us h and
C. E. J ac ob,
f or us e i n
anal yzi ng t he l eaky c ondi t i ons
i l l us t r at ed i n
s ket c hes 2 and
3 .
The us e of
t hes e met hods i nvol ves mat c hi ng
dat a pl ot s wi t h
t ype c ur ves ,
as t he Thei s met hod does . The maj or
di f f er enc e i s
t hat , wher eas
t he Thei s met hod i nvol ves us e of
a s i ngl e t ype
c ur ve, t he
met hods appl i c abl e t o s emi c onf i ned
aqui f er s i n-
vol ve " f ami l i es " of t ype
c ur ves , eac h c ur ve of whi c h
r ef l ec t s
di f f er ent c ombi nat i ons of
t he hydr aul i c c har ac t er i s t i c s
of t he
aqui f er and t he c onf i ni ng
beds . Dat a pl ot s of s
ver s us t on
l ogar i t hmi c gr aph paper f or
aqui f er t es t s af f ec t ed by
r el eas e
of wat er f r om s t or age i n t he c onf i ni ng
beds ar e mat c hed t o
t he
f ami l y of t ype c ur ves i l l us t r at ed i n
s ket c h 4 . For c on-
veni enc e,
t hes e c ur ves ar e r ef er r ed t o
as Hant us h t ype . Four
mat c h- poi nt
c oor di nat es ar e s el ec t ed and
s ubs t i t ut ed i nt o t he
f ol l owi ng equat i ons t o
det er mi ne val ues of Tand S:
T
-

QH( u, o)
4 r s
4 Tt u
S=
r
2
Dat a
pl ot s of s ver s us t on l ogar i t hmi c gr aph
paper f or
aqui f er
t es t s af f ec t ed by l eakage of wat er ac r os s
c onf i ni ng
beds ar e mat c hed t o t he f ami l y of t ype c ur ves s hown i n s ket c h
5 .
Thes e t ype c ur ves ar e bas ed on equat i ons devel oped by
Hant us h and J ac ob
and,
f or
c onveni enc e, wi l l be r ef er r ed t o
as t he Hant us h- J ac ob c ur ves . The f our c oor di nat es of t he
mat c h poi nt ar e s ubs t i t ut ed i nt o t he f ol l owi ng equat i ons t o
det er mi ne Tand S:
10
T=

QW( u, r I B)

( 3)
4 7r s
4 Tt u
S=

r 2
HANTUSH- J ACOBTYPE CURVESFORAQUIFERS
RECEIVINGLEAKAGEACROSSCONFININGBEDS
0. 01
10- '

1. 0

10

10,
10 3
10 4
1/ u
( 5)
In pl anni ng
and c onduc t i ng aqui f er t es t s , hydr ol ogi s t s mus t
gi ve c ar ef ul c ons i der at i on t o t he hydr aul i c c har ac t er i s t i c s
of
t he aqui f er and t o t he t ype of boundar y c ondi t i ons
( ei t her
r ec har ge or i mper meabl e) t hat ar e l i kel y t o exi s t i n
t he vi c i ni t y
of t he t es t s i t e . Fol l owi ng c ompl et i on of t he
t es t , t he next
pr obl em i s t o s el ec t t he met hod of anal ys i s t hat mos t c l os el y
r epr es ent s t he geol ogi c and hydr ol ogi c c ondi t i ons i n t he ar ea
af f ec t ed by t he t es t . When t hes e c ondi t i ons ar e not wel l
known,
t he c ommon pr ac t i c e i s t o pr epar e a dat a pl ot of s ver -
s us t on l ogar i t hmi c paper and mat c h i t wi t h t he Thei s
t ype
c ur ve . If t he dat a c l os el y mat c h t he t ype c ur ve, t he val ues
of T
and S det er mi ned by us i ng t he Thei s equat i on
s houl d be
r el i abl e . Si gni f i c ant depar t ur es of t he dat a f r om
t he t ype
c ur ve gener al l y r ef l ec t t he pr es enc e of l at er al boundar i es or
l eaky c onf i ni ng beds . Bot h t he geol ogy of t he ar ea and t he
s hape of t he dat a pl ot may pr ovi de c l ues as t o whi c h of t hes e
c ondi t i ons mos t l i kel y exi s t . It i s i mpor t ant t o not e, however ,
t hat s ome dat a pl ot s f or t es t s
af f ec t ed by i mper meabl e
boundar i es ar e s i mi l ar i n s hape t o t he
Hant us h c ur ves .
Tes t s Af f ec t ed by Leaky Conf i ni ng
Beds

5 1
WE
0
SVpe
CAN' 0. 0
0. 1
0. 2
0. 4
e~s
0. 6
0. 8
1 . 0
1. 5
AL 2 . 0
r / ( 3=2 . 5
vi m,
WILL-C-UNJ 1 KUL
1 IUNMt1 HUUJ
SUPPLY WELL

SUPPLY WELL
( Screened )

( Open

hol e )
52

Bas i c Ground-Water
Hydrol ogy
The s even di f f erent
methods of wel l cons tructi on i n f ai rl y
commonus e
are l i s ted i n thetabl e. Thef i rs t f our methods are
l i mi ted to
rel ati vel y s hal l ow depths and are mos t commonl y
empl oyed
i n the cons tructi on of domes ti c wel l s . One of the
l as t three
methods i s us ual l y empl oyed i n the cons tructi on of
muni ci pal and i ndus tri al
wel l s and domes ti c wel l s i n con-
s ol i dated rock .
The obj ecti ves of wel l
cons tructi on are to excavate a hol e,
us ual l y of s mal l di ameter
i n compari s on wi th the depth, to an
aqui f er and
to provi de a means f or water to enter
the hol e
whi l e rock
materi al i s excl uded. The means of
excavati ng the
hol e i s
di f f erent f or di f f erent methods .
SUITABILITYOF
DIFFERENT WELL-CONSTRUCTIONMETHODSTOGEOLOGIC
CONDITIONS
[ Modi f i ed f rom U. S. Envi ronmental Protecti on Agency
( 1 974) , tabl e 3]
Dug wel l s
cons tructed wi th a pi ckax and s hovel were rel a-
ti vel y common i n rural areas of the eas tern and
central parts
of
thecountry bef ore the 1 940' s . Such wel l s are reas onabl y
ef -
f ecti ve i n f i ne-grai ned materi al s , s uch as gl aci al
ti l l , and thi nl y
bedded s and andcl ay . The l arge
i rri gati on ponds that extend
bel ow thewater tabl e,
nowbei ng dug by bul l dozer or dragl i ne
i n the Atl anti c Coas tal
Pl ai n, are the modern vers i on of the
dug wel l .
Bored wel l s are cons tructed
wi th earth augers turned ei ther
by hand or by
power equi pment andare the modern equi v-
al ent of the
"hand-dug" wel l . Bored wel l s are rel ati vel y ef f ec-
ti ve i n
materi al of l ow hydraul i c conducti vi ty and i n areas
underl ai n by
thi n s urf i ci al l ayers of s i l ty andcl ayey s and.
Dri ven
wel l s are cons tructed by dri vi ng a cas i ng
equi pped
wi th a s creened dri ve poi nt.
Becaus e of thei r rel ati vel y s mal l
di ameter, thes e wel l s are
s ui tabl e onl y f or rel ati vel y
permeabl e s urf i ci al aqui f ers .
They are wi del y us ed as s ources
of domes ti c- and f arm-water
s uppl i es i n thos e parts of the
Atl anti c
andGul f Coas tal Pl ai ns underl ai n by permeabl e
s and.
Jetted
wel l s are cons tructed by excavati ng a hol e
wi th a
hi gh-pres s ure
j et of water. In dens e cl ays , s hel l beds , and
par-
ti al l y
cemented l ayers , i t may be neces s ary to attach a
chi s el
bi t to the j et pi pe and
al ternatel y rai s e and drop the pi pe to
cut a hol e.
The percus s i on dri l l i ng
method ( commonl y ref erred to as
the cabl e-tool method)
cons i s ts of al ternatel y rai s i ng and
droppi ng a
heavy wei ght equi pped wi th a chi s el bi t. The rock
atthe bottom
of the hol e i s thus s hattered and, together
wi th
water,
f orms a s l urry that i s removedwi th a bai l er
.
In
uncon-
s ol i dated
materi al , the cas i ng i s dri ven a
f ew f eet at a ti me
ahead of the dri l l i ng. Af ter
dri l l i ng to the maxi mumdepth to
be reached by the wel l , a
s creen i s "tel es coped" i ns i de the
cas i ng and hel d i n pl ace
whi l ethecas i ng i s pul l ed back to ex-
pos e the s creen ( 1 ) . The topof
the s creen i s s eal ed agai ns tthe
cas i ng by
expandi ng a l ead packer . In wel l s
i n cons ol i dated
Dri l l ed
Percus s i on Rotary
Characteri s ti cs
Dug Bored Dri ven j etted
Maxi mumpracti cal
depth, i n m( f t) ------------ 1 5 ( 50) 30000) 1 5 ( 50) 30000)
Rangei ndi ameter,
i n
cm
( i n. ) ----------------- 1 -6 m( 3-20 f t) 5-75 ( 2-30) 3-6
( 1 -2) 5-30 ( 2-1 2)
( cabl e tool )
300 ( 1 , 000)
1 0-46 ( 4-1 8)
Hydraul i c
300 ( 1 , 000)
1 0-61 ( 4-24)
Ai r
250 ( 800)
1 0-25 ( 4-1 0)
Uncons ol i datedmateri al :
Si l t
------------------------------------ X
X X X X
X
Sand
----------------------------------- X
X X X X
X
Gravel
--------------------------------- X
X X
X
Gl aci al ti l l ------------------------------
X X X
X
Shel l andl i mes tone-----------------------
X X
X X X
Cons ol i datedmateri al
:
Cementedgravel
------------------------- X
X X X
Sands tone
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
X X X
Li mes tone
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
X X X
Shal e
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- X X X
Igneous andmetamorphi crocks ----------------------------------------------------------
X
X X
r ock, the nor mal pr acti ce i s to
"s eat" the cas i ng f i r ml y i n the
top of the r ock and
dr i l l
an open
hol e to the depth r equi r edto
obtai n the needed yi el d ( 2) .
The hydr aul i c r otar y method excavates a hol e by r otati ng a
dr i l l pi pe to whi ch one of s ever al types of dr ag or r ol l er bi ts i s
attached. Water contai ni ng cl ay i s ci r cul ated down the dr i l l
pi pe i n the "nor mal r otar y" methodandupthe annul ar s pace,
both to cool the bi t and to r emove the r ock cutti ngs .
I n
the
"r ever s e r otar y" method, the dr i l l i ng f l ui d
i s ci r cul ated
down
the annul ar s pace and up the
dr i l l pi pe.
Cl ay
i n the dr i l l i ng
f l ui d adher es to the s i de of the
hol e
and,
together wi th the
pr es s ur e exer ted i n the hol e by the dr i l l i ng f l ui d, pr events cav-
i ng of the f or mati on mater i al . Thus , i n the hydr aul i c r otar y
method, i t i s not neces s ar y to i ns tal l per manent- wel l cas i ng
dur i ng the dr i l l i ng pr oces s . Whenthe hol e r eaches the des i r ed
depth, a l i ne of cas i ng contai ni ng s ecti ons of s cr een at the
des i r ed i nter val s i s l ower ed i nto the wel l . Hydr aul i c r otar y i s
the method mos t commonl y empl oyed i n dr i l l i ng l ar ge- yi el d
wel l s i n ar eas under l ai n by thi ck s equences of uncons ol i dated
depos i ts , s uch as the Atl anti c and
Gul f Coas tal Pl ai ns . Wher e
aqui f er s cons i s t of al ter nati ng thi n beds of s and and cl ay, the
common pr acti ce i s to i ns tal l a gr avel envel ope ar ound the
s cr eens . Such wel l s ar e r ef er r ed to as gr avel packed ( 3) .
The ai r r otar y method i s s i mi l ar to the hydr aul i c
r otar y
method, except that the dr i l l i ng
f l ui d
i s
ai r r ather than mud.
The ai r r otar y method i s s ui tabl e
onl y f or dr i l l i ng i n cons ol i -
dated r ocks . Mos t ai r r otar y r i gs ar e al s o equi pped
wi th
mud
pumps ,
whi ch per mi t themto be us ed i n the hydr aul i c r otar y
mode f or
dr i l l i ng thr ough s atur ated uncons ol i dated r ock. Thi s
methodi s
wi del y us ed i n the cons tr ucti on of wel l s i n f r actur ed
bedr ock.
Whenthe cons tr ucti on phas e has been compl eted, i t i s nec-
es s ar y to begi nthe phas e r ef er r edto as wel l devel opment .
The
obj ecti ve of thi s phas e i s to r emove cl ay, s i l t, and f i ne- gr ai ned
s and f r omthe ar ea adj acent to the s cr een or open hol e s o that
the wel l wi l l pr oduce
s edi ment- f r ee water . The s i mpl es t
methodof
devel opment i s
to
pump water f r omthe wel l at a
gr adual l y i ncr eas i ng
r ate, the f i nal r ate bei ng l ar ger than the
pl anned
pr oducti on r ate. However , thi s method i s not nor -
mal l y s ucces s f ul i n s cr eened and gr avel - packed wel l s dr i l l ed
by
the hydr aul i c r otar y method. For thes e wel l s , i t i s neces s ar y
to
us e a s ur ge bl ock or s ome other means to al ter natel y f or ce
water i nto the f or mati onandpul l i t back i nto the wel l . Oneof
the mos t ef f ecti ve methods i s to pump
water under hi gh pr es -
SUPPLY
WELL
( Mul ti pl e s cr een, gr avel

pack )
s ur e thr ough
or i f i ces di r ected at the i ns i de of the s cr een. The
coar s er gr ai ned
par ti cl es pul l ed i nto the wel l dur i ng devel op-
ment tendto s ettl e
to the bottomof the wel l andmus t be r e-
moved wi th a bai l er or pump. Chemi cal s that di s per s e cl ays
and other f i ne- gr ai ned par ti cl es ar e al s o us ed as an ai d
i n wel l
devel opment .
Wel l - Cons tr ucti onMethods

53
VVI L LL LV%JJ
An i mport ant part of wel l
const ruct i on i s det ermi ni ng t he
charact er and t he t hi ckness of t he di f f erent l ayers
of mat eri al
penet rat ed by t he wel l and t he qual i t y of t he
wat er i n t he
permeabl e zones. Thi s i nf ormat i on i s essent i al f or t he
i nst al l a-
t i on
of casi ng and f or t he proper pl acement of screens
. I nf or-
mat i on on mat eri al s
penet rat ed i s recorded i n t he f orm of
"l ogs . " The l ogs most commonl y
prepared f or suppl y wel l s are
dri l l ers' l ogs and geophysi cal ( el ect ri c)
l ogs . Copi es of l ogs
shoul d be caref ul l y preserved by t he
wel l owner as a part of
t he f i l e oneach wel l .
Dri l l ers' l ogs consi st of wri t t en
descri pt i ons of t he mat eri al
penet rat ed by wel l s
. These descri pt i ons are based bot h on
sampl es of rock cut t i ngs
brought t o t he surf ace duri ng dri l l i ng
operat i ons and on changes i n
t he rat e of penet rat i on of t he
dri l l and i n t he
vi brat i on of t he ri g. The wel l dri l l er may al so
col l ect sampl es of t he rock cut t i ngs f or
st udy by geol ogi st s on
hi s st af f or t hose on t he st af f of St at e
geol ogi cal surveys or
Federal and St at e wat er- resources agenci es
. Descri pt i ons of
t hese sampl es made by ut i l i zi ng a mi croscope
and ot her ai ds
are commonl y
ref erred t o as a geol ogi c l og t o di f f erent i at e
t hemf romt he
dri l l er' s l og. I f t he wel l i s t o be f i ni shed wi t h a
screen, t he wel l dri l l er
wi l l ret ai n sampl es of mat eri al f romt he
pri nci pal wat er- beari ng
zones f or use i n sel ect i ng t he sl ot si ze
of screens .
5
4

Basi c
Ground- Wat er Hydrol ogy
i rec i on o
i ncreasi ng va u
Geophysi cal l ogs provi de
i ndi rect i nf ormat i on on t he char-
act er of rock l ayers . The
most commont ype of geophysi cal
l og, t he t ype normal l y ref erred
t o as anel ect ri c l og, consi st s of
a record of t he spont aneous el ect ri cal pot ent i al s
generat ed i n
t he borehol e and t he apparent el ect ri cal resi st i vi t y
of t he rock
uni t s . Several t ypes of el ect ri c l oggers are
avai l abl e, but
nearl y al l
provi de cont i nuous graphs of spont aneous
pot ent i al
and resi st i vi t y as a sensi ng
devi ce i s l owered i nt o and removed
f romt he borehol e. El ect ri c l ogs
can be made onl y i n t he un-
cased port i on of dri l l hol es . The
part of t he hol e t o be l ogged
must al so cont ai n dri l l i ng
mud or wat er.
The spont aneous pot ent i al l og ( whi ch i s usual l y
ref erred t o
as t he SP l og) i s a record of t he di f f erences i n t he
vol t ages of
an
el ect rode at t he l and surf ace and an el ect rode i n
t he bore-
hol e.
Vari at i ons i n vol t age occur as a
resul t of el ect ro-
chemi cal and ot her
spont aneous el ect ri cal ef f ect s . The SP
graph i s rel at i vel y f eat urel ess
i n shal l ow wat er wel l s t hat
penet rat e onl y t he f reshwat er
zone. The ri ght - hand boundary
of an SP l og general l y
i ndi cat es i mpermeabl e beds such as
cl ay, shal e, and bedrock. The l ef t - hand boundary
general l y i n-
di cat es
sand, cavernous l i mest one, and ot her
permeabl e
l ayers .
Geophysi cal l ogs
Dept h bel ow
El ect ri c l og
Gamma-
l and surf ace
Dri l l er' s l og
SP Apparent
ray
met ers -
resi st i vi t y
l og
Sand,
coarse wi t h pebbl es - - -
( Cased t o
4
m)
( Wat er t abl e
at 9 m)
( Freshwat er)
15. 2
19 . 0
Cl ay , red and green
Sand,
coarse
( Fr eshwat
er)
26. 6
297
Cl ay, brown
Cl ayey sand
( Freshwat er)
38. 8
Cl ay, reddi sh brown
43. 3
Sand
50. 3
( Bracki sh wat er)
53. 9
Cl ay, red
Sand, coarse
( Sal t wat er)
61. 3
0
Cl ay, brown
4F
1
The r es i s t i v i t y l og i s a r ecor d of t he r es i s t ance t o t he f l ow
of
an al t er nat i ng el ect r i c cur r ent of f er ed by t he r ock l ay er s and
t hei r cont ai ned f l ui ds and t he f l ui d i n t he bor ehol e. Sev er al
di f f er ent el ect r ode ar r angement s ar e us ed t o meas ur e t he
r es i s t i v i t y of di f f er ent v ol umes of mat er i al , but t he ar r ange-
ment mos t
commonl y
us ed by t he wat er - wel l i ndus t r y i s r e-
f er r ed t o as
t he s i ngl e- poi nt
el ect r ode.
The
r es i s t i v i t y of wat er -
bear i ng mat er i al depends pr i mar i l y
on t he s al t cont ent of t he
wat er and t he por os i t y
of
t he mat er i al .
Cl ay l ay er s nor mal l y
hav e a l ow r es i s t i v i t y becaus e of t hei r l ar ge por os i t y , and t he
wat er t hat t hey cont ai n t ends t o be r el at i v el y hi ghl y mi ner -
al i z ed . I n cont r as t , s and l ay er s s at ur at ed wi t h f r es hwat er t end
t o hav e a hi gh r es i s t i v i t y . Sand l ay er s cont ai ni ng s al t y wat er ,
on t he ot her hand,
t end t o
hav e a l ow r es i s t i v i t y r es embl i ng
t hat of cl ay l ay er s
. Such
l ay er s t end t o hav e a s t r ongl y nega-
t i v e s pont aneous pot ent i al t hat , v i ewed
t oget her wi t h t he
r es i s t i v i t y , ai ds i n i dent i f i cat i on
of t he l ay er s .
Sev er al ot her t y pes of geophy s i cal l ogs ar e av ai l abl e,
i n-
cl udi ng gamma- r ay l ogs t hat r ecor d t he r at e
of emi s s i on of
gamma r ay s
by
di f f er ent r ock l ay er s
.
I n
f act , geophy s i cal l og-
gi ng i s a compl ex t opi c
t hat
has been dev el oped,
l ar gel y by
t he oi l i ndus t r y , i nt o an adv anced t echni cal f i el d . I t i s bei ng
ut i l i z ed t o an i ncr eas i ng ext ent by t he wat er - wel l i ndus t r y ,
es peci al l y i n conj unct i on wi t h t he cons t r uct i on of l ar ge- y i el d
wel l s by t he hy dr aul i c r ot ar y met hod .
I t i s al s o i mpor t ant , ei t her dur i ng wel l cons t r uct i on or f ol -
l owi ng geophy s i cal l oggi ng,
t o
col l ect , f or chemi cal anal y s es ,
wat er s ampl es
f r om
t he per meabl e z ones t hat may s uppl y
wat er
t o t he compl et ed
wel l . The
chemi cal anal y s es made on
t hes e s ampl es s houl d i ncl ude t he concent r at i on of any con-
s t i t uent s t hat ar e known t o be a pr obl emi n ot her s uppl y wel l s
dr awi ng f r om t he aqui f er . Thes e cons t i t uent s mi ght i ncl ude
i r on, manganes e, chl or i de, s ul f at e, ni t r at e, t ot al di s s ol v ed
s ol i ds , and ot her s . ( See " Qual i t y of Gr ound Wat er . " )
Wel l Logs

5
5
WATER-WELL
DESI C; N
WATER-WELL DESI GNS
I NCLUDE

Wat er-wel l
desi gn i s t he f i rst
st ep i n t he const ruct i on
SPECI FI CATI ONS ON

of l arge-yi el d
wel l s, such as t hose
requi red by muni ci pal i t i es
and
i ndust ri es . Bef ore t he i ni t i al desi gn
i s st art ed, i t i s neces-
sary t o
knowt he yi el d expect ed f rom
t he wel l , t he dept h t o
aqui f ers underl yi ng t he area,
t he composi t i on and hydraul i c
. .
o

o

charact eri st i cs of t hose
aqui f ers, and t he qual i t y of wat er
i n
Thi ckness and. . o

o

t he aqui f ers . I f i nf ormat i on
on an aqui f er i s not al ready avai l -
dept h
of grout :

o I I

o

abl e f romot her wel l s i n t he
area, i t wi l l be necessary t o con
sea[ . .
o

o

st ruct a t est
wel l bef ore compl et i ng t he
desi gn. The com-
p
.
o
I I

I I
o

l et ed desi gn
shoul d speci f y t he di amet er,
t he t ot al dept h of
t he wel l and
t he posi t i on of t he screen or
open-hol e sect i ons,
t he met hod of
const ruct i on, t he mat eri al s
t o
be
used i n t he
. o .
0
0-60
o. a
Thi ckness and- .
-
6' , ,
composi t i on of
. o. ' o
gravel pack, D- o
i f requi red

o.
o
-moo
56

Basi c
Ground-Wat er Hydrol ogy
Di amet er,
dept h,

const ruct i on, and, i f a gravel
pack i s requi red, i t s t hi ckness
I r
and composi t i on

and
composi t i on ( 1) .
of casi ng
The wel l di amet er
i s det ermi ned pri mari l y
by t wo f act ors-
t he
desi red yi el d and t he
dept h t o t he source aqui f er .
The
di amet er has a rel at i vel y
i nsi gni f i cant ef f ect on t he yi el d
( 2) .
_=

For exampl e, doubl i ng t he
di amet er f rom15 t o 30
cent i met ers
resul t s i n onl y about a 10
percent i ncrease i n yi el d.
WELL DI AMETER
VERSUS
YI ELD
AT
A CONSTANT DRAWDOWN
6 12 18
24 30 36
WELL
DI AMETER, I N I NCHES
15 30
45 60
75 90
WELL
DI AMETER, I N
CENTI METERS
The pri mary ef f ect
of wel l di amet er on yi el d i s
rel at ed t o
t he si ze of t he pump
t hat can be i nst al l ed, whi ch,
i n t urn,
det ermi nes t he
pumpi ng rat e. Dat a on pumpi ng rat e,
pump
si ze, and wel l
di amet er are gi ven i n t abl e 1 . I n some
desi gns,
t he upper
part of t he wel l i s made
l arger t han t he remai nder of
t he wel l
i n order t o accommodat e
t he pump.
/ 0011
/ ,
140
Di amet er, l engt h,
, z
130
sl ot si ze, and
composi t i on of
U
screen, i f requi red
w
a
.
120
Z
110
100
Tabl e 1 . Dat a on y i el d,
pump s i z e, and wel l di amet er
[ I D, i ns i de di amet er ; OD, out s i de di amet er ]
Nomi nal s i z e

Opt i mum
wel l
of pumpbowl s

di amet er
I n g al mi n - '

I n f t 3 mi n- '

I n m3 mi n- '

( i n . )

( i n. )
Ant i ci pat ed wel l y i el d
L es s t han 1 00

L es s t han 1 3

L es s t han 0. 3 8

4

6 I D
75- 1 75

1 0- 23

. 28- . 66

5

8 I D
1 50- 400

20- 53

. 57- 1 . 52

6

1 0 I D
3 50- 650

47- 87

1 . 3 3 - 2 . 46

8

1 2 I D
600- 900

80- 1 20

2 . 27- 3 . 41

1 0

1 4 OD
850- 1 , 3 00

1 1 3 - 1 73

3 . 22- 4 . 93

1 2

1 6 OD
1 , 200- 1 , 800

1 60- 240

4 . 55- 6 . 82

1 4

20 OD
1 , 600- 3 , 000

21 3 - 400

6 . 06- 1 1 . 3 7

1 6

24 OD
The s cr een di amet er and l eng t h, t he s l ot s i z e, and t he
pumpi ng
r at e
det er mi ne t he
vel oci t y at whi ch wat er pas s es
t hr oug h t he s cr een ( t hat i s ,
t he
s o- cal l ed " ent r ance
vel oci t y " ) .
The ent r ance vel oci t y s houl d not nor mal l y exceed about 6 f t
mi n- ' ( 1
. 8
m
mi n - ' ) . I f t he ant i ci pat ed y i el d i n cubi c f eet per
mi nut e s hown i n t abl e 1 i s di vi ded by 6
f t
mi n- ' ,
t he r es ul t i s
t he mi ni mumopen ar ea of s cr een needed i n
s quar e f eet . ,
Becaus e s cr een openi ng s ar e par t i al l y bl ocked
by aqui f er or
g r avel - packed mat er i al , s ome wel l dr i l l er s
i ncr eas e t he open
ar ea needed by 50 t o 1 00 per cent t o as s ur e t hat ent r ance
vel oci t i es wi l l not be exces s i ve .
The amount of open ar ea per uni t l eng t h of wel l s cr een de-
pends on t he di amet er , t he s l ot s i z e, and t he t y pe of s cr een.
Tabl e 2 s hows , f or exampl e, t he open ar ea of
s cr eens manu-
f act ur ed by t he Edwar d E. J ohns on Co. ' I f
t he open ar ea
needed i n s quar e f eet i s di vi ded by t he
open ar ea per l i near
f oot , t he r es ul t i s t he l eng t h of s cr een, i n f eet ,
r equi r ed t o pr o-
vi de t he y i el d wi t hout exceedi ng t he r ecommended ent r ance
vel oci t y .
' Becaus e
di mens i ons
of s cr eens manuf act ur ed i n t he Uni t ed St at es ar e s t i l l
expr es s ed i n i nches or f eet , t hes e
uni t s
wi l l
be us ed i n t hi s di s cus s i on. SI uni t s
wi l l be added onl y wher e i t i s us ef ul t o do s o.
2 The us e of a company name i s f or i dent i f i cat i on pur pos es onl y and does not
i mpl y endor s ement by t he U. S . Geol og i cal Sur vey .
The dept h t o t he s our ce aqui f er al s o af f ect s t he wel l
di amet er t o t he ext ent t hat wel l s expect ed t o r each aqui f er s
mor e t han
a f ew hundr ed f eet bel ow l and s ur f ace mus t be
l ar g e enoug h
t o accept t he l ar g er di amet er cabl e t ool or dr i l l
r ods r equi r ed t o r each
t hes e dept hs .
The t ot al dept h
of
a wel l depends on t he dept h bel ow l and
s ur f ace t o t he l owes t wat er - bear i ng z one t o be t apped .
Tabl e 2. Open ar eas of J ohns on wel l s cr eens
[ n denot es wi dt h of s cr een
openi ng i n t hous andt hs ( 1 / 1 , 000) of an i nch. For
exampl e, s l ot no. 1 0 i ndi cat es an
openi ng 1 0/ 1 , 000 or 0. 01 i nch]
The
pos i t i on of t he s cr een depends on t he t hi cknes s and
compos i t i on of t he s our ce aqui f er and whet her
t he wel l
i s be-
i ng des i g ned t o obt ai n t he maxi mumpos s i bl e
y i el d . Becaus e
wi t hdr awal s f r omunconf i ned aqui f er s
r es ul t i n dewat er i ng of
t he aqui f er s , wel l s i n t hes e aqui f er s
ar e nor mal l y s cr eened
onl y
i n t he l ower par t i n or der t o obt ai n t he maxi mumavai l -
abl e
dr awdown. I n conf i ned aqui f er s , s cr eens ar e s et ei t her i n
t he mos t
per meabl e par t of t he aqui f er or , wher e ver t i cal di f -
f er ences
i n hy dr aul i c conduct i vi t y ar e not s i g ni f i cant , i n t he
mi ddl e par t of t he aqui f er
.
The l eng t h of t he s cr een
s peci f i ed i n t he wel l des i g n
depends on t he t hi cknes s
of t he aqui f er , t he des i r ed y i el d,
whet her t he aqui f er i s
unconf i ned or conf i ned, and economi c
cons i der at i ons .
When an at t empt i s bei ng made t o obt ai n t he
maxi mum
avai l abl e y i el d, s cr eens ar e nor mal l y i ns t al l ed i n t he
l ower
3 0 t o 40 per cent of unconf i ned aqui f er s and i n t he
mi ddl e 70 t o 80 per cent of conf i ned aqui f er s .
Wat er - Wel l Des i g n

57
Nomi nal
s cr een
Open ar eas per l i near f oot
di amet er
( i n . )
1 0 20
of s cr een
40
f or s l ot
60
no. n ( f t z )
80 1 00 1 50
4 - - - - - - - - - - 0. 1 7 0. 3 0 0. 47 0. 60 0. 68 0. 64 0. 76
6 - - - - - - - - - - . 1 7 . 3 2 . 53 . 69 . 81 . 92 . 97
8 - - - - - - - - - - . 22 . 41 . 69 . 90
1 . 05 1 . 1 9 1 . 28
1 0 - - - - - - - - - - . 28 . 51 . 87
. 96 1 . 1 5 1 . 3 0 1 . 60
1 2 - - - - - - - - - - . 26 . 50 . 87
1 . 1 3 1 . 3 7 1 . 55 1 . 89
1 4 - - - - - - - - - - . 3 0 . 56 . 96
1 . 26 1 . 53 1 . 74 2. 1 1
1 6 - - - - - - - - - - . 3 4 . 64 1 . 1 1
1 . 45 1 . 75 1 . 98 2. 42
t o
w
O
0
2
4
6
8
0
2
4
6
8
Const ant -rat e
t est
Wat er-l evel .\'~.
Q=2.15
measurement s
=0.257 m3
Mul t i pl e-st ep t est
_

St ep No . I

Each st ep=8 hr)
No
I
.
0.4m3mi n
1
m-1
\
St ep No . 2
No . 2

--
~-~St ep No . 3
- =15 =0.3 m3 mi n- I m-1
5
- No .3

- I
- 1 .s
=0.24m3 mi nl m-
l
.5 7
1

1

1

1

1
5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
HOURS
( 2)
Many suppl y-wel l cont ract s requi re a
"guarant eed" yi el d,
and somest i pul at e t hat t he wel l reach a cert ai n l evel of "ef f i -
ci ency." Most cont ract s al so speci f y t he l engt h of t he "draw-
downt est "
t hat must be conduct ed t o demonst rat e t hat t he
yi el d requi rement
i s met . For exampl e, many St at es requi re
t hat t est s of publ i c-suppl y wel l s be at l east 24
hours. Test s of
most i ndust ri al and i rri gat i on wel l s probabl y do
not exceed
about 8 hours.
Wel l -accept ance t est s, i f properl y conduct ed, not onl y
can
conf i rmt he yi el d of a wel l and t he
si z e of t he product i on
pumpt hat i s needed but canal so provi de
i nf ormat i on of great
val ue i n wel l operat i on and
mai nt enance. Such t est s shoul d,
t heref ore, be conduct ed wi t h t he
same care as aqui f er t est s
madet o det ermi ne t he
hydraul i c charact eri st i cs of aqui f ers. A
properl y conduct ed t est wi l l
i ncl ude:
1 . Det ermi nat i on
of wel l i nt erf erence f romnearby pumpi ng
wel l s, based on accurat e wat er-l evel measurement s
madebef oret hedrawdownt est .
2. A pumpi ng rat e t hat i s ei t her hel d const ant duri ng
t he
ent i re t est ( 1) or i ncreased i n st eps of equal l engt h ( 2)
.
The pumpi ng rat e duri ng each st ep shoul d be hel d
const ant , and t he l engt h of each st ep shoul d be at
l east
2
hours.
58

Basi cGround-Wat er Hydrol ogy
Of t hese requi rement s, t he const ant , caref ul l y regul at ed
pumpi ng rat e or rat es and t he accurat e wat er-l evel
measurement s are t he most i mport ant . Whena const ant -rat e
wel l -accept ance t est has beencompl et ed, t hedrawdowndat a
can be anal yz ed t o det ermi ne t he aqui f er t ransmi ssi vi t y. ( See
"Si ngl e-Wel l Test s.")
Many wel l -accept ance t est s are made wi t h t emporary
pumpi nst al l at i ons, usual l y powered
wi t h
a gasol i ne or di esel
engi ne. I nst ead of mai nt ai ni ng a
const ant rat e f or
t he durat i on
of t he t est , t he engi ne i s f requent l y st opped t o
add
f uel or t o
check t he oi l l evel or
f or
numerous ot her reasons.
The
rat e
may al so be i ncreased and decreased on an i rregul ar, un-
pl anned schedul e or, morecommonl y, gradual l y reduced dur-
i ng t het est i n anef f ort t o mai nt ai n a pumpi ng l evel abovet he
pumpi nt ake. I n sucht est s, t he "yi el d" of t hewel l i s normal l y
report ed t o bet hef i nal
pumpi ng
rat e.
Det ermi ni ng t he l ong-t erm
yi el d
of a
wel l f romdat a col -
l ect ed duri ng a short -peri od wel l -accept ancet est i s oneof t he
most i mport ant , pract i cal probl ems
i n
ground-wat er
hydrol ogy
.
Two of t he most i mport ant f act ors t hat must be
consi dered are t he ext ent t o whi ch t he yi el d wi l l decrease i f
t he wel l i s pumped cont i nuousl y f or peri ods l onger t hant he
t est peri od and t he ef f ect ont he yi el d of changes i nt he st at i c
( regi onal ) wat er l evel f romt hat exi st i ng at t het i meof t het est .
Whendat a are avai l abl e onl y f rom
t he product i on
wel l
and
when t he pumpi ng rat e was not
hel d const ant duri ng t he
accept ance t est , t he est i mat e of t he
l ong-t ermyi el d must
usual l y be based on an anal ysi s of speci f i c-capaci t y dat a.
Speci f i c capaci t y i s t he yi el d per uni t of drawdown and i s
det ermi ned by di vi di ng t he pumpi ng rat e at any t i me duri ng
t het est by t hedrawdownat t hesamet i me. Thus,
speci f i c capaci t y
=
pumpi ng rat e - Q

( 1 )
drawdown s,
Bef ore t he devel opment of st eady-st at e condi t i ons, a part
of t he wat er pumped f romanaqui f er i s deri ved f romst orage.
The t i me requi red f or
st eady-st at e condi t i ons
t o devel op
depends l argel y on t he di st ance t o and charact eri st i cs of t he
recharge and di scharge areas and t he hydraul i c charact eri st i cs
of t he aqui f er . Thet i me requi red t o reach a st eady st at e i s i n-
dependent of t he pumpi ng rat e. At some pl aces i n some
aqui f ers, a st eady-st at e condi t i on wi l l be reached i n several
days, whereas, i not hers, si x mont hs t o ayear maybe requi red;
i n some ari d areas, a st eady-st at e
condi t i on
may never be
achi eved .
Dependi ng
on
t he l engt h
of
t he
wel l -accept ance
t est and t he peri od requi red t o reach a st eady-st at e
condi t i on,
i t may be appropri at e, i n est i mat i ng t he l ong-t ermyi el d of a
wel l , t o use a speci f i c capaci t y smal l er t han t hat det ermi ned
duri ng t het est .
z z
J U
v
a
wa
oa
U
10
Z 20
W
V
W
30
40
50
60
70
U
W
80
90

DAYS
I 2 5 10 30

365
I

10
100 1000 10, 000
HOURS
( 3)
100
DECLI NE I N SPECI FI C CAPACI TY WI TH TI ME
AT A CONTI NUOUS PUMPI NG RATE
Sket ch 3 shows t he decl i ne i n
speci f i c capaci t y wi t h t i me
when
a
wel l
i s pumped cont i nuousl y at aconst ant r at e
and al l
t he wat er i s der i ved f r omst or age i n an i sot r opi c and
homoge-
neous aqui f er . For conveni ence i n pr epar i ng t he sket ch,
a
val ue
of 100 per cent was assi gned t o t he speci f i c capaci t y
1
hour af t er t he pump
was st ar t ed. The r at e at whi ch t he
speci f i c capaci t y
decr eases depends on t he decl i ne of t he
wat er l evel due t o
depl et i on of st or age and on t he hydr aul i c
char act er i st i cs of t he
aqui f er
.
Di f f er ences i n t he r at e f or di f -
f er ent aqui f er s ar e i ndi ~at ed by t he wi dt h of t he
band on t he
sket ch. When wi t hdr awal s ar e der i ved ent i r el y f r om
st or age,
t he speci f i c capaci t y wi l l decr ease about 40 per cent
dur i ng
t he f i r st year .
I n pr edi ct i ng t he l ong-t er m
yi el d of awel l , i t i s al so neces-
sar y t o consi der
changes i n t he st at i c wat er l evel r esul t i ng
f r om seasonal and
l ong-t er m var i at i ons i n r echar ge and
decl i nes due t oot her
wi t hdr awal s f r omt he aqui f er . The l ong-
t er myi el d i s equal t ot he speci f i c
capaci t y, det er mi ned f r om
t he wel l -accept ance t est , and
r educed as necessar y t o com-
pensat e f or t he l ong-t er mdecl i ne
di scussed i n t he above par a-
gr aph, mul t i pl i ed by t he avai l abl e
dr awdown.
The avai l abl e dr awdown at t he
t i me of a wel l -accept ance
t est i s equal t ot he di f f er ence bet ween
t he st at i c wat er l evel at
t hat t i me and t he l owest pumpi ng l evel t hat can
be i mposed
on t he wel l . The l owest pumpi ng l evel i n ascr eened
wel l i s
nor mal l y consi der ed t obe amet er
or t woabove t he t op of t he
scr een. I n an unscr eened ( open-hol e)
wel l , i t may be at t he
l evel of ei t her t he hi ghest or t he l owest wat er -bear i ng openi ng
penet r at ed by t he wel l . The choi ce of t he hi ghest or t he l owest
openi ng depends on t he chemi cal composi t i on of t he wat er
and whet her wat er cascadi ng f r omopeni ngs above t he pump-
i ng l evel r esul t s i n pr eci pi t at i on of mi ner al s on t he si de of t he
wel l and on t he pump i nt ake. I f such pr eci pi t at i on i s expect ed,
t he maxi mum
pumpi ng l evel shoul d not be bel owt he hi ghest
openi ng. The yi el d of awel l i s not i ncr eased by apumpi ng
l evel
bel ow
t he l owest openi ng, and t he maxi mumyi el d
may,
i n f act , be at t ai ned at amuch
hi gher l evel .
Topr edi ct t he maxi mumcont i nuous l ong-t er myi el d, i t i s
necessar y t oest i mat e howmuch t he st at i c wat er l evel , and
t hus t he avai l abl e dr awdown, may decl i ne f r omt he posi t i on
t hat i t occupi ed dur i ng t he accept ance t est . Recor ds of wat er -
l evel f l uct uat i ons i n l ong-t er mobser vat i on
wel l s i n
t he ar ea
wi l l be usef ul i n t hi s ef f or t
.
Wel l ef f i ci ency i s an i mpor t ant consi der at i on bot h i n wel l
desi gn and i n wel l const r uct i on and devel opment . The obj ec-
t i ve, of cour se, i s t oavoi d excessi ve ener gy cost s by desi gni ng
and const r uct i ng wel l s t hat wi l l yi el d t he r equi r ed wat er wi t h
t he l east dr awdown.
Wel l ef f i ci ency can be def i ned as t he r at i oof t he dr awdown
( s
a
)
i n t he aqui f er at t he r adi us of t he
pumpi ng wel l
t ot he
dr awdown ( st ) i nsi de t he wel l . ( See
"Si ngl e-Wel l
Test s. ") Thus,
t he equat i on
E=S ax100
St
expr esses wel l ef f i ci ency as aper cent age.
Dr awdows i n pumpi ng wel l s ar e measur ed dur i ng wel l -
accept ance t est s. Det er mi ni ng t he dr awdown i n t he aqui f er i s
a much mor e di f f i cul t pr obl em. I t can be cal cul at ed i f t he
hydr aul i c char act er i st i cs of t he aqui f er , i ncl udi ng t he ef f ect of
boundar y condi t i ons, ar e
known.
The di f f er ence bet ween st and
s
a
i s at t r i but ed t ohead l osses
as
wat er moves f r om
an aqui f er i nt oa
wel l
and up t he wel l
bor e
. These wel l l osses can be r educed by r educi ng t he en-
t r ance vel oci t y of t he wat er , whi ch can be done by i nst al l i ng
t he maxi mumamount of scr een and pumpi ng at
t he l owest
accept abl e r at e. Test s have been devi sed
t o det er mi ne wel l
l osses, and t he r esul t s can be used t odet er mi ne wel l ef f i -
ci ency. However , t hese t est s ar e di f f i cul t t o conduct and ar e
not wi del y used. Because of di f f i cul t i es i n det er mi ni ng s a, wel l
ef f i ci ency i s gener al l y speci f i ed i n t er ms of an "opt i mum"
speci f i c capaci t y based on ot her
pr oduci ng
wel l s i n t he
vi ci ni t y.
Under t he best condi t i ons, an ef f i ci ency of about 80 per -
cent i s t he maxi mumt hat i s nor mal l y achi evabl e i n most
scr eened wel l s. Under l ess t han i deal condi t i ons, an ef f i ci ency
of 60 per cent i s pr obabl y mor e r eal i st i c.
Wel l -Accept ance Test s and Wel l Ef f i ci ency

59
SPLLl
f
IC. ,
CANAU1 YAND1
KAN, MIJJI V1 1
I
Landsurf ace
Produci ng
zone
The speci f i c capaci t y of a wel l depends bot h on t he
hydraul i c charact eri st i cs of t he aqui f er and
on t he const ruc-
t i on and ot her f eat ures of t he wel l
.
Val ues
of speci f i c capac-
i t y, avai l abl e f or many suppl y
wel l s f or whi chaqui f er- t est dat a
are not avai l abl e, are wi del y used by
hydrol ogi st s t o est i mat e
t ransmi ssi vi t y
.
Such est i mat es are used t o eval uat e regi onal
di f f erences
i n t ransmi ssi vi t y and t o prepare t ransmi ssi vi t y
maps f or use i n model s of ground- wat er syst ems.
The f act ors t hat af f ect speci f i c capaci t y i ncl ude:
1 . The t ransmi ssi vi t y of t he
zone suppl yi ngwat er t o t he wel l ,
whi ch, dependi ng
on t he l engt hof t he screen or open
hol e, may
be consi derabl y l ess t han t he t ransmi ssi vi t y
of t he
aqui f er .
60

Basi c Ground- Wat er Hydrol ogy
FACTORSAFFECTING
ESTIMATESOFTRANSMISSIVITY
BASEDONSPECIFIC
CAPACITY
Pot ent i omet ri c surf ace
Cone
of
_
depre
ss
a. Thi ckness of t he
produci ngzone
compared t o t he
l engt h
of
t he
screenor openhol e
Lengt h of
screen
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Wel l
l oss
o Ef f ect i ve
o, radi us
BASED
ON
SPECIFICCAPACITY
b. Magni t ude of t he
wel l l oss compared
t o t he drawdowni n
t he aqui f er
c.
The di f f erence bet weent he
"nomi nal " radi us andt he
ef f ect i ve radi us
Conf i ned
aqui f er
Conf i ni ng bed
FACTORSAFFECTING ESTIMATESOF
TRANSMISSIVITY
2 . The st orage
coef f i ci ent of t he aqui f er .
3. The l engt hof
t he pumpi ngperi od.
4. The ef f ect i ve
radi us of t he wel l , whi ch may be
si gni f i cant l y
great er t hant he "nomi nal " radi us.
5. The pumpi ngrat e.
The Thei s equat i on can be
used t o eval uat e t he ef f ect of
t he f i rst f our f act ors on
speci f i c capaci t y. The l ast f act or,
pumpi ng rat e, af f ect s t he
wel l l oss and can be det ermi ned
onl y f roma
st epped- rat e t est or an aqui f er t est
i n whi chdraw-
downs are
measured i n bot h t he pumpi ng wel l
and observa-
t i on wel l s.
The Thei s
equat i on, modi f i ed f or t he
det ermi nat i on of
t ransmi ssi vi t y f romspeci f i c
capaci t y, i s
T=
W( u)
x
Q
47r s
wher e T i s t r ansmi ssi vi t y, Ql s i s spec i f i c c apac i t y, Q
i s t he
pumpi ng r at e, s i s t he dr awdown, and W( u) i s t he wel l
f unc t i on
of u, wher e
u=
wher e r i s t he ef f ec t i ve r adi us of t he wel l ,
S i s
t he
st or age c oef -
f i c i ent , and t i s t he l engt h of t he pumpi ng per i od
pr ec edi ng
t he det er mi nat i on of spec i f i c c apac i t y .
For c onveni enc e i n usi ng equat i on 1 , i t i s
desi r abl e t o ex-
pr ess W( u) 1 47r as a c onst ant . To do so, i t i s f i r st nec essar y t o
det er mi ne val ues f or u and, usi ng a t abl e of val ues of u ( or 1 1 u)
and W( u) , det er mi ne t he c or r espondi ng val ues f or W( u) .
Val ues
of u ar e det er mi ned by subst i t ut i ng i n equat i on 2
val ues of T, S, r , and t t hat
ar e r epr esent at i ve of c ondi t i ons i n
t he ar ea . To i l l ust r at e,
assume,
i n
an ar ea under i nvest i gat i on
and f or whi c h a l ar ge
number of val ues of spec i f i c c apac i t y
ar e avai l abl e, t hat :
1 . The pr i nc i pal aqui f er i s c onf i ned, and aqui f er
t est s i ndi c at e
t hat i t has a st or age c oef f i c i ent of about 2 x
1 0- 4 and
a t r ansmi ssi vi t y of about 1 1 , 000 f t 2 d- ' .
2. Most suppl y wel l s ar e 8 i n . ( 20 c m) i n di amet er
( r adi us,
0. 33 f t ) .
3. Most val ues of spec i f i c c apac i t y ar e based on 1 2- hour wel l -
ac c ept anc e t est s ( t =0. 5 d) .
Subst i t ut i ng t hese
val ues i n equat i on 2, we obt ai n
r 2S

( 0 . 33 f t ) 2 x( 2
x1 0- 4)
u= =
4Tt

4x
( 1 1 , 000 f t 2 d- ' ) x0. 5 d
f t
2
2. 22 x1 0- s
u=

=1 . 01 x1 0 - 9
2. 2 x1 04 f t
2
4Tt
At abl e of val ues of W( u) f or val ues of l l u i s c ont ai ned i n
t he sec t i on of t hi s r epor t ent i t l ed " Aqui f er Test s . " Ther ef or e,
t he val ue of a det er mi ned above must be c onver t ed t o 1 1 u,
whi c h i s 9. 91 x1 08, and t hi s val ue i s used t o det er mi ne t he
val ue of W( u) . Val ues of
W( u) ar e gi ven f or val ues of l l u of
7 . 69 x1 08 and
1 0
x
1 08 but not f or 9. 91 x1 08. However , t he
val ue of 1 0 i s c l ose
enough t o 9. 91 f or t he pur pose of
est i mat i ng t r ansmi ssi vi t y f r om
spec i f i c c apac i t y . Fr om t he
t abl e, we det er mi ne t hat , f or a val ue of 1 1 u of
1 0x1 08, t he
val ue of W( u) i s 20. 1 5 . Subst i t ut i ng t hi s val ue i n equat i on 1 ,
we
f i nd t he c onst ant W( u) 1 47r t o be 1 . 60.
Equat i on 1 i s i n c onsi st ent uni t s . However , t r ansmi ssi vi t y i s
c ommonl y expr essed
i n
t he
Uni t ed St at es i n uni t s of squar e
f eet per day, pumpi ng
r at es ar e r epor t ed i n uni t s of gal l ons per
mi nut e, and dr awdowns
ar e measur ed i n f eet . To obt ai n an
equat i on t hat i s
c onveni ent t o use, i t i s desi r abl e t o c onver t
equat i on 1 t o t hese i nc onsi st ent uni t s . Thus
T=1 . 60x
1 , 440 mi n
x
7. 48
g
3 al xQ
4
T=308Qor
300
Q
( r ounded)

( 3)
Many r eader s wi l l f i nd i t usef ul at t hi s poi nt t o subst i t ut e
di f f er ent val ues of T, S, r , and t i n equat i on 2 t o det er mi ne how
di f f er ent val ues af f ec t t he c onst ant i n equat i on 3. I n usi ng
equat i on 3, modi f i ed as nec essar y t o f i t t he c ondi t i ons i n an
ar ea, i t i s i mpor t ant t o r ec ogni ze
i t s l i mi t at i ons . Among t he
most i mpor t ant f ac t or s t hat af f ec t
i t s use ar e t he ac c ur ac y
wi t h whi c h t he t hi c kness of t he
zone suppl yi ng wat er t o t he
wel l c an be est i mat ed, t he magni t ude of
t he wel l l oss i n c om-
par i son
wi t h dr awdown i n t he aqui f er , and t he di f f er enc e be-
t ween
t he " nomi nal " r adi us of t he wel l and i t s ef f ec t i ve
r adi us .
Rel at i ve t o t hese f ac t or s, t he c ommon pr ac t i c e i s t o assume
t hat t he val ue of t r ansmi ssi vi t y est i mat ed f r om spec i f i c
c apac i t y appl i es onl y t o t he sc r eened
zone or
t o t he
open
hol e. To appl y
t hi s val ue t o t he ent i r e aqui f er , t he t r ansmi ssi v-
i t y i s di vi ded by
t he l engt h of t he sc r een or open hol e ( t o det er -
mi ne
t he hydr aul i c c onduc t i vi t y per uni t of
l engt h) , and t he
r esul t i s mul t i pl i ed by t he ent i r e t hi c kness of t he
aqui f er . The
val ue of t r ansmi ssi vi t y det er mi ned by t hi s met hod i s
t oo l ar ge
i f t he zone suppl yi ng wat er t o t he wel l i s
t hi c ker t han t he
l engt h of t he sc r een or
t he open hol e. Si mi l ar l y, i f t he ef f ec -
t i ve r adi us of t he wel l i s
l ar ger t han t he " nomi nal " r adi us
( assumi ng t hat t he
" nomi nal " r adi us i s used i n equat i on 2) , t he
t r ansmi ssi vi t y based on
spec i f i c c apac i t y agai n wi l l be t oo
l ar ge.
On
t he ot her hand, i f a si gni f i c ant par t of t he dr awdown
i n
t he pumpi ng wel l i s due t o wel l l oss, t he t r ansmi ssi vi t y
based
on spec i f i c c apac i t y wi l l be t oo smal l
. Whet her
t he
ef f ec t
of
al l t hr ee of t hese f ac t or s
c anc el s depends on t he c har ac t er i s-
t i c s of bot h t he aqui f er
and t he wel l . Wher e a suf f i c i ent
number of aqui f er t est s
have been c onduc t ed, i t may be f eas-
i bl e t o ut i l i ze t he r esul t s t o
modi f y t he c onst ant i n equat i on 3
t o ac c ount
f or t he ef f ec t of t hese f ac t or s .
Spec i f i c Capac i t y and Tr ansmi ssi vi t y

61
H
w
w
u _
z
z
O
Q
0
10
20
30
40
50
The devel opment of moder at e t o l ar ge su ppl i es of wat er
f r om most aqu i f er s r equ i r es mor e t han one wel l ; i n ot her
wor ds, i t r equ i r es what i s commonl y r ef er r ed t o as a wel l f i el d.
Consequ ent l y, t he desi gn of wel l f i el ds i s an i mpor t ant pr ob-
l em i n gr ou nd- wat er devel opment
. The obj ect i ve
of
wel l - f i el d
desi gn i s t o obt ai n t he r equ i r ed amou nt
of wat er f or t he l east
cost , i ncl u di ng t he
i ni t i al const r u ct i on cost of wel l s and
pi pel i nes, t he cost of oper at i on
and mai nt enance, and t he cost
of wel l
r epl acement .
The f i nal pr odu ct of a desi gn i s a pl an showi ng t he ar r ange-
ment and spaci ng of wel l s and speci f i cat i ons cont ai ni ng
det ai l s on wel l const r u ct i on and compl et i on, i ncl u di ng i nf or -
mat i on on wel l di amet er ,
dept h, and posi t i on of scr eens or
open hol e, t he t ype of casi ng
and scr eens, and t he t ype, si ze,
and set t i ng of
pu mps .
The key el ement s
i n wel l - f i el d desi gn ar e t he t ot al qu ant i t y
of
wat er t o be obt ai ned f r omt he f i el d, t he r at e at whi ch each
wel l can be pu mped ( whi ch det er mi nes t he nu mber of wel l s
t hat wi l l be r equ i r ed) , and t he spaci ng of t he wel l s .
The pu mpi ng r at e f or each wel l can be est i mat ed wi t h
J acob' s modi f i cat i on of t he
Thei s equ at i on. ( See " Di st ar ce-
Dr awdown Anal ysi s . " ) I t
depends on t he t r ansmi ssi vi t y and
st or ge coef f i ci ent of
t he aqu i f er , t he di st ance t o and nat u r e of
l at er al
bou ndar i es, t he hydr au l i c char act er i st i cs of conf i ni ng
beds, t he avai l abl e dr awdown, and t he pu mpi ng per i od. For
t he pu r pose of t hi s di scu ssi on, we wi l l not consi der t he ef f ect
of bou ndar i es or conf i ni ng beds. ( For a di scu ssi on of avai l abl e
dr awdown, see " Wel l I nt er f er ence" and " Wel l - Accept ance
Test s and
Wel l Ef f i ci ency. " ) The pu mpi ng per i od i s nor mal l y
t aken as 1
year . To det er mi ne t he pu mpi ng r at e, J acob' s equ a-
t i ons ar e
sol ved as f ol l ows :
6 2

Basi c Gr ou nd- Wat er Hydr ol ogy
102
DI STANCE, I N FEET
( 1)
wher e r i s t he di st ance f r omt he pu mpi ng wel l , i n met er s ( or
f eet ) , t o t he poi nt of zer o dr awdown on a semi l ogar i t hmi c
gr aph i n whi ch dr awdown i s on t he ar i t hmet i c scal e and di s-
t ance i s on t he l ogar i t hmi c scal e, T i s aqu i f er t r ansmi ssi vi t y, i n
squ ar e met er s per day ( or squ ar e f eet per day) , t i s 36 5days
( 1 year ) , S i s t he aqu i f er st or age coef f i ci ent ( di mensi onl ess) , As
i s t he
dr awdown, i n met er s ( or f eet ) , acr oss one l og cycl e al ong
a
l i ne connect i ng poi nt r and a poi nt at t he pr oposed r adi u s of
t he
pu mpi ng wel l at whi ch t he dr awdown equ al s abou t hal f
t he avai l abl e dr awdown, ' and
Qe
i s t he f i r st est i mat e of t he
pu mpi ng r at e i n cu bi c met er s per day ( or cu bi c f eet per day) .
To conver t t o gal l ons per mi nu t e, when
Qe
i s i n cu bi c met er s
per day, di vi de by 5. 45 ( when
Qe
i s i n cu bi c f eet per day,
di vi de by 192) .
The est i mat ed
pu mpi ng r at e Qe i s di vi ded i nt o t he t ot al
qu ant i t y of wat er needed f r omt he wel l f i el d i n or der t o det er -
mi ne t he nu mber of wel l s t hat wi l l be needed. The next st ep i s
t o det er mi ne t he opt i mu mwel l spaci ng . Thi s det er mi nat i on i n-
vol ves bot h hydr ol ogi c
and economi c consi der at i ons . The
hydr ol ogi c consi der at i ons
i ncl u de t he f ol l owi ng :
1 . The
mi ni mu mdi st ance bet ween pu mpi ng wel l s shou l d be
at l east t wi ce t he aqu i f er t hi ckness i f t he wel l s ar e
open t o l ess t han abou t hal f t he aqu i f er t hi ckness .
2. Wel l s near r echar gi ng bou ndar i es shou l d be l ocat ed al ong
a l i ne par al l el t o t he bou ndar y and as cl ose t o t he
bou ndar yas possi bl e.
3. Wel l s
near i mper meabl e bou ndar i es shou l d be l ocat ed
al ong a l i ne per pendi cu l ar t o t he bou ndar y and as f ar
f r omt he bou ndar yas possi bl e.
' At t hi s poi nt , we u se hal f t he avai l abl e dr awdown i n or der
t o get a f i r st
est i mat e of wel l l oss and wel l i nt er f er ence . I f we det er mi ne t hat ,
at a pu mpi ng
r at e of Qe, t he dr awdown i n t he aqu i f er i s l ess t han t he avai l abl e
dr awdown and
t he dr awdown i n t he wel l i s above t he t op of t he scr een, we can
assu me a l ar ger
val u e of s and r ecompu t e Qe .
I t i s i mpor t ant al so t o not e t hat , i n t he i ni t i al det er -
mi nat i on of avai l abl e dr awdown,
t he seasonal f l u ct u at i on of st at i c wat er l evel
mu st be consi der ed.
' r o
al l
r ei n
cn
Qe
:
3509
c >
3
Q
o
D s =5f t
T=5000
f t
2
/ d
1 l og cycl e
S=
5x 10-
t =36 5d
ro =90, 6 00f t
r , =0. 33f t
Q
rw
2. 25Tt ( 1)

r z_ -
S
Q
e
=2. 7TAs
( 2)
The pr i mar y economi c consi der at i ons i nvol ved i n wel l
spac-
i ng i ncl ude t he cost of wel l s and pumps, power cost s, and t he
cost of i nt er connect i ng pi pel i nes and power l i nes . The cl oser
wel l s ar e spaced, t he smal l er t he yi el d of each wel l because of
wel l i nt er f er ence. The smal l er yi el d of cl osel y spaced wel l s
means t hat mor e
wel l s
and wel l pumps ar e r equi r ed, and
power cost s ar e hi gher . The cost of t he addi t i onal wel l s and
t he
l ar ger pumpi ng
cost s must be eval uat ed i n r el at i on t o t he
cost of shor t er i nt er connect i ng pi pel i nes and power l i nes .
Sket ch 1 shows a di st ance- dr awdown gr aph f or a pumpi ng
wel l at t he end of a cont i nuous pumpi ng per i od
of
one year
f or an aqui f er havi ng a t r ansmi ssi vi t y ( T) of 5, 000 f t ' d -
'
( 465 m3 d - ' ) , a st or age coef f i ci ent ( S) of 5x1 0- 4, and
an
avai l abl e dr awdown of 60 f t ( 1 8 m) . The assumed r adi us of t he
pumpi ng wel l
( r , )
i s 0. 3 3 f t ( di amet er , 8 i n. or 20 cm) . When
one- hal f t he avai l abl e dr awdown i s used, al ong wi t h t he ot her
val ues as st at ed, equat i on 2 yi el ds an est i mat ed pumpi ng r at e
( Q
e
)
of
3 50 gal mi n- ' or
504, 000 gal d- ' . z
To i l l ust r at e t he use of
sket ch
1 i n
anal yz i ng t he wel l -
spaci ng pr obl em, we wi l l
assume t hat a yi el d of 1 , 500, 000 gal
d- '
( 1 , 040 gal mi n- ' )
i s desi r ed f r om t he aqui f er . Thi s yi el d
can be obt ai ned f r om t hr ee wel l s pr oduci ng 500, 000 gal d - '
( 3 50 gal mi n- ' ) each. Assume t hat t he wel l s ar e l ocat ed on a
st r ai ght l i ne and ar e number ed 1 , 2, and 3 . Wel l 2, bei ng i n t he
mi ddl e, wi l l obvi ousl y have t he most wel l i nt er f er ence and,
1 0
w
w
U"
20
Z
Z
3 : 3 0
O
~: 40
Q
50
Sket ch 2 shows t hat a wel l
pumpi ng
3 50 gal mi n- ' f r omt he
aqui f er wi l l pr oduce a dr awdown of 1 1 f t at a di st ance of
about 1 , 250 f t . Ther ef or e, t he spaci ng bet ween wel l s 1 and 2
' I nch- pound uni t s ar e used i n t hi s exampl e f or t he conveni ence of t hose
- eader s who ar e not yet accust omed t o usi ng met r i c uni t s.
t her ef or e, t he l ar gest dr awdown. How cl ose can i t be t o wel l s
1
and 3
wi t hout i t s dr awdown exceedi ng t he avai l abl e dr aw-
down
of
60
f t ?
When wel l 2 i s pumped at a r at e of 3 50 gal mi n- ' , t he
dr awdown i n t he aqui f er at t he r adi us of t he wel l wi l l be one-
hal f t he avai l abl e dr awdown, or 3 0 f t . The r emai ni ng 3 0 f t of
t he avai l abl e dr awdown must be appor t i oned bet ween wel l
l oss i n wel l 2 and i nt er f er ence f r om wel l s 1 and 3 . Accor di ng
t o sket ch 1 , i f wel l 2 wer e 1 00
per cent ef f i ci ent , i t s speci f i c
capaci t y woul d be
1 02
DI STANCE, I N FEET
3 50
gal mi n
3 0 f t
=1 1 . 7 gal mi n- f t -
We wi l l assume, however , t hat
wel l 2 wi l l be onl y 80 per cent
ef f i ci ent . I f so, i t s speci f i c capaci t y
wi l l be
1 1 . 7 gal mi n- ' f t - ' _

X
=9. 4 gal mi n- f t -
1 00
per cent

80 per cent
and a yi el d of 3 50 gal
mi n- ' wi l l pr oduce a dr awdown i n wel l
2 of about 3 7 f t ( 3 50/ 9
. 4) . Subt r act i ng 3 7 f t f r om60 f t l eaves a
di f f er ence of 23 f t ,
whi ch can be assi gned t o wel l i nt er f er ence
f r omwel l s 1 and 3 .
I f f r act i onal f eet ar e i gnor ed, t he amount
of
i nt er f er ence by each wel l i s about 1 1 f t .
and
bet ween wel l s 2 and 3 woul d have t o be 1 , 250 f t i n or der
not t o exceed t he avai l abl e dr awdown at wel l 2. Wi t h t hi s
spaci ng, wel l s 1 and 3 woul d be 2, 500 f t apar t . Sket ch 2 shows
t he dr awdown at 2, 500 f t t o be about 9f t . Consequent l y, t he
dr awdowns i n bot h
wel l s 1 and 3 woul d be 58 f t , or about 2 f t
l ess t han t he
dr awdown i n wel l 2 .
Wel l - Fi el d Desi gn

63
v,
1 1 f t 9f t
I
Z500 f t
gal l
I n
250 f t
0 Qe
3 50
am
Q
QUALI I Y(J f (jKUUNL) WA1 t K
Atmospher e Land sur face and soi l zone
Shal l ow aqui fer s
Water consi sts
of two atoms of hydr ogen and one of oxy-
gen, whi ch gi ve i t a chemi cal for mul a of HZO. Water fr e-
quentl y i s r efer r ed to as the uni ver sal sol vent because i t has
the abi l i ty to di ssol ve at l east smal l amounts of al most al l
substances that i t contacts . Of the domesti c water used by
man, gr ound
water usual l y contai ns the l ar gest amounts of
di ssol ved
sol i ds
.
The composi ti on and concentr ati on of sub-
stances
di ssol ved i n unpol l uted gr ound water depend on the
chemi cal composi ti on of pr eci pi tati on, on the bi ol ogi c and
chemi cal r eacti ons occur r i ng on the l and sur face and i n the
soi l zone, and on the mi ner al composi ti on of the aqui fer s and
confi ni ng beds thr ough whi ch the water moves.
The concentr ati ons of substances di ssol ved i n water ar e
commonl y r epor ted i n uni ts of
wei ght per vol ume. In the Inter -
nati onal System (SI), the most
commonl y used uni ts ar e
mi l l i gr ams per l i ter
.
A
mi l l i gr am equal s 1 / 1 , 000 (0 . 001 ) of a
gr am, and a l i ter equal s 1 / 1 , 000 of a cubi c meter , so that
1 mg/ Lequal s 1 gr am m- 3 . 1 Concentr ati ons of substances i n
water wer e r epor ted for many year s i n the Uni ted States i n
64

Basi c Gr ound- Water
Hydr ol ogy
Deep aqui fer s
Fr eshwater and
sal twater
i nter faces
THE CHEMICALCHARACTERISTICS OF GROUNDWATERARE DETERMINED BYTHE CHEMICAL
AND BIOLOGICALREACTIONS INTHE ZONES THROUGHWHICHTHE WATERMOVES
uni ts of
wei ght per wei ght . Because the concentr ati on of most
substances di ssol ved i n water i s r el ati vel y smal l , the
wei ght
per wei ght uni t commonl y
used was par ts per mi l l i on (ppm) . In
i nch- pound uni ts, 1 ppmi s
equal to 1 Ib of a substance di s-
sol ved i n 999, 999 Ib of
water , the wei ght of the sol uti on thus
bei ng 1 mi l l i on pounds .
The qual i ty of gr ound water
depends both on the
substances di ssol ved i n the water and on
cer tai n pr oper ti es
and char acter i sti cs that these substances
i mpar t to the water .
Tabl e 1 contai ns i nfor mati on on di ssol ved
i nor gani c sub-
stances that nor mal l y occur
i n the l ar gest concentr ati ons and
ar e most l i k el y
to affect water use. Tabl e 2 l i sts other char ac-
ter i sti cs of
water that ar e commonl y r epor ted i n water
anal yses and that
may affect water use. Di ssol ved consti tu-
ents for whi ch concentr ati on l i mi ts have been
establ i shed for
dr i nk i ng water ar e di scussed i n " Pol l uti on of Gr ound
Water . "
' To put these uni ts i n possi bl y mor e under standabl e ter ms,
1 mg/ Lequal s 1 oz
of a substance di ssol ved i n 7, 500 gal of water.
Sand
Cl ay
- -
=Li mestone
- . - =Cl ay - - -
Tabl e 1 . Nat ur al i nor gani c cons t i t uent s commonl y di s s ol ved i n wat er t hat ar e
mos t
l i k el y
t o af f ect us e of t he wat er
Subs t ance

Maj or nat ur al s our ces
Bi car bonat e ( HCO, ) and car bonat e ( CO, ) - - -

Pr oduct s of t he s ol ut i on of car bonat e r ock s ,
mai nl y l i mes t one ( CaC03 ) and dol omi t e
( CaMgC03 ) , by wat er cont ai ni ng
car bon di oxi de .
Cal ci um( Ca) and magnes i um( Mg) - - - - - - - -

Soi l s and r ock s cont ai ni ng
l i mes t one,
dol omi t e, and gyps um
( Cas 04 ) .
Smal l amount s f r omi gneous
and met amor phi c r ock s
.
Chl or i de ( CI ) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I n i nl and ar eas , pr i mar i l y f r om
s eawat er
t r apped i n s edi ment s at t i me of depos i t i on ;
s i t i on ; i n coas t al ar eas , f r oms eawat er i n cont act
wi t h f r es hwat er i n pr oduct i ve aqui f er s .
Fl uor i de
( F)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I r on ( Fe) and manganes e ( Mn) - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sodi um( Na) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Same as f or chl or i de . I n s ome s edi ment ar y
r ock s , a f ew hundr ed mi l l i gr ams per
l i t er
may occur i n f r es hwat er as a
r es ul t of exchange of di s s ol ved cal ci um
and magnes i umf or s odi umi n t he
aqui f er mat er i al s .
Sul f at e ( SO, ) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gyps um, pyr i t e
( FeS) , and ot her r ock s
cont ai ni ng s ul f ur ( S)
compounds .
l A r ange i n concent r at i on i s i nt ended t o i ndi cat e t he gener al l evel at whi ch t he
ef f ect on wat er us e mi ght become s i gni f i cant .
Z Opt i mumr ange det er mi ned by t he U. S . Publ i c Heal t h Ser vi ce, dependi ng
on wat er i nt ak e .
" Lower concent r at i on appl i es t o dr i nk i ng wat er f or per s ons on a s t r i ct di et ; hi gher
concent r at i on i s f or t hos e on a moder at e di et .
Tabl e 2. Char act er i s t i cs of wat er t hat af f ect wat er qual i t y
Char act er i s t i c

Pr i nci pal caus e
Har dnes s - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Cal ci umand magnes i um
di s s ol ved i n t he wat er .
pH ( or hydr ogen- i on act i vi t y) - - - - - Di s s oci at i on of
wat er
mol ecul es and of aci ds
and bas es di s s ol ved i n
wat er .
Speci f i c el ect r i cal conduct ance - - - Subs t ances t hat f or m
i ons
when di s s ol ved i n
wat er .
Tot al di s s ol ved s ol i ds - - - - - - - - - - - Mi ner al s ubs t ances
di s s ol ved i n wat er .
Si gni f i cance
Cal ci umand magnes i umcombi ne wi t h s oap t o f or man
i ns ol ubl e pr eci pi t at e ( cur d) and t hus hamper t he
f or mat i on
of a l at her . Har dnes s al s o af f ect s t he s ui t abi l i t y
of
wat er f or us e i n t he t ext i l e and paper i ndus t r i es and
cer t ai n
ot her s and i n s t eamboi l er s and wat er heat er s .
The pH of wat er i s a meas ur e of i t s r eact i ve char act er i s t i cs .
Lowval ues of pH, par t i cul ar l y bel ow pH 4 , i ndi cat e a
cor r os i ve wat er t hat wi l l t end t o di s s ol ve met al s and
ot her s ubs t ances t hat i t cont act s . Hi gh val ues of pH,
par t i cul ar l y above pH 8 . 5 , i ndi cat e an al k al i ne wat er
t hat , on heat i ng, wi l l t end t o f or ms cal e. The pH
s i gni f i cant l y af f ect s t he t r eat ment and us e of wat er .
Mos t s ubs t ances di s s ol ved i n wat er di s s oci at e i nt o i ons t hat
can conduct an el ect r i cal cur r ent . Cons equent l y, s peci f i c
el ect r i cal
conduct ance i s a val uabl e
i ndi cat or
of
t he
amount of mat er i al di s s ol ved i n wat er . The l ar ger t he
conduct ance, t he mor e
mi ner al i zed
t he
wat er .
Tot al di s s ol ved s ol i ds i s a meas ur e of t he t ot al amount
of mi ner al s di s s ol ved i n wat er and i s , t her ef or e,
a ver y us ef ul par amet er i n t he eval uat i on
of wat er qual i t y. Wat er cont ai ni ng l es s t han
5 00 mg/ L i s pr ef er r ed f or domes t i c us e and
f or many i ndus t r i al pr oces s es .
E f f ect on wat er us e
Cont r ol t he capaci t y of
wat er t o neu-
t r al i ze s t r ong aci ds .
Bi car bonat es of
cal ci umand magnes i umdecompos e i n
s t eamboi l er s and wat er heat er s t o
f or ms cal e and r el eas e cor r os i ve car bon
di oxi de gas . I n combi nat i on wi t h
cal ci umand magnes i um, caus e car -
bonat e har dnes s .
Pr i nci pal
caus e of har dnes s and of r
boi l er s cal e and depos i t s i n hot -
wat er
heat er s .
I n l ar ge amount s , i ncr eas es cor r os i venes s
of wat er and, i n combi nat i on wi t h
s odi um, gi ves wat er a s al t y t as t e.
f ood pr oces s i ng, dyei ng, bl eachi ng, i ce
manuf act ur i ng, br ewi ng, and cer t ai n
ot her i ndus t r i al pr oces s es .
See chl or i de . I n l ar ge concent r at i ons , may
af f ect per s ons wi t h car di ac di f f i cul t i es ,
hyper t ens i on, and cer t ai n ot her medi cal
condi t i ons . Dependi ng on t he concen-
t r at i ons of cal ci umand magnes i umal s o
pr es ent i n t he wat er , s odi ummay be
det r i ment al t o cer t ai n i r r i gat ed cr ops .
I n cer t ai n concent r at i ons , gi ves wat er a
bi t t er t as t e and, at hi gher concent r a-
t i ons , has a l axat i ve ef f ect . I n
combi nat i on wi t h cal ci um, f or ms a har d
cal ci umcar bonat e s cal e i n s t eamboi l er s
.
Remar k s
USGS cl as s i f i cat i on of har dnes s
( mg/ L as CaC0" ) :
0- 60: Sof t
61 - 1 20: Moder at el y har d
1 21 - 1 80: Har d
Mor e t han 1 80: Ver y har d
Concent r at i ons of
s i gni f i cance ( mg/ L) '
1 5 0- 200
25 - 5 0
25 0
69 ( i r r i gat i on) ,
20- 1 70 ( heal t h) '
3 00- 4 00 ( t as t e) ,
600- 1 , 000 ( l axat i ve)
pH val ues : l es s t han 7, wat er i s aci di c ;
val ue of 7, wat er i s neut r al ;
mor e t han 7, wat er i s bas i c.
Conduct ance val ues i ndi cat e t he el ec-
t r i cal conduct i vi t y, i n mi cr omhos ,
of
1 cm"
of wat er at a t emper -
at ur e of 25 C.
USGS cl as s i f i cat i on of wat er bas ed
on di s s ol ved s ol i ds ( mg/ L) :
Les s t han 1 , 000: Fr es h
1 , 000- 3 , 000: Sl i ght l y s al i ne
3 , 000- 1 0, 000: Moder at el y s al i ne
1 0, 000- 3 5 , 000: Ver y s al i ne
Mor e t han 3 5 , 000: Br i ny
Qual i t y of Gr ound Wat er

65
Bot h s edi ment ar y and i gneous r ock s . I n cer t ai n concent r at i ons , r educes t oot h
0
. 7- 1
. 22
Not wi des pr ead i n occur r ence . decay; at hi gher concent r at i ons , caus es
mot t l i ng of t oot h enamel .
I r on pr es ent i n
mos t s oi l s and r ock s ; St ai n l aundr y and ar e obj ect i onabl e i n Fe >0. 3 , Mn>0. 05
manganes e l es s wi del y
di s t r i but ed .
POLLUTI ONOF
UKOUNL) WAtEK.
Pol l uti on of gr ound water
i s r ecei vi ng i ncr eas ed attenti on
f r om both
Feder al and State r egul ator y agenci es and
f r om
water us er s . As a
r es ul t, pol l uti on has been f ound to be
much
mor e wi des pr ead
than we had bel i eved onl y a f ew year s
ago .
Thi s attenti on
has al s o r es ul ted i n wi des pr ead r ecogni ti on
of
the f acts that pol l uted gr ound
water may pos e a s er i ous thr eat
to heal th that i s of ten not appar ent
to thos e af f ected and that
pur i f i cati on of pol l uted gr ound- water
s ys tems may r equi r e
centur i es or the expendi tur e of huge
s ums of money. Thes e
f acts al one make i t
i mper ati ve that the pol l uti on of gr ound
water by har mf ul
s ubs tances abs ol utel y be avoi ded to the
maxi mum pos s i bl e
extent .
Pol l uti on of gr ound
water , as i t i s us ed i n thi s di s cus s i on,
r ef er s to
any deter i or ati on i n the qual i ty of the
water r es ul ti ng
f r om the
acti vi ti es of man . Thi s def i ni ti on i ncl udes
s al twater
encr oachment
i nto f r es hwater - bear i ng aqui f er s
r es ul ti ng f r om
the
ar ti f i ci al l ower i ng of gr ound- water heads
. That topi c,
however , i s cover ed i n a s epar ate
di s cus s i on . ( See " Sal twater
Encr oachment. " )
Mos t pol l uti on of gr ound water
r es ul ts f r om the di s pos al of
was tes on the l and s ur f ace, i n
s hal l ow excavati ons i ncl udi ng
s epti c tanks , or thr ough
deep wel l s and mi nes ; the us e of f er -
ti l i z er s and other
agr i cul tur al chemi cal s ; l eaks i n s ewer s ,
66
URBAN
AREAS
Gr ound water pol l uted by
i ndus tr i al and muni ci pal was tes ,
l eaki ng s ewer s , and l awn
f er ti l i z er s , pes ti ci des , and her bi ci des
Bas i c Gr ound- Water Hydr ol ogy
RURAL AREAS
s tor age tanks , and
pi pel i nes ; and ani mal f eedl ots . The magni -
tude of any pol l uti on
pr obl em depends on the s i z e of the ar ea
af f ected and the amount of the pol l utant i nvol ved, the
s ol ubi l i ty, toxi ci ty, and dens i ty of the pol l utant, the
mi ner al
compos i ti on and hydr aul i c char acter i s ti cs of the s oi l s and
r ocks thr ough whi ch the pol l utant moves , and the ef f ect or
potenti al ef f ect on gr ound- water
us e.
Af f ected ar eas r ange i n s i z e f r om poi nt
s our ces , s uch as
s epti c tanks , to l ar ge ur ban ar eas havi ng
l eaky
s ewer s ys tems
and numer ous muni ci pal and i ndus tr i al was te- di s pos al s i tes .
Near l y al l s ubs tances ar e
s ol ubl e to s ome extent i n water , and
many chemi cal was tes ar e
hi ghl y toxi c even i n mi nute concen-
tr ati ons . For exampl e, tabl e
1 l i s ts the maxi mum concentr a-
ti ons of i nor gani c s ubs tances
per mi tted i n dr i nki ng- water
s uppl i es .
Li mi ts have al s o been es tabl i s hed by the Envi r on-
mental Pr otecti on Agency f or r adi oacti ve and cer tai n or gani c
s ubs tances .
The dens i ty of a l i qui d s ubs tance- that i s , the wei ght per
uni t vol ume of the s ubs tance
r el ati ve to that of water -
af f ects i ts under gr ound
movement. Dens i ti es r ange f r om
thos e of petr ol eum pr oducts
that ar e l es s dens e than water to
br i nes and other s ubs tances that
ar e dens er than water . Sub-
s tances
l es s dens e than water tend to accumul ate at the top of
DENSI TY
EFFECTS
Gr ound water pol l uted by s epti c
tanks
ani mal f eedl ots , and cr op
f er ti l i z er s ,
pes ti ci des ,
and her bi ci des
Ser vi ce
s tati on - . ' -
Gr ound water pol l uted by
s ubs tances l es s dens e
( gas ol i ne) and mor e
dens e ( br i ne) than
water
Was te- di s pos al ponds _
Water
tabl e
- ___
_
Gr ound water pol l uted by
s i tes at di f f er ent di s tances
f r om di s char ge ar ea
GROUND- WATERPOLLUTI ONOCCURS I N BOTHURBAN
AND RURALAREAS AND I S AFFECTED BY
DI FFERENCES I N CHEMI CAL COMPOSI TI ON, BI OLOGI CAL AND CHEMI CAL REACTI ONS,
DENSI TY, AND
DI STANCEFROMDI SCHARGEAREAS
t he s at ur at ed zone
; i f , l i k e pet r ol eum, t hey ar e i mmi s ci bl e,
t hey wi l l t end t o
s pr ead i n al l di r ect i ons as a t hi n f i l m. Sub-
s t ances dens er t han
wat er t end t o move downwar d
t hr ough
t he s at ur at ed zone t o t he f i r s t ext ens i ve
conf i ni ng bed .
The mi ner al compos i t i on and phys i cal
char act er i s t i cs of
s oi l s and r ock s t hr ough whi ch pol l ut ant s
move may af f ect t he
pol l ut ant s i n s ever al ways . I f a pol l ut ant
ent er s t he gr ound at a
" poi nt , "
i t
wi l l
be di s per s ed l ongi t udi nal l y and
l at er al l y i n
gr anul ar
mat er i al s s o t hat i t s concent r at i on wi l l be
r educed i n
t he
di r ect i on of movement . ( See " Sat ur at ed Fl ow
and Di s -
per s i on
. " )
Or gani c s ubs t ances and ot her bi odegr adabl e
mat e-
r i al s t end t o be br ok en
down bot h by oxi dat i on and by
bact er i al act i on i n t he
uns at ur at ed zone. Cer t ai n ear t h
mat er i al s , es peci al l y
cl ays and or gani c mat t er , may al s o ab-
s or b t r ace met al s and
cer t ai n compl ex or gani c pol l ut ant s and
t her eby r educe t hei r concent r at i on as t hey
move t hr ough t he
under gr ound envi r onment .
The hydr aul i c char act er i s t i cs of t he s oi l s and
r ock s det er -
mi ne t he pat h t ak en by and t he r at e of
movement of pol l ut -
ant s . Subs t ances
di s s ol ved i n wat er move wi t h t he wat er
except t o t he ext ent
t hat t hey ar e t i ed up or del ayed by ad-
s or pt i on. Thus , t he
movement of pol l ut ant s t ends t o be
t hr ough t he mos t
per meabl e zones ; t he f ar t her t hei r poi nt
of
or i gi n f r om a gr ound- wat er di s char ge
ar ea, t he deeper t hey
penet r at e i nt o t he gr ound- wat er s ys t em and
t he l ar ger t he ar ea
ul t i mat el y af f ect ed .
The f act or s r el at ed t o t he movement
of pol l ut ant s di s -
cus s ed i n t he pr ecedi ng par agr aphs mus t be car ef ul l y
cons i d-
er ed i n t he s el ect i on of was t e- di s pos al s i t es , ani mal
f eedl ot s ,
Thi ck uns at ur at ed zone
( x)
cont ai ni ng cl ay and
( or )
or gani c mat er i al
i
and s i t es f or ot her
oper at i ons t hat may caus e gr ound- wat er
pol l ut i on. Wi t h t hes e
f act or s i n mi nd, i t i s obvi ous t hat s i gni f i -
cant
gr ound- wat er pol l ut i on can be avoi ded
onl y i f
was t e-
di s pos al
s i t es ar e s el ect ed i n s uch a way t hat :
1 . Si gni f i cant t hi ck nes s es of uns at ur at ed mat er i al cont ai ni ng
cl ay and ( or ) or gani c mat er i al ar e pr es ent .
2. Ar eas ar e as cl os e as pos s i bl e t o pl aces of
nat ur al gr ound-
wat er di s char ge .
3. Over l and r unof f i s excl uded, and s ur f ace
i nf i l t r at i on
i s
hel d t o t he mi ni mumpos s i bl e amount
.
Tabl e 1 . Maxi mum concent r at i ons of i nor gani c cons t i t uent s
Over l and r unof f
pr event ed by di k es
and i nf i l t r at i on r et ar ded by
cl ay cover
SELECTI ON
OF WASTE- DI SPOSAL
SI TES I NVOLVES CONSI DERATI ONOF THEUNSATURATED ZONE,
FLOOD DANGER,
GROUND- WATER
DI SCHARGE, OVERLAND RUNOFF, AND I NFI LTRATI ON
Pol l ut i on
of Gr ound Wat er

67
al l owed i n dr i nk i ng wat er
[ Dat a f r omU. S . Envi r onment al Pr ot ect i on Agency ( 1 977) ]
Cons t i t uent s
Concent r at i on
( mg/ L)
Ar s eni c - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
0. 05
Bar i um - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1 .
Cadmi um- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
. 01 0
Chr omi um
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
. 05
Lead - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . 05
Mer cur y
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
. 002
Ni t r at e ( as N)
- - - __- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1 0.
Sel eni um
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
. 01
Si l ver
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
. 05
I n c oas t al ar eas , f r es h gr oun d wat er der i ved f r om pr ec i pi t a-
t i on on t he l an d c omes
i n c on t ac t wi t h an d di s c har ges i n t o t he
s ea or i n t o es t uar i es
c on t ai n i n g br ac ki s h wat er . The r el at i on
bet ween t he f r es hwat er an d t he
s eawat er , or br ac ki s h wat er , i s
c on t r ol l ed pr i mar i l y by t he
di f f er en c es i n t hei r den s i t i es .
The den s i t y of a s ubs t an c e
i s i t s mas s per un i t vol ume ; t hus ,
t he den s i t y of wat er i s
af f ec t ed by t he amoun t of mi n er al s ,
s uc h as c ommon s al t ( NaCl ) ,
t hat t he wat er c on t ai n s i n s ol u-
t i on . I n met r i c un i t s ,
t he den s i t y
of
f r es hwat er i s about 1 gm
c m- 3
, an d t he den s i t y of s eawat er i s about 1 . 025 gmc m- 3 .
Thus , f r es hwat er , bei n g l es s den s e t han s eawat er , t en ds t o
over r i de or f l oat on s eawat er .
On
i s l an ds , s uc h as t he Out er Ban ks of Nor t h Car ol i n a, pr e-
c i pi t at i on f or ms a f r es hwat er
l en s t hat " f l oat s " on t he un der -
l yi n g s al t wat er ( 1 ) . The hi gher
t he wat er t abl e s t an ds above s ea
l evel , t he t hi c ker t he
f r es hwat er l en s . Thi s r el at i on - - bet ween
t he hei ght of t he wat er t abl e
an d t he t hi c kn es s of t he f r es h-
wat er
l en s was di s c over ed, i n depen den t l y, by a Dut c hman ,
Badon
Ghyben , an d a Ger man , B. Her zber g, an d i s r ef er r ed t o
as t he
Ghyben - Her zber g r el at i on s hi p . Thi s r el at i on , expr es s ed
as an
equat i on , i s
hs =

Pf

( h
f )

( 1 )
Ps
- Pf
wher e hs i s t he dept h
of f r es hwat er bel ow
s ea l evel , pf i s t he
den s i t y of f r es hwat er ,
ps i s t he den s i t y of
s eawat er , an d hf i s
t he hei ght of t he wat er
t abl e above s ea l evel .
Fr es hwat er l en s f l oat i n g on
s al t wat er
68

Bas i c Gr oun d- Wat er Hydr ol ogy
On t he bas i s of equat i on 1
an d t he di f f er en c es bet ween t he
den s i t i es of
f r es hwat er an d s eawat er , t he f r es hwat er
zon e
s houl d
ext en d t o a dept h bel ows ea l evel ( h) equal t o 40
t i mes
t he hei ght of
t he wat er t abl e above s ea l evel ( h f ) . The
Ghyben -
Her zber g
r el at i on appl i es s t r i c t l y, however , on l y
t o a homog-
en ous an d i s ot r opi c aqui f er
i n whi c h t he f r es hwat er i s s t at i c
an d i s i n c on t ac t wi t h a
t i del es s s ea or body of br ac ki s h wat er .
Ti des c aus e s al t wat er t o
al t er n at el y i n vade an d r et r eat f r om
t he f r es hwat er zon e, t he
r es ul t bei n g a zon e of di f f us i on
ac r os s whi c h
t he s al i n i t y c han ges f r om t hat of f r es hwat er
t o
t hat of s eawat er
( 1 ) . A par t of t he s eawat er t hat i n vades
t he
f r es hwat er zon e i s
en t r ai n ed i n t he f r es hwat er an d i s
f l us hed
bac k t o t he s ea by
t he f r es hwat er as i t moves t o t he s ea t o
di s c har ge
.
Bec aus e bot h t he s eawat er an d t he
f r es hwat er ar e i n mo-
t i on ( n ot s t at i c ) , t he t hi c kn es s of t he
f r es hwat er zon e i n a
homogen ous an d i s ot r opi c aqui f er i s
gr eat er t han t hat pr e-
di c t ed by t he Ghyben - Her zber g
equat i on . On t he ot her han d,
i n a s t r at i f i ed aqui f er ( an d
n ear l y al l aqui f er s ar e s t r at i f i ed) ,
t he t hi c kn es s of t he f r es hwat er
l en s i s l es s t han t hat pr edi c t ed
bec aus e of t he head l os s
i n c ur r ed as t he f r es hwat er moves
ac r os s t he l eas t
per meabl e beds .
When f r es hwat er
heads ar e l ower ed by wi t hdr awal s t hr ough
wel l s , t he
f r es hwat er - s al t wat er c on t ac t mi gr at es t owar d
t he
poi n t of wi t hdr awal s
un t i l a n ewbal an c e i s es t abl i s hed ( 2) . The
movemen t
of s al t wat er i n t o zon es
pr evi ous l y oc c upi ed by
f r es hwat er i s r ef er r ed t o as s al t wat er
en c r oac hmen t .
Two as pec t s

of

s al t
wat er

en c r oac hmen t
DEPTHTO
GROUNDWATER
CONTAI NI NGMORETHAN
1000 mg/ L OF TOTAL
DI SSOLVED
SOLI DS I NTHE
CONTERMI NOUSUNI TED
STATES
0
EXPLANATI ON
m

0
Depthto gr ound
water
i n meter s
Less than 150
150to 300
Mor e than 300
Not
pr esent
Todd, Gr oundwater
Hydr ol ogy, 2nd Ed. , 1980
0
DAKOTA
TFXAS
APPROXI MATE
Sal twater encr oachment i s a ser i ous pr obl em i n some
coastal ar eas. Upconi ngof sal ty water beneath pumpi ng wel l s
i s a mor e i mmi nent pr obl emthan l ater al encr oachment i n
most ar eas . One r eason i s that l ater al encr oachment must
di spl ace a vol ume of f r eshwater much l ar ger than that di s-
pl aced by upconi ng. Another r eason i s that appr oxi matel y
two- thi r ds of the Uni ted States i s under l ai n by aqui f er s that
yi el d water contai ni ng mor e than 1, 000 mg/ L of total di ssol ved
sol i ds ( 3) . ( See tabl e 2 i n " Qual i ty of Gr ound Water . " ) I n most
pl aces, these aqui f er s ar e over l ai n by other aqui f er s that con-
200

400

600
MI LES
200

400

600
KI LOMETERS
N
CAROLI NA
SCAR,
Y
X
GEORGI A
'
FLORI DA
f
*" T43
, pEL
RI
tai n f r eshwater and
that ser ve as sour ces of water suppl y.
However , wher e
suppl y wel l s ar e dr i l l ed too deepl y or ar e
pumped at too
l ar ge a r ate, upconi ng of the mi ner al i zed ( sal ty)
water may occur .
I n the
desi gn of suppl y wel l s i n ar eas under l ai n by or adj a-
cent to
sal ty water , consi der ati on must be gi ven to the possi -
bi l i ty of sal twater encr oachment . Thi s consi der ati on may
i nvol ve sel ecti on of shal l ow aqui f er s or smal l pumpi ng r ates
to avoi d upconi ng or i nvol ve
movi ng wel l s to mor e i nl and
l ocati ons to avoi d l ater al encr oachment .
Sal twater Encr oachment

69
w
w
z
w
U
a
w
0
z
a
J
3
0
J
w
m
TEMPERATUREOFGROUNDWATER
0
25
50
75
100
DEGREES
CELSIUS
-6 -4
-2 0 2 4 6 8
Mean
annual
ai r
temper atur e
W
Seasonal
f l uctuati
0
V' 0/ ' 000, 0
CHANGES IN
GROUND-WATER
TEMPERATURE WITH
DEPTH
7
0

Basi c Gr ound-Water Hydr ol ogy
Thetemper atur e of gr ound water i s oneof
i ts most usef ul
char acter i sti cs. Gr ound water has been used f or many year s
on
Long Isl and, N. Y. , and at other pl aces as aheat-exchange
medi umf or ai r -condi ti oni ng systems. As ar esul t of r ecent i n-
cr eases i nener gy costs, gr oundwater i s al sonowbecomi ng i n-
cr easi ngl y i mpor tant as asour ceof
heat f or "heat pumps. "
Thetemper atur eof gr ound water r esponds to seasonal var i -
ati ons i n the heat r ecei ved at theEar th' s sur f acef r omtheSun
and by movement of heat f r omthe Ear th' s i nter i or . The
seasonal movement of heat i nto and
out of theupper l ayer s of
the Ear th' s cr ust causes aseasonal f l uctuati on
i n gr ound-water
temper atur es to adepth of 10to 25
m( 1) . Thef l uctuati on i s
gr eatest near the sur f ace, amounti ng to 5 to 10Cat
depths
of af ewto sever al meter s.
In thezoneaf f ected by seasonal
f l uctuati ons, the mean
annual gr ound-water temper atur ei s 1
to 2Chi gher thanthemean
annual ai r temper atur e( 1) . Con-
sequentl y, amapshowi ng the mean
annual temper atur e of
shal l ow
gr ound water canbepr epar ed onthe basi s of mean
annual ai r temper atur e ( sketch 2, based onamapshowi ng
mean annual ai r temper atur e pr epar ed by the Nati onal
Weather Ser vi ce) .
Movement of heat f r omthe Ear th' s
i nter i or
causes
gr ound-
water temper atur es to i ncr easewi th depth
( 1) . Thi s
i ncr easei s
r ef er r ed to as thegeother mal gr adi ent and
r anges f r omabout
1 . 8Cper 100mi n ar eas under l ai n by thi ck secti ons of
sedi -
mentar y r ocks to about
3. 6Cper 100mi n ar eas of r ecent
vol cani c acti vi ty.
Theef f ect of the geother mal gr adi ent i s not
r eadi l y
appar ent i n thezoneaf f ected by seasonal temper atur e
f l uctuati ons.
Movement of gr ound water causes adi stor ti on i n i sother ms
( l i nes depi cti ng equal temper atur es) .
Thi s ef f ect i s most
noti ceabl e wher egr ound-water wi thdr awal
i nduces a move-
ment of water f r omastr eami nto anaqui f er
. Thedi stor ti oni n
gr ound-water
temper atur e i s most pr onounced i n the mor e
per meabl e
zones of theaqui f er .
APPROXI MATE
TEMPERATUREOFGROUNDWATER, I NDEGREESCELSI US, I N
THECONTERMI NOUS
UNI TEDSTATESATDEPTHSOF 10 TO25 M
Temperatureof GroundWater

71
1V1LlIJVI\LIVILI \ 11 J VII
RATES
72

Basi c Ground-Water
Hydrology
METHODS FORMEASURINGTHE DEPTH
TO
WATERLEVEL INWELLS
rrr1I
LI\ LL
V
LLJ / 1%1N"I %JIVI1 11
Each supply well, regardless of whether i t i s used f or
domesti c, i rri gati on, i ndustri al, or publi c-supply needs, should
beprovi dedwi th a means f or measuri ngtheposi ti on of the
water level i n the well . Publi c-supply and i ndustri al wells
should also be provi ded wi th a means f or measuri ng the
pumpi ng
rate.
The
useof water-level andpumpi ng-ratemeas-
urements i s di scussedi n "Supply-Well
Problems-Decli nei n
Yi eld. "
Thef i rst step i n measuri ngtheposi ti onof thewater level i s
to i denti f y (anddescri be) a f i xed poi nt-that i s, a measuri ng
poi nt-towhi ch all measurements wi ll beref erred. Thi s poi nt
i s usually thetop of thecasi ng, well cap, or access port. The
threemost commonmethods usedi n
measuri ngthedepth to
water i n wells arewettedtape, electri c
tape, andai r li ne.
Thewetted-tape method
i s probablythe most commonand
most accurateof thethree
methods (1) . Thi s methoduti li zes a
graduatedsteel tape wi th a wei ght attached to i ts end. The
graduati ons onthe lower meter (3 to 4f t) of the tape are
coatedwi th blue carpenter' s chalk, andthetapei s lowered
i nto thewell unti l thelower part of thetapei s submergedand
aneven meter (or f oot) mark
i s at themeasuri ngpoi nt. The
tape i s then
qui ckly wi thdrawn, andthevalue held at the
measuri ng
poi nt andthe amount of tapethat was submerged
are enteredon
a record f orm. Theamount of tapethat was
submergedi s obvi ous f romthe changei n color of the chalk
coati ng. Thedepth to thewater level below the measuri ng
poi nt i s determi nedbysubtracti ngthelength of wet tapef rom
thetotal length of tapethat was loweredi ntothewell .
The electri c-tape method i nvolves an ammeter connected
across a
pai r of i nsulated wi res whoseexposed ends are
separated
byanai r gap i n anelectrodeandcontai ni ng, i n the
ci rcui t, a
sourceof power such as f lashli ght batteri es (2) . When
the electrode
contacts the water surf ace, a current f lows
through thesystemci rcui t andi s i ndi cated bya def lecti on of
t he ammet er needl e . The i ns ul at ed wi res
are marked at 1- m
( o r
5f t ) i nt erval s . The nai l o f t he i ndex
f i nger i s pl aced o n t he i n-
s ul at ed wi res at t he meas uri ng po i nt
when t he ammet er i ndi -
cat es t hat t he ci rcui t i s cl o s ed. As t eel t ape o r carpent er' s
rul e
i s us ed t o meas ure t he di s t ance f ro mt he po i nt
i ndi cat ed by
t he f i ngernai l t o t he next hi ghes t met er ( o r 5
f t ) mark. Thi s
di s t ance i s s ubt ract ed f ro mt he val ue o f t he mark
t o det er-
mi ne t he dept h t o wat er .
One di f f erence bet ween t he wet t ed-
t ape met ho d and t he
el ect ri c- t ape met ho d i s t hat , i n t he
wet t ed- t ape met ho d, t he
s ubt ract i o n i nvo l ves t he l engt h o f
t he s ubmerged t ape,
whereas , i n t he el ect ri c- t ape met ho d, t he
s ubt ract i o n i nvo l ves t he di s t ance
bet ween t he meas uri ng
po i nt and t he next hi ghes t mark .
The ai r- l i ne met ho d i s general l y
us ed o nl y i n wel l s o n whi ch
pumps are i ns t al l ed . Thi s
met ho d i nvo l ves t he i ns t al l at i o n o f a
s mal l - di amet er pi pe o r t ube ( t he ai r l i ne) f ro m t he t o p o f
t he
wel l t o a po i nt abo ut 3 m( 10 f t ) bel o w t he l o wes t ant i ci pat ed
po s i t i o n o f t he wat er l evel duri ng ext ended pumpi ng
peri o ds
( 3) . The wat er l evel i n t hi s pi pe i s t he s ame as t hat i n
t he wel l .
To det ermi ne t he dept h
t o
wat er,
an ai r pump and a pres s ure
gage are at t ached t o t he t o p
o f t he ai r l i ne . Ai r i s pumped i nt o
t he l i ne t o f o rce t he wat er o ut
o f t he l o wer end . As t he wat er
l evel i n t he ai r l i ne i s
depres s ed, t he pres s ure i ndi cat ed by t he
gage i ncreas es . When al l t he wat er has been f o rced
o ut o f t he
l i ne, t he pres s ure- gage readi ng s t abi l i z es and i ndi cat es
t he
l engt h o f t he wat er co l umn o ri gi nal l y i n t he ai r l i ne . I f
t he
pres s ure- gage readi ng i s s ubt ract ed f ro m t he l engt h o f
t he ai r
l i ne bel o w t he meas uri ng po i nt , whi ch
was caref ul l y det er-
mi ned when t he ai r l i ne was
i ns t al l ed, t he remai nder i s t he
dept h t o wat er bel o w t he meas uri ng po i nt
.
The precedi ng di s cus s i o n
has co vered t he meas urement o f
wat er l evel s i n no nf l o wi ng wel l s - t hat i s , i n wel l s i n whi ch
t he
wat er l evel i s bel o w t he meas uri ng po i nt . I n many
co as t al
areas and val l eys underl ai n by co nf i ned aqui f ers , wat er l evel s
i n wel l s wi l l s t and at s o me hei ght abo ve t he l and s urf ace .
Thes e areas are ref erred
t o as areas o f art es i an f l o w, and t he
meas urement o f
wat er l evel s i n wel l s , where cas i ngs have no t
been ext ended
abo ve t he s t at i c l evel , may po s e pro bl ems . I f
t he wel l
i s
equi pped
wi t h a val ve and a t hreaded f i t t i ng, t he
hei ght o f t he wat er l evel can be det ermi ned by
at t achi ng t he
appro pri at e pi pe co nnect i o n and a pres s ure gage
o r t rans -
parent pl as t i c t ube .
Meas uri ng t he wat er l evel o f f l o wi ng wel l s
no t equi pped
wi t h a val ve o r a t hreaded f i t t i ng requi res t he us e o f s o i l - t es t
pl ugs o r s o me o t her devi ce t o co nt ro l t he f l o w. The po s i t i o n o f
t he s t at i c wat er l evel abo ve
t he meas uri ng po i nt i s det ermi ned
ei t her wi t h a pres s ure
gage o r wi t h a pl as t i c t ube ( 4 ) .
Co mpo nent s us ed t o meas ure wat er
pres s ure
o f f l o wi ng
wel l s
Al t i t ude gage
Co mpo nent s i ns t al l ed f o r a
pres s ure meas urement
The meas urement o f t he pumpi ng rat es o f s uppl y wel l s
requi res t he i ns t al l at i o n o f a f l o wmet er i n
t he
pump- di s charge
l i ne . Ei t her o f t wo t ypes o f met ers may be us ed, dependi ng o n
t he pumpi ng rat e . Up t o a rat e o f abo ut 1 m3 mi n - '
( 250 gal
mi n - ' ) ,
an
" act i ve- el ement " - t ype met er may be us ed .
Thes e met ers
ut i l i z e ei t her a pro pel l er o r a di s k t hat i s t urned
by t he
mo vi ng wat er. Fo r l arger pumpi ng rat es , met ers t hat
ut i l i z e
a
co ns t ri ct i o n i n t he di s charge pi pe are co mmo nl y
us ed. Thes e i ncl ude vent uri met ers , f l o w no z z l es , and o ri f i ces .
Fl o wmet ers have di al s t hat s ho w ei t her t he t o t al amo unt o f
wat er t hat has pas s ed t he met er o r t he rat e at whi ch t he wat er
i s pas s i ng . Wi t h t he f i rs t ( t he t o t al i z i ng di al ) , t he rat e o f di s -
charge i s det ermi ned by us i ng a s t o pwat ch t o t i me t he peri o d
f o r a cert ai n vo l ume o f wat er t o be pumped.
Meas urement s o f Wat er Level and Pumpi ng Rat es

73
1 - RV1 Cl. . 1 1 "INVI- aL)r r LI

VVCLLJ
- 44
Sewer
TYPICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR
SUPPLY WELLS
v+
N
O
U
Most, i f not all, States havelaws r elated to the locati on and
constr ucti on of publi c- supply
wells. Theselaws and the r ules
and r egulati ons developed
f or thei r admi ni str ati on and en-
f or cement ar econcer ned,
among other thi ngs, wi th pr otecti ng
supply
wells f r om polluti on. Polluti on of the envi r onment
r esults f r omman' s acti vi ti es, and, consequently, except wher e
deep wells or mi nes ar e used f or wastedi sposal, i t pr i mar i ly
af f ects the land sur f ace, the soi l zone, and theupper par t of
the satur ated (gr ound water ) zone. Ther ef or e, the pr otecti on
of supply wells i ncludes avoi di ng
ar eas that ar e pr esently
polluted and seali ng
the wells i n such a way as to pr event
polluti on i n thef utur e
.
For tunately, most gr ound- water polluti on at the pr esent
ti me af f ects only r elati vely small ar eas that can be r eadi ly
avoi ded i n the selecti on of well si tes. Among the ar eas i n
whi ch at least shallow gr ound- water polluti on should be
expected ar e:
1 . Industr i al di str i cts that i nclude chemi cal,

metalwor ki ng,
petr oleum- r ef i ni ng, and other i ndustr i es that i nvolve
f lui ds other than cooli ng water .
2 . Resi denti al ar eas i n whi ch domesti c wastes ar edi sposed of
thr oughsepti c tanks andcesspools.
74

Basi c Gr ound- Water Hydr ology
Concr ete slab
or wellhouse f loor
3f t

f r om

well

and 4 i n (+)
i n
thi ckness
~o
N
U
(+) A plus si gn i n par entheses
means di stance or thi ckness
can
be
gr eater but not less
3. Ani mal f eedlots and
other ar eas i n whi ch lar ge
number s of
ani mals
ar ekept i n closeconf i nement .
4. Li qui d and soli d
wastedi sposal si tes, i ncludi ng
sani tar y
landf i lls, "evapor ati on
ponds, " sewage lagoons, and
si tes used f or the di sposal
of sewage- plant ef f luent
and soli d wastes.
5. Chemi cal stockpi les,
i ncludi ng thosef or salt used to dei ce
str eets and
hi ghways and f or other
chemi cal sub-
stances
solublei n water .
In theselecti on of a
well si te, ar eas that should beavoi ded
i nclude not only those
li sted but also thezones sur r oundi ng
themthat may
be polluted by movement
of wastes i n r e-
sponseto both
thenatur al hydr auli c
gr adi ent and thear ti f i ci al
gr adi ent
that wi ll bedeveloped by
thesupply well .
Rules
and r egulati ons i ntended to
pr event f utur e polluti on
i nclude pr ovi si on of
"exclusi on" zones ar ound supply wells,
r equi r ements f or casi ng
and f or seali ng of theannular
space,
and seali ng of theupper
end of thewells.
Many State r egulati ons
r equi r ethat supply wells be
located
at least 1 00f t (30
m) f r omany sour ces or
potenti al sour ces of
polluti on
.
In
the case of publi c- supply
wells, thewell owner
must ei ther
own or contr ol theland
wi thi n 1 00f t (30 m) of the
wel l . I n some St a t es, a publ i c- suppl y wel l
ma y be l oca t ed a s
cl ose a s 50
f t ( 15 m)
t o a sewer i f t he j oi n t s i n t he sewer l i n e
meet
wa t er - ma i n
st a n da r ds.
Some
St a t e r egul a t i on s r equi r e t ha t a l l suppl y wel l s be
ca sed t o a
dept h of a t l ea st 20 f t ( 6 m) a n d t ha t t he a n n ul a r
spa ce bet ween t he l a n d sur f a ce a n d
a dept h of 20 f t ( 6 m) be
compl et el y f i l l ed wi t h cemen t
gr out . The ca si n g of suppl y
wel l s dr a wi n g wa t er f r om f r a ct ur ed
bedr ock must be sea t ed
a n d sea l ed i n t o t he t op of t he r ock.
Most r egul a t i on s r equi r e t ha t t he ca si n g of a l l suppl y wel l s
t er mi n a t e a bove l a n d sur f a ce a n d t ha t t he l a n d sur f a ce a t t he
si t e be gr a ded or sl oped so t ha t sur f a ce wa t er i s di ver t ed
a wa y
f r om t he wel l . Ma n y St a t es a l so r equi r e t ha t publ i c- suppl y
wel l s ha ve a
con t i n uous- bon d con cr et e sl a b or con cr et e
wel l house f l oor a t l ea st 4
i n
.
( 10 cm) t hi ck a n d ext en di n g a t
l ea st 3 f t ( 1 m) hor i z on t a l l y
a r oun d t he out si de of t he wel l ca s-
i n g . The t op of t he wel l
ca si n g must pr oj ect n ot l ess t ha n 6 i n .
( 15 cm) a bove t he con cr et e sl a b or
wel l house f l oor . The t op of
t he wel l ca si n g must a l so pr oj ect a t l ea st 1 i n .
( 2 . 5 cm) a bove
t he pump pedest a l . The t op of t he wel l ca si n g
must be sea l ed
wa t er t i ght except f or a ven t pi pe or ven t
t ube ha vi n g a
down wa r d- di ver t ed scr een ed open i n g .
The r egul a t i on s ci t ed a bove pr ovi de, a t best , on l y mi n i ma l
pr ot ect i on f or suppl y wel l s. Ther e a r e n umer ous si t ua t i on s i n
whi ch bot h t he si z e of t he excl usi on z on e a n d t he
dept h of
ca si n g a r e i n a dequa t e . Rel a t i ve t o t he r a di us of t he excl usi on
z on e, t her e a r e n o a r bi t r a r y l i mi t s, except t he physi ca l boun d-
a r i es
of a n a qui f er , pa st whi ch gr oun d wa t er ca n n ot move .
Rel a t i ve
t o t he mi n i mumr equi r ed ca si n g, t her e a r e n o ver t i ca l
l i mi t s, except f or t he i mper mea bl e
ba se of t he gr oun d- wa t er
syst em, pa st whi ch pol l ut ed wa t er
ca n n ot move .
On t he ot her ha n d, t her e a r e
geol ogi c a n d hydr ol ogi c si t ua -
t i on s i n whi ch t hese r egul a t i on s
ma y be un n ecessa r i l y r est r i c-
t i ve . An exa mpl e i s pol l ut i on i n a n un con f i n ed a qui f er
down
t he hydr a ul i c gr a di en t f r oma suppl y wel l dr a wi n g f r oma
deep
con f i n ed a qui f er over l a i n by a n on l ea ky con f i n i n g bed .
Beca use of t hese f a ct or s, i t i s essen t i a l t ha t of f i ci a l s i n -
vol ved i n r egul a t i n g t he
l oca t i on a n d con st r uct i on of suppl y
wel l s be a dequa t el y
t r a i n ed
i n
t he f i el ds of gr oun d- wa t er geol -
ogy a n d hydr ol ogy
so
t ha t
t hey ca n pr ot ect t he publ i c hea l t h
on t he ba si s of sci en t i f i c kn owl edge
a n d t echn i ca l j udgmen t
r a t her t ha n t ha t of bl i n d a ppl i ca t i on of a r bi t r a r y r egul a t i on s .
Pr ot ect i on of Suppl y Wel l s

75
5UI ' rLY-Wt LL rKI J tSLtMJ
Access pi pe
f or water-l evel
measurements \

a
Pump
motor
76

Basi c Ground-Water Hydrol ogy
Fl ow-
meter
a_
The yi el d of
any water-suppl y wel l depends on three el e-
ments: the aqui f er,
thewel l , and the pump. Adecl i ne i n yi el d
i s dueto a
change i n one of these el ements, and correcti onof
the probl emdepends on
i denti f i cati on of the el ement that i s
i nvol ved. Thi s i denti f i cati on i n many cases can be madeonl y
i f
data
areavai l abl e onthe depthto thewater l evel i n the wel l
and the pumpi ng rate. I nabi l i ty to i denti f y reasons f or a
decl i ne i n yi el d f requentl y resul ts i n di sconti nui ng the use of
ground water and devel opi ng more
expensi ve suppl i es f rom
surf ace-water sources.
Thedepthto thewater l evel
i n
a
wel l
equi pped
wi th a pump
may be determi ned by usi ng a steel tape, an el ectri c tape, or
an ai r l i ne and pressure gage. The pumpi ng rate of a suppl y
wel l can bedetermi ned by any oneof several di f f erent types of
meteri ng devi ces ( 1) . ( See "Measurements of Water Level s and
Pumpi ng Rates. ")
The yi el d of
a wel l depends onthe drawdownand on the
speci f i c
capaci ty. Thespeci f i c capaci ty i s the yi el d per uni t of
drawdown,
and, i n nearl y al l pumpi ng wel l s, i t vari es wi th the
pumpi ng rate. Theref ore, a di scussi on of decl i ne i n yi el d i s
meani ngf ul onl y i n terms of the maxi mumyi el d. The max-
i mumyi el d of a wel l i s control l ed by the avai l abl e
drawdown
and the speci f i c capaci ty when the drawdown
i n the wel l
equal s the
avai l abl e drawdown. ( See "Wel l -Acceptance Tests
and
Wel l Ef f i ci ency. ")
The avai l abl e drawdown i s determi ned at the ti me of con-
structi on of a suppl y wel l and consi sts of the di f f erence be-
tween the stati c ( nonpumpi ng) water
l evel and the l owest
practi cal pumpi ng l evel . The
l owest practi cal pumpi ng l evel
depends onthetypeof
wel l . I n screened wel l s, i t i s at thetop
of the uppermost screen. I n open-hol e
f ractured-rock wel l s, i t
i s at the posi ti on
of the l owest water-beari ng f racture or at the
l owest
l evel at whi chthepump i ntake can bepl aced.
Utl . LI Nt I NYI LLU
Z$
E
6
5
v
o
4
3
2
1980 1981 1982
( 2)
60
80
50
40
z
3
o
~_
w
70o
w
3 u.
a CC
O
ww
J F-
Mw
Q
J
C
Z
The speci f i c capaci ty
and the "yi el d" of suppl y wel l s are
determi ned at the
ti me of wel l constructi on. I f the pumpi ng
l evel duri ng the wel l -acceptancetest i s
rel ati vel y cl ose ( wi thi n
a f ewmeters) to the l owest practi cal
l evel , thespeci f i c capac-
i ty determi ned duri ng thetest can be used
to accuratel y esti -
matethemaxi mumyi el d. However, i t i s i mportant
to notethat
apparent decl i nes
i n yi el d af ter wel l s are pl aced i n producti on
ref l ect, i n many
cases, overesti mati on of theyi el ds at theti me
of constructi on
. Actual decl i nes i n yi el d af ter wel l s are pl aced
i n
operati on resul t f romdeteri orati on of pumps, decl i nes
i n
the stati c water l evel or the speci f i c
capaci ty, or combi nati ons
of al l three.
The yi el d of a wel l f i el d i s
the sumof the yi el ds of the i ndi -
vi dual wel l s. Successf ul operati on,
theref ore, requi res peri odi c
measurements
of both the speci f i c capaci ty and the avai l abl e
drawdown
f or each wel l . Changes i n these val ues are used to
predi ct the yi el d of the f i el d at di f f erent ti mes i n the
f uture
and,
when they are used i n conj uncti on wi th
predi cti ons
of
needs, to pl an the
rehabi l i tati on of exi sti ng wel l s or the con-
structi on of newwel l s.
Measurements of
speci f i c capaci ty and avai l abl e draw-
down are nei ther
di f f i cul t nor ti me consumi ng. The deter-
mi nati on
of both requi res onl y the three measurements
l i sted
bel ow
:
1 . Stati c ( nonpumpi ng) water l evel
( w. I . ) , measured weekl y
near the end of the l ongest
nonpumpi ng peri od,
whi ch,
i n most systems wi th l arge i ndustri al uses, i s
near theend
of theweekend.
2. Maxi mum
pumpi ng water l evel , measured weekl y near the
endof
the l ongest peri od of conti nuous use, whi ch,
i n
most water systems, i s near
theendof theworkweek.
3.
Pumpi ng rate, measured at the same
ti me as themaxi mum
pumpi ngwater l evel .
0
0
0
0
~o,
-
0
0
0
0 0 0 0 0
x
x
x
x x x x
x x x x
x
0 Val ue of
speci f i c capaci ty
x val ue of avai l abl e
drawdown
These t hree i t ems of dat a are anal yzed as f ol l ows t o det er-
mi ne t he maxi mumyi el d of t hewel l .
speci f i c capaci t y
pumpi ngrat e
(m3
mi n' or gal mi n' )
st at i c w. I . (mor f t )- pumpi ngw. I . (mor f t )
m3 gal
= or
mi n m

mi nf t
avai l abl e drawdown (mor f t )
=(st at i c wat er l evel , i n mor f t ) - (l owest
pract i cal wat er l evel , i n mor f t )
maxi mumyi el d=(speci f i c capaci t y) x(avai l abl e drawdown)
ANALYSI SOFDECLI NESI NWELLYI ELD
I dent i f yi ng cri t eri a

Cause
Decl i ne i n avai l abl e drawdown- - - - - - - - - -

Theaqui f er, duet o a decl i ne i n
no change i n speci f i c capaci t y.

ground- wat er l evel resul t i ng
f romdepl et i on
of
st orage caused
by
decl i ne
i n
recharge or
excessi ve
wi t hdrawal s.
No change i n avai l abl e drawdown- - - - - - - Thewel l , due
t o
i ncrease i n wel l
decl i ne i n speci f i c capaci t y.

l oss resul t i ng f rombl ockage of
screen by rock part i cl es or by
deposi t i on of carbonat e or i ron
compounds; or reduct i on i n l engt h
of t he open hol e by movement of
sedi ment i nt o t he wel l .
No change i n avai l abl edrawdown- - - - - - - The pump, duet o wear of i mpel l ers
no change i n speci f i c capaci t y.

and ot her movi ngpart s or l oss of
power f romt he mot or .
Det ermi nat i ons of speci f i c capaci t y and avai l abl e draw-
down shoul d be
caref ul l y preserved as a part of t he perma-
nent f i l e on each wel l . (See "Wel l Records and
Fi l es
. ")
They
shoul d be anal yzed at l east quart erl y
t o
det ermi ne
i f changes
i n ei t her are occurri ng. Thi s anal ysi s
can be done most con-
veni ent l y i f t he val ues are pl ot t ed on
graph paper versus t he
t i meof t he
det ermi nat i on (2) . Changes i n avai l abl e drawdown
and (or) speci f i c
capaci t y and suggest ed causes and correct i ve
act i on are l i st ed
i n t heaccompanyi ngt abl e.
Correct i ve act i on
I ncrease
spaci ng of newsuppl y wel l s.
I nst i t ut e measures
f or art i f i ci al recharge.
Redevel op t hewel l t hrough t he use of a
surge bl ock or
ot her means. Useaci d t o
di ssol ve encrust at i ons.
Recondi t i on or repl ace mot or, or pul l pump
and repl ace worn or damaged part s.
Suppl y- Wel l Probl ems- Decl i nei n Yi el d
77
JUYYLY-WtLLt'KVtSLCMJ
QUALITY
Ni iLl
- Septi c tank
Annul ar
space
OF
VAN
Pol l uted
surf ace runof f
Conf i ni ng bed
Freshwater
78

Basi c Ground-Water Hydrol ogy
The probl ems mostf requentl y encountered i n the operati on
of suppl y wel l s rel ate
ei ther
to
decl i nes
i n yi el d or to deteri -
orati on
i n the
qual i ty of the water
.
Decl i nes i n yi el d are di s-
cussed
i n "Suppl y-Wel l
Probl ems-Decl i ne i n Yi el d. "
Deteri orati on i n water qual i ty may resul t ei ther f rom
changes i n the qual i tyof water i n the aqui f er or changes i n the
wel l . These changes mayaf f ect the bi ol ogi cal qual i ty, the
chemi cal qual i ty, or the physi cal qual i ty. Deteri orati on i n
bi ol ogi cal
and chemi cal qual i ty general l y
resul ts
f rom
condi -
ti ons
i n the aqui f er, whereas changes i n physi cal
qual i ty resul t
f romchanges i n the wel l .
Both the bi ol ogi cal and the chemi cal
qual i ty of water f rom
newpubl i c-suppl ywel l s mustbe anal yzed bef ore the wel l s are
pl aced i n use to determi ne i f the water meets water-suppl y
standards and, i f i t does not, what treatment i s requi red.
Dri nki ng-water regul ati ons of the U. S. Envi ronmental Protec-
ti on Agencyal so requi re that anal yses of bi ol ogi cal
qual i ty be
1. 1-1HIl l l j tJ INVVH1tK
Upconi ng
of
sal tywater
Unconf i ned aqui f er
made monthl y
and that anal yses of i norgani c qual i ty be made
at l east
every
3
years f or al l communi tysystems suppl i ed en-
ti rel y by ground
water . It i s good practi ce to peri odi cal l y
determi ne
the bi ol ogi cal and chemi cal qual i ty of
water f rom
al l
wel l s, especi al l y those that suppl ydomesti c needs,
i n order
to determi ne i f changes i n qual i ty are occurri ng
.
Deteri orati on i n bi ol ogi cal qual i ty ref ers to the
appearance
i n the water of bacteri a and ( or)
vi ruses associ ated wi th human
or ani mal wastes. Such
deteri orati on i s ref erred to under the
general termpol l uti on
and i ndi cates, i n nearl y al l cases, a con-
necti on between
the l and surf ace or a near-surf ace zone and
the open
secti on of the wel l . The connecti on mostf requentl y
exi sts i n the annul ar space between the casi ng and the
aqui f er .
To avoi d pol l uti on of wel l s, manywel l -constructi on
regul a-
ti ons requi re thatthe annul ar space be compl etel y
f i l l ed wi th
cementgroutf romthe l and
surf ace to a depthof atl east 20f t
( 6 m) .
Det er i or at i on i n chemi cal qual i t y r ef er s t o t he ar r i v al at a
s uppl y
wel l of wat er cont ai ni ng di s s ol v ed chemi cal s i n an
undes i r abl y l ar ge concent r at i on . Wi t hdr awal s of wat er f r om a
wel l caus e wat er t o conv er ge on t he wel l f r omdi f f er ent di r ec-
t i ons
.
I f t hi s conv er gence i nv ol v es wat er cont ai ni ng a l ar ge
concent r at i on of any s ubs t ance, t he concent r at i on of t hat
s ubs t ance wi l l , af t er s ome per i od of t i me, begi n t o i ncr eas e .
The mos t commonl y obs er v ed i ncr eas es i n concent r at i on i n-
v ol v e NaCl ( s odi um chl or i de or common s al t ) and NO,
( ni t r at e) , but , i f
t he wel l i s near a s ani t ar y
l andf i l l or ot her
was t e- di s pos al
s i t e, t he i ncr eas e may i nv ol v e
al mos t any
s ubs t ance
commonl y us ed by man .
Ni t r at e i s
an i mpor t ant
cons t i t uent
i n f er t i l i z er s
and i s pr es -
ent i n r el at i v el y l ar ge concent r at i ons i n human and ani mal
was t es . Ther ef or e, ni t r at e concent r at i ons i n exces s of a f ew
mi l l i gr ams per l i t er al mos t i nv ar i abl y i ndi cat e t hat wat er i s ar -
r i v i ng at t he wel l f r om s hal l ow aqui f er s t hat ar e pol l ut ed by
s ept i c t anks or ani mal f eedl ot s or t hat ar e cont ami nat ed by
exces s ni t r at es us ed i n f ar mi ng oper at i ons .
Sodi um chl or i de i s
t he pr i nci pal cons t i t uent of s eawat er
and i s al s o pr es ent i n s i gni f i cant
concent r at i ons i n human and
ani mal was t es and i n s ome i ndus t r i al was t es . An i ncr eas e
i n
t he chl or i de cont ent i n wel l wat er mos t commonl y
i ndi cat es
upwar d mov ement of wat er f r om an under l yi ng z one
of s al t y
wat er . Ot her i ncr eas es ar e due t o pol l ut i on by s our ces
at or
near t he l and s ur f ace, s uch
as dei ci ng oper at i ons on s t r eet s
and hi ghways i n t he nor t her n
par t of t he count r y .
Al t hough i ncr eas es i n
chl or i de and ni t r at e cont ent ar e pr ob-
abl y t he mos t common
changes i n chemi cal qual i t y t hat
occur i n gr ound wat er , changes may i nv ol v e al mos t any
s ub-
ANALYSI S OFCHANGES I N WATERQUALI TY
Change i n qual i t y
Bi ol ogi cal - - - - - - - - -
Chemi cal - - - - - - - - -
P hys i cal - - - - - - - - - -
Caus e of t he change
Mov ement of pol l ut ed wat er f r om
t he s ur f ace or near - s ur f ace l ayer s
t hr ough t he annul ar
s pace.
Mov ement of
pol l ut ed wat er i nt o
t he wel l f r omt he l and
s ur f ace
or f r oms hal l ow
aqui f er s .
Upwar d mov ement of wat er f r om
z ones of s al t y wat er .
Mi gr at i on of r ock par t i cl es i nt o t he
wel l t hr ough t he s cr een or f r om
wat er - bear i ng f r act ur es penet r at ed
by open- hol e wel l s .
Col l aps e of t he wel l s cr een or
r upt ur e of
t he wel l
cas i ng .
s t ance s ol ubl e i n wat er . Thus , i t i s i mpor t ant t o be awar e of
t he acci dent al or i nt ent i onal r el eas e of pot ent i al pol l ut ant s
wi t hi n t he ar ea of i nf l uence of al l s uppl y wel l s . Subs t ances
t hat ar e of par t i cul ar
concer n i n t hi s r egar d i ncl ude her bi ci des ,
pes t i ci des and
ot her compl ex or gani cs , pet r ol eum pr oduct s ,
and t hos e
s ubs t ances t hat cont ai n t r ace concent r at i ons of
met al s .
I n pl anni ng a s ampl i ng pr ogr am, f or t hes e s ubs t ances
or any ot her s , i t i s i mpor t ant t o cons i der t he s l ow r at e at whi ch
mos t gr ound wat er mov es .
Det er i or at i on i n phys i cal qual i t y i nv ol v es changes i n appear -
ance, t as t e, and t emper at ur e . Mos t commonl y, a change i n ap-
pear ance or col or
i nv ol v es ei t her t he gr adual or t he s udden
appear ance of r ock
par t i cl es i n t he wat er . Thes e par t i cl es can
r ange i n s i z e f r om cl ay,
whi ch gi v es t he wat er a t ur bi d or
" bl ui s h" appear ance, t o s and .
The s i z e of t he par t i cl es i s i ndi -
cat ed
by t he r at e at whi ch t he par t i cl es s et t l e . I f t he par t i cl es
s et t l e
exceedi ngl y s l owl y, or not at al l , t hey ar e cl ay s i z e . I f
t hey s et t l e i mmedi at el y, t hey ar e s and s i z e .
The gr adual appear ance of par t i cl es gener al l y i ndi cat es
t hat t he f i ner gr ai ned mat er i al was
not adequat el y r emov ed
f r omt he z one adj acent t o t he
wel l dur i ng wel l dev el opment .
( See " Wel l - Cons t r uct i on Met hods . " )
Dur i ng us e of t he wel l ,
t hes e par t i cl es s l owl y mi gr at e t o and i nt o t he
wel l . The
s udden
appear ance
of par t i cl es - t hat i s , when t he concent r at i on of
par t i cl es
i s l ar ge ( v er y obv i ous ) f r omt he begi nni ng- gener al l y
i ndi cat es t he f ai l ur e ( col l aps e) of t he s cr een or a r upt ur e of t he
wel l cas i ng .
Changes i n t he qual i t y of wat er pr oduced by a wel l , l i kel y
caus es of t he change, and s ugges t ed cor r ect i v e act i on
ar e
l i s t ed i n t he accompanyi ng t abl e .
Cor r ect i v e act i on
Seal annul ar s pace wi t h cement gr out or ot her
i mper meabl e mat er i al and mound di r t ar ound
t he wel l t o def l ect s ur f ace r unof f .
Seal t he annul ar s pace. I f s eal i ng does not
el i mi nat e pol l ut i on, ext end t he cas i ng t o a
deeper l ev el ( by t el es copi ng and gr out i ng a
s mal l er di amet er cas i ng i ns i de t he or i gi nal
cas i ng) .
Reduce t he pumpi ng r at e and ( or ) s eal t he l ower
par t of t he wel l .
Remov e pump and r edev el op t he wel l
Remov e s cr een, i f pos s i bl e, and i ns t al l new s cr een .
I ns t al l s mal l er di amet er cas i ng i ns i de t he
or i gi nal cas i ng .
Suppl y- Wel l P r obl ems - Changes i n Wat er Qual i t y
79
VVCLLRCL,VRL1J / -%I CI LJ f1LCJ
The col l ect i on and pr eser vat i on of r ecor ds on t he const r uc-
t i on,
oper at i on, mai nt enance, and abandonment of suppl y
wel l s ar e an essent i al but l ar gel y negl ect ed act i vi t y . Thi s
r esponsi bi l i t y r est s l ar gel y on t he wel l owner or oper at or . The
consequence of t hi s negl ect i s t hat i t i s not possi bl e t o i dent i fy
and t o economi cal l y cor r ect
pr obl ems of decl i ni ng yi el d or
det er i or at i on i n wat er qual i t y, and t he desi gn of
new wel l s
cannot i ncor por at e past
oper at i onal exper i ence
.
A fi l e shoul d be est abl i shed
on each suppl y wel l at t he t i me
when pl ans for i t s const r uct i on ar e i ni t i at ed . Fr om t he i ni t i al
pl anni ng t o t he fi nal abandonment of t he wel l , t he fol l owi ng
r ecor ds shoul d be gener at ed and car eful l y pr eser ved i n t hi s
fi l e:
1. I ni t i al desi gn, i ncl udi ng dr awi ngs or
wr i t t en speci fi cat i ons
on di amet er , pr oposed t ot al
dept h, posi t i on of scr eens
or open hol e, met hod of
const r uct i on, and mat er i al s
t o be used i n const r uct i on .
( See "Wat er - Wel l Desi gn . ")
2 . Const r uct i on
r ecor d, i ncl udi ng t he met hod of const r uct i on
and
t he dr i l l er ' s l og and a geophysi cal l og oft he mat e-
r i al s penet r at ed dur i ng const r uct i on, t he di amet er of
casi ngs and scr eens, t he sl ot si z e and met al l i c compo-
si t i on of scr eens, t he dept hs of casi ng and scr eens, t he
t ot al dept h of t he wel l , and t he wei ght of t he casi ng
.
( See "Wel l - Const r uct i on Met hods" and "Wel l Logs . ")
Recor ds and l ogs shoul d al so be r et ai ned for al l t est
wel l s, i ncl udi ng t hose t hat
wer e not successful
because ofsmal l yi el ds .
3. Wel l - accept ance t est ,
i ncl udi ng a copy of t he wat er - l evel
measur ement s made
befor e, dur i ng, and aft er t he
dr awdown ( pumpi ng) t est , a r ecor d of t he pumpi ng
r at e or r at es, copi es of any gr aphs of t he dat a, and a
copy of t he hydr ol ogi st ' s r epor t on t he i nt er pr et at i on
8 0

Basi c Gr ound- Wat er Hydr ol ogy
of
t he t est r esul t s . ( See "Wel l - Accept ance Test s and
Wel l Effi ci ency . ")
4. Pump and i nst al l at i on dat a, i ncl udi ng
t he t ype of pump,
t he hor sepower of t he mot or , t he
dept h t o t he pump
i nt ake, a copy of t he pump
manufact ur er ' s per for m
ance and
effi ci ency dat a, and dat a on t he l engt h of
t he
ai r l i ne or a descr i pt i on of faci l i t i es pr ovi ded for
wat er - l evel
measur ement s, i ncl udi ng a descr i pt i on of
t he measur i ng
poi nt . ( See "Measur ement s of Wat er
Level s and Pumpi ng Rat es. ")
5 .
Oper at i ng r ecor d, i ncl udi ng dat a on t he t ype of
met er used
t o measur e t he fl ow r at e, weekl y r eadi ngs of
t he fl ow-
met er di al , weekl y measur ement s of t he st at i c
and
pumpi ng wat er l evel s, and
per i odi c anal yses of wat er
qual i t y . ( See
"Suppl y- Wel l Pr obl ems- Decl i ne i n
Yi el d . ")
6. Recor d of wel l mai nt enance,
i ncl udi ng t he dat es and t he
act i vi t i es i nst i t ut ed t o i ncr ease t he yi el d or t o i mpr ove
t he
wat er qual i t y and dat a showi ng t he r esul t s
achi eved. ( See "Suppl y- Wel l Pr obl ems- Decl i ne i n
Yi el d" and "Suppl y- Wel l Pr obl ems- Changes i n
Wat er Qual i t y . ")
7. Recor d of wel l abandonment ,
i ncl udi ng t he dat e t hat use
of t he wel l was di scont i nued
and a descr i pt i on of t he
met hods and mat er i al s used
t o seal or pl ug t he wel l .
The t ype of
for ms used for t he r ecor ds descr i bed above i s
not of cr i t i cal
i mpor t ance. I t i s mor e i mpor t ant t hat t he
r ecor ds
be col l ect ed, r egar dl ess of t he t ype of for m t hat i s
used .
I t i s i mpor t ant , however , t hat t he dat e and t he wat ch
t i me be not ed wi t h each
measur ement of pumpi ng r at e and
dept h t o wat er and on each
wat er sampl e col l ect ed for wat er -
qual i t y anal yses .
REFERENCES
Al ar ge number of publ i cat i ons
on gr ound- wat er hydr ol ogy wer e consul t ed i n t he pr epar at i on
of t hi s r epor t . Aci t at i on
i s
shown i n t he t ext onl y wher e a publ i cat i on was used as a speci f i c sour ce of t abul ar dat a.
The f ol l owi ng l i st of pr i nci pal r ef er ences consul t ed i s i ncl uded t o i dent i f y sour ces of speci f i c i nf or mat i on and f o- t he
benef i t of t hose who wi sh t o obt ai n addi t i onal i nf or mat i on.
Gener al Ref er ences
Bouwer , Her man, 1978, Gr oundwat er hydr ol ogy: NewYor k, McGr aw-
Hi l l , 480 p.
Fet t er , C. W. , J r . , 1980, Appl i ed hydr ogeol ogy: Col umbus, Char l es
E. Mer r i l l , 488 p.
Fr eeze, R. A. , and Cher r y, J . A. , 1979, Gr oundwat er : Engl ewood Cl i f f s,
N. J . , Pr ent i ce Hal l , 604 p.
Heat h, R. C. , and Tr ai ner , F. W. , 1981, I nt r oduct i on t o gr ound- wat er
hydr ol ogy: Wor t hi ngt on, Ohi o, Wat er - Wel l J our nal Publ i shi ng
Co. , 285 p.
Todd, D. K. , 1980, Gr oundwat er hydr ol ogy, 2d ed. : NewYor k, J ohn
Wi l ey, 535 p.
Wal t on, W. C. , 1970, Gr oundwat er r esour ce eval uat i on: NewYor k,
McGr aw- Hi l l , 664 p.
Sect i on Ref er ences
Af ew publ i cat i ons wer e consul t ed i n t he pr epar at i on of t wo or
mor e sect i ons . To save space, t he compl et e ci t at i on t o a publ i cat i on i s
shownonl y t he f i r st t i me t hat i t i s ment i oned.
Gr ound- wat er hydr ol ogy
L' vovi ch, M. I . , 1979, Wor l d wat er r esour ces and t hei r f ut ur e ( Engl i sh
t r ansl at i on, edi t ed by R. L . Nace) : Washi ngt on, D. C. , Amer i can
Geophysi cal Uni on, 415
Under gr ound wat er
Mei nzer , O.
E. , 1923, The occur r ence of gr ound
wat er
i n
t he Uni t ed
St at es, wi t h a
di scussi on of pr i nci pl es:
U. S
.
Geol ogi cal Sur vey
Wat er - Suppl y
Paper 489, 321 p.
Hydr ol ogi c cycl e
L' vovi ch ( 1979)
Por osi t y
Mei nzer ( 1923)
Mei nzer ( 1923)
p.
Speci f i c yi el d and speci f i c r et ent i on
Hydr aul i c conduct i vi t y
Lohman,
S. W. , and ot her s, 1972, Def i ni t i ons of sel ect ed
gr ound-
wat er t er ms- Revi si ons and concept ual r ef i nement s : U. S. Geo-
l ogi cal Sur vey Wat er - Suppl y
Paper 1988, 21 p.
St r at i f i cat i on and unsat ur at ed
f l o
" , v
Pal mqui st ,
W. N. , J r . , and J ohnson, A. - L, 1962, Vadose f l owi n l ayer ed
and
nonl ayer ed mat er i al s, i n Shor t paper s i n geol ogy and hydr ol -
ogy: U. S.
Geol ogi cal Sur vey Pr of essi onal Paper 450- C, 146 p.
Sat ur at ed f l owand di sper si on
Danel , Pi er r e, 1953, The measur ement of gr ound- wat er
f l ow, i n
Ankar a Symposi umon Ar i d Zone
Hydr ol ogy, Par i s 1953, Pr o-
ceedi ngs :
UNESCO, p. 99- 107.
Sour ce of
wat er der i ved f r omwel l s
Thei s, C. V. , 1940, The sour ce of wat er der i ved
f r omwel l , essent i al
f act or s cont r ol l i ng t he r esponse of an
aqui f er t o devel opment :
Ci vi l Engi neer i ng, v . 10, no. 5, p.
277- 280.
Aqui f er t est s
St al l man, R.
W. ,
1971,
Aqui f er - t est desi gn, obser vat i ons, and dat a
anal ysi s : U. S.
Geol ogi cal Sur vey Techni ques of Wat er - Resour ces
I nvest i gat i ons, Book 3, Chapt er B1, 26 p.
Anal ysi s of aqui f er - t est dat a
J acob, C. E. , 1963,
Det er mi ni ng t he per meabi l i t y of wat er - t abl e
aqui f er s: U. S. Geol ogi cal
Sur vey Wat er - Suppl y Paper 1536- I ,
p. 1245- 1271
.
Lohman, S.
W. ,
1972,
Gr ound- wat er hydr aul i cs : U. S. Geol ogi cal
Sur vey Pr of essi onal
Paper 708, 70 p.
Thei s,
C
. V. , 1935, The r el at i on bet ween t he l ower i ng of t he pi ezo-
met r i c sur f ace and t he r at e and dur at i on of di schar ge of a wel l
usi ng gr ound- wat er st or age: Tr ansact i ons of t he Amer i can Geo-
physi cal Uni on, v. 16, p. 519- 524.
Ti me- dr awdown
anal ysi s
J acob, C.
E. , 1950,
Fl ow
of gr ound wat er , i n Rouse, Hunt er , Engi neer -
i ng hydr aul i cs:
NewYor k, J ohn Wi l ey, chapt er 5, p. 321- 386.
Di st ance- dr awdownanal ysi s
J acob ( 1950)
Aqui f er
boundar i es
Fer r i s, 1 . G. , Knowl es, D. B. , Br own, R. H. , and St al l man, R. W. , 1962,
Theor y of aqui f er t est s : U. S. Geol ogi cal Sur vey Wat er - Suppl y
Paper 1536- E, p. E69- El 74.
Ref er en- es 81
Test s
af f ect ed by l at er al boundar i es
Moul der , E. A. , 1963, Locus
ci r cl es as an ai d i n t he l ocat i on of a
hydr ogeol ogi c boundar y,
i n Bent al l , Ray, comp. , Shor t cut s and
speci al pr obl ems i n aqui f er t est s
: U. S. Geol ogi cal Sur vey Wat er -
Suppl y Paper 1545- C, p. C110- C115
.
Test s af f ect ed by l eaky
conf i ni ng beds
Hant ush, M. S. , 1960,
Modi f i cat i on of t he t heor y of l eaky aqui f er s :
J our nal of Geophysi cal Resear ch,
v. 65, no. 11, p. 3713- 3725.
Hant ush, M. S. ,
and J acob, C. E. , 1955, Non- st eady r adi al
f l ow i n an
i nf i ni t e
l eaky aqui f er : Tr ansact i ons of t he
Amer i can Geophys-
i cal
Uni on, v. 36, no. 1, p. 95- 100.
J acob, C. E. ,
1946, Radi al f l ow i n a l eaky ar t esi an
aqui f er : Tr ansac-
t i ons of
t he Amer i can Geophysi cal Uni on, v.
27,
no. 2, p
. 198- 205.
Wel l - const r uct i on
met hods
Campbel l , M. C. , and
Lehr , J . H. , 1973, Wat er wel l t echnol ogy: New
Yor k, McGr aw- Hi l l ,
681 p.
U. S.
Envi r onment al Pr ot ect i on Agency, 1974, Manual of
i ndi vi dual
wat er - suppl y syst ems: EPA- 43019- 74- 007, 155p.
Wel l l ogs
Edwar d E. J ohnson, I nc. , 1966, Gr ound
wat er and wel l s, 1st ed. :
Sai nt Paul , Mi nn. , 440p.
82

Basi c Gr ound- Wat er
Hydr ol ogy
Wat er - wel l desi gn
U. S.
Bur eau of Recl amat i on, 1977,
Gr ound- wat er manual : Wash-
i ngt on, D. C. , U. S. Gover nment
Pr i nt i ng Of f i ce, 480p.
Speci f i c capaci t y and
t r ansmi ssi vi t y
Mccl ymonds, N. E. , and
Fr anke, O. L. , 1972, Wat er - t r ansmi t t i ng
pr oper t i es of aqui f er s
on Long I sl and, NewYor k: U. S. Geol ogi cal
Sur vey
Pr of essi onal Paper 627- E, 24p.
Qual i t y of gr ound wat er
Hem, J . D. , 1970,
St udy and i nt er pr et at i on of t he chemi cal char ac-
t er i st i cs
of nat ur al wat er : U. S. Geol ogi cal Sur vey Wat er - Suppl y
Paper
1473, 363 p.
U. S.
Envi r onment al Pr ot ect i on Agency, 1977, Nat i onal i nt er i mpr i mar y
dr i nki ngwat er r egul at i ons: EPA- 57019- 76- 003, 159 p.
Pol l ut i on of gr ound
wat er
U. S. Envi r onment al Pr ot ect i on
Agency ( 1977)
Sal t wat er encr oachment
Fet h, J . H. , and ot her s, 1965,
Pr el i mi nar y mapof t he cont er mi nous
Uni t ed St at es showi ng dept h t o
and qual i t y of shal l owest
gr ound wat er
cont ai ni ng mor e t han 1, 000 par t s per
mi l l i on di s-
sol ved sol i ds : U. S.
Geol ogi cal Sur vey Hydr ol ogi c
I nvest i gat i ons
At l as 199,
scal e 1 : 3, 168, 000, t wo sheet s, accompani ed
by
31- p. t ext .
IvUIVII1DC1%J
f CkjuH11UIVJ,
HIVU
L,UNVtKN1UNJ
The
precedi ng di scussi ons of basi c ground- water
hydrol ogy i nvol ve the use of equati ons and physi cal uni ts wi th whi ch
some readers may not be fami l i ar
. Thi s di scussi on of numbers, equati ons, and conversi on of uni ts from
one systemof meas-
urementto another i s i ncl uded
for the benefi t of thosereaders and for others who need to refresh thei r
memori es .
Expressi ng LargeNumbers
1,000=10xl ox10=1x103
1,000,000=l ox
l oxl ox10x10x10=1x106
The numbers 3 and 6 are cal l ed
exponents and i ndi cate the number of ti mes that 10must be mul ti pl i ed
by i tsel f to obtai n the
i ni ti al number.
Expressi ng
Smal l Numbers
1

1
0. 001= _ =
1x10- 3
1,000

1x
103
0. 000001=

1

=

1

=1
x10- 6
1,000,000

1x
106
Exponents i n thedenomi nator acqui rea negati ve si gn
whenthey are moved to the numerator .
Si mpl i fyi ng Equati ons
Symbol s i n equati ons have
numeri cal val ues and, i n most cases, uni ts of measurement, such as meters and
feet, i n whi ch
theval ues areexpressed. For exampl e,
Darcy' s l aw, one of the equati ons used i n basi c ground- water hydrol ogy,
i s
( dl ~
dl
In metri c uni ts,
hydraul i c conducti vi ty ( K) i s i n meters per day, area ( A) i s i n square meters,
and hydraul i c gradi ent ( dhl dl ) i s
i n meters per meter .
Substi tuti ng these uni ts i n Darcy' s l aw, weobtai n
meters meters
meters4
Q=

xmeters' x

=

=m
4- ' d-
' =m3
d- '
day

meters

meters day
Si mi l arl y, i n i nch- pound uni ts, Ki s i n feet per day, A
i s i n squarefeet, and dhl dl i s i n feet per feet. Substi tuti ng these uni ts i n
Darcy' s l aw, weobtai n
Q
=

feet
xfeet'
x
feet =

feet4

_
ft4- ' d- 1=
ft3
d- '
day

feet

feet day
Thecharacteri sti cs of exponents are the same, whether they are used wi th numbers or wi th uni ts
of measurement. Ex-
ponents assi gned
to uni ts of measurement are understood to appl y, of course, to the val uethat the
uni t of measurement has
i n a speci fi c
probl em
.
Numbers, Equati ons, andConversi ons

83
conversi onof uni ts
Uni ts of measurements used i n ground- water l i terature are gradual l y changi ng fromthe i nch- pound uni ts of gal l ons, feet,
and pounds to the I nternati onal Systemof uni ts of meters and ki l ograms( metri c uni ts) . I t i s, therefore, i ncreasi ngl y i mportant
that thosewhousethi s l i terature become profi ci ent i n converti ng uni ts of measurement fromonesystemto another. Most
conversi ons i nvol ve thefundamental pri nci pl e that thenumerator and denomi nator of a fracti on can bemul ti pl i ed by the
samenumber ( i n essence, mul ti pl yi ng thefracti on by 1 ) wi thout changi ng theval ue of thefracti on.
For exampl e,
i f both the
numerator
and thedenomi nator of thefracti on 1 / 4 are mul ti pl i ed by 2, the val ue of the fracti on i s not changed. Thus,
Si mi l arl y, to convert gal l ons per mi nuteto other uni ts of measurement, such as cubi c feet per day, wemust fi rst i denti fy
fracti ons that contai n both theuni ts of ti me ( mi nutes and days) and theuni ts of vol ume ( gal l ons and cubi c feet) and that,
whenthey are used as mul ti pl i ers, do not changethe numeri cal val ue. Rel ati ve to ti me, there are1 , 440 mi nutes i n a day.
Therefore, i f any number i s mul ti pl i ed by 1 , 440 mi n/ d, theresul t wi l l be i n di fferent uni ts, but i ts numeri cal val ue wi l l beun-
changed. Rel ati vetovol ume, thereare7. 48 gal l ons i n acubi cfoot . Therefore, to
convert gal l ons per mi nutetocubi c feet per
day, wemul ti pl y by these "uni t" fracti ons, cancel the uni ts of measurement that appear
i n both the numerator and the
denomi nator, and gather together theuni ts that remai n. I n other words, toconvert
gal l ons per mi nuteto cubi cfeet per day,
wehave
and, cancel i ng gal l ons and mi nutesi n the numerators and denomi nators, we
obtai n
84

Basi c Ground- Water Hydrol ogy
1
2 2 1

1
2
1

_ 1
4x2 =$=4
or
4x2 =
4
xl
=
4
gal l ons _ gal l ons

1 , 440 mi n

cubi cfeet
mi nute

mi nute
x

d

x

7. 48 gal
gal l ons
mi nute
1 , 440 ft'
=1 92 . 5 ft' d- '
7. 48 d
whi ch tel l s us that 1 gal mi n- ' equal s 1 92 . 5 ft' d- ' .
Wefol l ow thesameprocedure i n converti ng fromi nch- pound uni ts to metri c uni ts. For exampl e, to convert square feet
per day to square meters per day, weproceed as fol l ows:
ft
2
ft
2
m
2
m
2
- =

x

=

=0. 0929 m2 d- ' =9. 29x 1 0
- 2
m2 d- '
d

d

1 0. 76 ft2

1 0. 76 d
DEFI NI TI ONSOFTERMS
[Number i n parent heses i s t he pageon whi ch t het ermi s f i rst ment i oned]
AQUI FER( 6 ) :
Awat er- beari ng
l ayer of rock t hat wi l l yi el d wat er i n a usabl e quant i t y t o a wel l or spri ng.
BEDROCK( 2 ) : Ageneral t ermf or t he consol i dat ed ( sol i d) rock t hat underl i es soi l s or ot her unconsol i dat ed surf i ci al
mat eri al .
CAPI LLARYFRI NGE ( 4 ) : Thezoneabovet he wat er t abl e i n whi ch wat er i s hel d by surf ace t ensi on . Wat er i n t hecapi l l ary
f ri nge i s under a pressurel ess t han at mospheri c.
CONEOF DEPRESSI ON (
30 ) :
Thedepressi on of heads
around a
pumpi ngwel l caused by t he wi t hdrawal
of
wat er.
CONFI NI NGBED(
6 ) :
Al ayer of rock havi ng very l owhydraul i c conduct i vi t y
t hat
hampers t he movement
of
wat er
i nt o
andout of an aqui f er .
DATUMPLANE ( 10 ) : An arbi t rary surf ace ( or pl ane) used i n t he measurement of ground- wat er heads. Thedat ummost
commonl y used i s t heNat i onal Geodet i cVert i cal Dat umof 1929, whi ch cl osel y approxi mat es sea l evel .
DI SPERSI ON ( 19 ) : The ext ent t o whi ch a l i qui d subst ance i nt roduced i nt o a ground- wat er syst emspreads as i t moves
t hrought hesyst em.
DRAWDOWN(
34 ) :
Thereduct i on i n
head at a poi nt caused by t he wi t hdrawal of wat er f roman aqui f er .
EQUI POTENTI AL LI NE ( 21 ) : Al i ne on
a mapor cross sect i on al ong whi ch t ot al heads aret hesame.
FLOWLI NE
( 21 ) :
The
i deal i zed pat h f ol l owed by part i cl es of wat er.
FLOWNET
( 21 ) : Thegri d pat t ern f ormed by a net work of f l owl i nes and equi pot ent i al l i nes.
GROUNDWATER(
4 ) :
Wat er i n t he sat urat ed zonet hat
i s under a
pressure equal t o or great er t han at mospheri c
pressure.
HEADSeeTOTALHEAD.
HYDRAULI CCONDUCTI VI TY (
12 ) :
Thecapaci t y
of a rock t o t ransmi t
wat er.
I t i s
expressed
as
t hevol ume of
wat e~at t he
exi st i ng ki nemat i c vi scosi t y t hat wi l l move i n uni t
t i me under a uni t hydraul i c gradi ent t hrough a uni t area measured at
ri ght angl es t ot hedi rect i on of f l ow.
HYDRAULI CGRADI ENT ( 10 ) : Change i n head per uni t of di st ance measured i n t hedi rect i on of t hest eepest chang- .
POROSI TY ( 7 ) : Thevoi ds or openi ngs i n a rock . Porosi t y may be expressed quant i t at i vel y as t he rat i o of t he vol ume or
openi ngs i n arock t o t het ot al vol umeof t herock .
POTENTI OMETRI C
SURFACE ( 6 ) :
A
surf ace t hat represent s t het ot al head i n an aqui f er; t hat i s, i t represent s t he hei ght
abovea dat umpl aneat whi ch
t he
wat er l evel
st ands i n t i ght l y cased wel l s t hat penet rat et heaqui f er
.
ROCK(
2 ) :
Any nat ural l y
f ormed, consol i dat ed or unconsol i dat ed mat eri al ( but not soi l ) consi st i ng of t wo or more
mi neral s .
SATURATEDZONE ( 4 ) : Thesubsurf ace zonei n whi ch al l openi ngs aref ul l of wat er.
SOI L ( 4 ) : Thel ayer of mat eri al at t he l and surf ace t hat support s pl ant growt h.
SPECI FI CCAPACI TY ( 58 ) : Theyi el d of a wel l per uni t of
drawdown
.
SPECI FI CRETENTI ON( 8 ) : The rat i o of t he vol ume
of wat er
ret ai ned i n a rock af t er gravi t y drai nage t o t he vol umeof t he
rock .
SPECI FI CYI ELD( 8 ) : Therat i o of t hevol umeof wat er t hat wi l l drai n under t hei nf l uence of gravi t y t o t hevol umeof sat u-
rat ed rock.
STORAGECOEFFI CI ENT ( 28
) :
Thevol umeof wat er rel eased f romst orage i n a uni t pri smof an aqui f er when t he head i s
l owered a uni t di st ance.
STRATI FI CATI ON( 18 ) :
The
l ayered st ruct ure
of sedi ment ary rocks.
TOTAL HEAD
(
10 ) : Thehei ght
above
a dat umpl ane of a col umn of wat er
.
I n a ground- wat er syst em, i t i s composed of
el evat i on
head
and
pressure head.
TRANSMI SSI VI TY ( 26 ) : The rat e at whi ch wat er of t he prevai l i ng ki nemat i c vi scosi t y i s t ransmi t t ed t hrough a uni t wi dt h
of an aqui f er under a uni t hydraul i cgradi ent . I t equal s t hehydraul i cconduct i vi t y mul t i pl i ed by t heaqui f er t hi ckness.
UNSATURATEDZONE ( 4 ) : Thesubsurf ace zone, usual l y st art i ng at t he l and surf ace, t hat cont ai ns bot h wat er and ai r .
WATERTABLE ( 4 ) : Thel evel i n t hesat urat ed zone at whi ch t he pressure i s equal t o t heat mospheri c pressure.
Def i ni t i ons of
Terms

85
RELATI ONOFUNI TSOFHYDRAULI CCONDUCTI VI TY, TRANSMI SSI VI TY, RECHARGERATES, ANDFLOWRATES
Hydraul i c conducti vi ty ( K)
Transmi ssi vi ty ( T)
Recharge rates
Fl owrates
Metri c to i nch-pound uni ts
AREA
1 cmz=0. 1 55 i n
. z
1
mz
=1 0. 758 f tz=1 . 1 96
ydz
1 kmz=247 acres=0. 386 mi z
Square meters per day
( m2 d- ' )
Uni t depth
per year

( m3
d- ' km
-2)
( I n mi l l i meters)
( I n i nches)
1
. 0929
. 01 24
UNI TSANDCONVERSI ONS
LENGTH
1 mi l l i meter ( mm) =0. 001 m=0. 03937 i n.
1 centi meter ( cm) =0. 01 m=0. 3937 i n. =0. 0328 f t
1 meter ( m) =39. 37 i n. =3. 28 f t =1 . 09 yd
1 ki l ometer ( km) =1 ,000m=0. 62 mi
VOLUME
1 cm3 =0. 061 i n. 3
1 m3 =1 ,000
1 =264
U. S. gal =35. 31 4 f t3
1
l i ter ( I ) =1 ,000
cm
3
=0. 264
U
. S.
gal
MASS
1 mi crogram
(
. ug) =0
. 000001 g
1 mi l l i gram( mg) =0. 001 g
1 gram( g) =0. 03527 oz =0. 002205 I b
1 ki l ogram( kg) =1 ,000g=2. 205 l b
86

Basi c
Ground-Water Hydrol ogy
2. 7
70
Square f eet per day
( f t2
d-' )
1 0. 76
1
. 1 34
Vol ume
Gal l ons per day
per f oot
( gal d- ' f t - ' )
80. 5
7. 48
1
( f t 3 d- '
mi -2)

( gal d- ' mi -2)
251
6,365
1 ,874
47,748
I nch-pound to metri c uni ts
LENGTH
1 i nch ( i n. ) =25. 4 mm=2. 54 cm=0. W54m
1 f oot ( f t) =1 2i n. =30. 48 cm=0. 3048 m
1 yard ( yd) =3 f t =0. 91 44m-0. 00091 44 km
1 mi l e ( mi ) =5,280f t =1 ,609 m=1 . 603 km
AREA
1 i n
. z=6
. 451 6 cmz
1 f tz=929 cmz=0. 0929 ml
1 mi z=2. 59 kmz
VOLUME
1 i n. 3 -0. 00058 f t3 =1 6. 39 cm3
1 f t' =1 728 i n. 3 =0. 02832 m3
1 gal l on ( gal ) =231 i n. 3 =0. 1 3368 f t3=0. 00379 m3
MASS
1 ounce ( oz) =0. 0625 l b=28. 35 g
1 pound ( l b) =1 6 oz=0. 4536 kg
( m3 s - ' ) ( m3 mi n-1
)
( f t3 s - 1 )
( f t' mi n- ) ( gal mi n-
)
60 35. 3 2,1 20 1 5,800
. 01 67 1 . 588 35. 3
264
. 0283 1 . 70 1 60 449
. 000472 . 0283 . 01 67 1 7. 48
. 000063 . 00379 . 0023 . 1 34 1
Meters per day
( md- ' )
Centi meters per
second
( cms - ' )
Feet per day
( f t d- ' )
Gal l ons per day
per squaref oot
( gal d- ' f t -2)
1 1 . 1 6x1 0
-3
3. 28 2. 45 x1 0'
8. 64x1 02 1 2. 83x1 03 2. 1 2x1 04
3. 05 x1 0- ' 3. 53 x1 0-4 1 7. 48
4. 1 x1 0-2 4. 73 x1 0- ' 1 . 34x1 0- ' 1