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GROUND WATER • Groundwater lies

Groundwater is the principal source of drinking beneath the ground
water on Earth. In the Philippines, groundwater surface, filling the pore
provides 86% of water in piped water systems. space between grains in
Paradoxically, groundwater resources are also the bodies of sediment
least known water resources. It is difficult to find and classic sedimentary rock, and filling cracks
and observe them. Their circulation mechanisms and crevices in all types of rock
are strongly influenced by complex and variable • may come from rain and snow that falls to the
geologic conditions. ground which percolates down into the ground
to become ground water

POROSITY
How do these water-storing voids occur in geological formations?
• Proportion of void
space: pore space, There are three basic types of porosity based on the shapes
of the pores:
cracks, vesicles
• higher porosity in 1. Interstitial porosity
well rounded, In recent unconsolidated sediments and in
some poorly aggregated rocks, interstitial spaces
equigranular, are present between particles in the structure. If these
coarse grained pores are small in size, they can contain
water so strongly attached to the mineral matrix
rocks Clay 45 - 55%
that it cannot be removed by gravity, as in the case
sand 30 - 52% of clays. If the pores are large and interconnected, water
can circulate in the voids, as in sand, gravel, and poorly
gravel 25 - 45% cemented sandstones.

**porous: a material that holds

much water

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2. Fissure porosity 3. Karst porosity

Indurated rocks can develop Water that infiltrates into PERMEABILITY
fractures (planar pores) when they are fissures in soluble rocks has a
deformed by mechanical forces. If they tendency to enlarge the fissures. In • Measure of how
are slightly open, water can infiltrate the case of limestone, the acidity of
into them, move around, and the percolating water plays a major readily fluid passes
accumulate. The volume of water role in the dissolution. It comes through a material
stored in these rocks is generally low from rain (strong acids, usually • Depends on the size
because of the small amount of space anthropogenic) and soils (weak
between the sides of the fissures. acids).
of the pores and how
well they are
interconnected
• Clay has high porosity permeability
but low permeability Clay <0.01 m/day
sand 0.01 - 10
gravel 1000 to 10,000
** permeable: a material that allows
water to flow easily through it

Generally, water that infiltrates into permeable ground will seep • Saturated zone: the subsurface zone in which all rock
vertically through unsaturated porous ground called the openings are filled with water, Phreatic Zone
unsaturated/ vadose zone.
When the water encounters an • Water table: the upper surface of the zone of saturation
impermeable layer, vertical
seepage ceases and water • Vadose zone: a subsurface zone in which rock openings are
generally unsaturated and filled partly with air and partly with
accumulates in the underground water; above the saturated zone
pores to form a saturated zone. : includes all the material between the Earth’s surface and the
Together, saturated and zone of saturation
unsaturated zones of a
permeable medium constitute a • Capillary fringe: a transition zone with higher moisture
water-bearing formation or content at the base of the vadose zone just above the water
table
aquifer.
Surface pollutants must filter
: Water is drawn up into this layer by capillary action
through the vadose zone
Water flow in before entering the zone of
saturation
geologic media

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Saturated Zone
“groundwater zone”
All pores of the water
are filled with water
Water table is formed at
its upper limit and marks
a free surface
Zone of aeration
Soil pores are partially filled with water.
Bounded by the land surface and the water table.
Three subzones:
1. Soil Water Zone – major root band of vegetation
2. Capillary fringe – extends from the water table to the limit of capillary rise
3. Intermediate zone

Two zones of
subsurface water

Water table follows the topography but more gently

Intersection of water table and ground surface produces lakes, streams,
spring, wetlands…
Ground water flows from higher elevation to lower, from areas of lower
The rate of use to higher use, from wet areas to dry areas.

infiltration is a Hyporheic Zone

function of soil type,
rock type, antecedent
water, and time.

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MOVEMENT OF GROUND WATER AQUIFERS

• most ground water moves relatively slowly through rock underground
• a body of saturated rock or sediment through which
• because it moves in response to differences in water pressure and elevation,
water within the upper part of the saturated zone tends to move downward water can move easily
following the slope of the water table
• a formation that allows water to be accessible at
Movement of
ground water
a usable rate
beneath a sloping
water table in
• include sandstone, conglomerate, well-joined
uniformly limestone, bodies of sand and gravel, and some
permeable
rock. Near the fragmental or fractured volcanic rocks such as
surface the
ground water
columnar basalt
tends to flow
parallel to the
sloping water
table

(a) If the piezometric

surface of an aquifer is
in contact with an
aquiclude, the aquifer
is considered to be
confined

An unconfined aquifer
has a free water table

(b) An artesian aquifer

is a confined aquifer
whose head is higher
than the land surface

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Confined Aquifers Unconfined Aquifers

have non-permeable layers, above and below the aquifer zone a partially filed aquifer exposed to the land surface and marked by a
rising and falling water table
Sometimes a lens of non-permeable material will be found within
more permeable material. Water percolating through the unsaturated has no confining layers that retard vertical water movement.
zone will be intercepted by this layer and will accumulate on top of open to atmosphere e.g., overlain by permeable rocks and soils
the lens. This water is a perched aquifer.
Also called as Artesian aquifers
results in free-flowing water, either from a spring or from a well.
an aquifer completely filled with pressurized water and separated *Perched Aquifers
from the land surface by a relatively impermeable confining bed, such
as shale
sandwiched between aquitards

*perched water table - body of ground water

separated from the main water table

Recharge: Process of replenishment of

groundwater by infiltration, migration and
percolation

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Artesian System: Water rises above the

level in aquifer because of hydrostatic WELLS
pressure
Form the most important mode of groundwater extraction
Potentiometric surface: Height to which from an aquifer.
water pressure would raise the water. A deep hole, generally cylindrical, that is dug of drilled into
the ground to penetrate an aquifer within the saturated
zone
Acts as a recharge zone

Wet season: water table and rivers are high; Dry season: water table and rivers are low;
springs and wells flow readily some springs and wells dry up

• the water table in an unconfined aquifer … and falls in dry seasons as water drains
rises in wet seasons… out of the saturated zone into rivers

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Groundwater -- Artesian Conditions Pumping well lowers the water table into a
•Water pressure in buildings is “cone of depression”
maintained by a hydraulic head (h) a depression of the water table formed around a well when
and confinement of water beneath water is pumped out; it is shaped like an inverted cone where
the pressure surface. there is a lowering of the water table called a “drawdown”
•Natural artesian conditions occur
when a well flows continually. It is
produced when a well penetrates
the clay layer and the land surface
is below the pressure surface.

Groundwater Overdraft
Artesian well spouts water
above land surface in Overpumping will have two effects:
South Dakota, early 1900s.
1. Changes the groundwater flow
Heavy use of this aquifer direction.
has reduced water pressure
2. Lowers the water table, making it
so much that spouts do necessary to dig a deeper well.
not occur today
• This is a leading cause for
decertification in some areas.
• Original land users and land owners
often spend lots of money to drill new,
deeper wells.
• Streams become permanently dry.

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Sinkholes
forms in areas with abundant water and soluble bedrock (gypsum or limestone)
Consequences of Ground Water
collapse follows ground water withdrawal
Withdrawal….

Compaction and Subsurface

subsidence
Building damage, collapse
flooding and coastal erosion e.g.,Venice, Galveston/Houston (80
sq km permanently flooded), San Joaquin Valley (9m subsidence)
Pumping in of water no solution

Groundwater Movement -- Darcy’s Law

Subsidence of the land Q = KIA -- Henry Darcy, 1856, studied water flowing
surface caused by the through porous material. His equation describes groundwater
extraction of ground flow.
water, near Mendota, Hydraulic head = dh Flow length = dL
Darcy’s experiment: Hydraulic gradient i = dh/dL
San Joaquin Valley, K = Darcy’s permeability coefficient or
• Water is applied under
CA. Signs on the hydraulic conductivity
pressure through end A,
pole indicate the flows through the pipe,
positions of the land and discharges at end B.
surface in 1925, 1955, • Water pressure is
and measured using
1977. The land sank 30 piezometer tubes
feet in 52 years.

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Groundwater Movement -- Darcy’s Law FLUX given by v = Q/A = KI is the IDEAL velocity of groundwater; it
assumes that water molecules can flow in a straight line through the
The velocity of groundwater is based on hydraulic conductivity (K), as
subsurface.
well as the hydraulic head (I).
NOTE: Flux doesn't account for the water molecules actually following
The equation to describe the relations between subsurface materials and
a tortuous path in and out of the pore spaces. They travel quite a bit
the movement of water through them is
farther and faster in reality than the flux would indicate.
Q = KIA DARCY FLUX given by vx = Q/An = KI/n (m/sec) is the ACTUAL
Q = Discharge = volumetric flow rate, volume of water flowing through velocity of groundwater, which DOES account for tortuosity of flow
an aquifer per unit time (m3/day) paths by including porosity (n) in the calculation. Darcy velocity is
higher than ideal velocity.
A = Area through which the groundwater is flowing, cross-sectional area
of flow (aquifer width x thickness, in m2) Darcy’s Law is used extensively in groundwater studies. It can help
answer important questions such as the direction a pollution plume is
Rearrange the equation to Q/A = KI, known as the flux (v), which is an moving in an aquifer, and how fast it is traveling.
apparent velocity

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Summary of Groundwater Systems Groundwater Movement -- General Concepts

The water table is actually
(from Keller, 2000, Figure 10.9) a sloping surface.
(from Keller, 2000, Figure 10.6)
Slope (gradient) is
determined by the
difference in water table
elevation (h) over a
specified distance (L).
Direction of flow is
downslope.
Flow rate depends on the
gradient and the properties
of the aquifer.

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HYDRAULIC HEAD/ FLUID POTENTIAL = h (length units)

Groundwater Movement
• Measure of energy potential (essentially is a measure of
elevational/gravitational potential energy)
• Hydraulic gradient for an
• The driving force for groundwater flow unconfined aquifer =
• Water flows from high to low fluid potential or head (even if this means approximately the slope of the
it may go "uphill"!) water table.

• Hydraulic head is used to determine the hydraulic gradient

Hydraulic head = the driving force that moves groundwater. It combines • Hydraulic conductivity = ability of material to allow water to move
fluid pressure and gradient, and can be thought of as the standing through it, expressed in terms of m/day (distance/time). It is a
elevation that water will rise in a well and allowed to come to function of the size and shape of particles, and the size, shape, and
equilibrium with the subsurface. connectivity of pore spaces.

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Groundwater Flow Nets

Water table contour lines are similar to topographic lines on a map. A map of groundwater contour lines with groundwater flow lines is
They essentially represent "elevations" in the subsurface. These called a flow net.
elevations are the hydraulic head mentioned above. Remember: groundwater always moves from an area of higher
Water table contour lines can be used to determine the direction hydraulic head to an area of lower hydraulic head, and perpendicular
groundwater will flow in a given region. Many wells are drilled and to equipotential lines.
hydraulic head is measured in each one. Water table contours (called
equipotential lines) are constructed to join areas of equal head.
Groundwater flow lines, which represent the paths of groundwater
downslope, are drawn perpendicular to the contour lines.

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Groundwater Flow Nets

POLLUTION OF GROUND WATER
A simple flow net
Cross-profile view • pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers: chemicals that are applied
100 50 Qal to agricultural crops that can find their way into ground
WT water when rain or irrigation water leaches the poisons
Qal
Aquitard (granite) downward into the soil
• rain can also leach pollutants from city dumps into ground-
water supplies
Aquitard • Effect of a
• Heavy metals such as mercury, lead, chromium, copper, and
producing well
cadmium, together with household chemicals and poisons,
Qal • Notice the can all be concentrated in ground-water supplies beneath
well
approximate diameter dumps
of the cone of
depression

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POLLUTION OF GROUND WATER (CONT.)

POLLUTION OF GROUND WATER (CONT.)
• pumping wells can cause or aggravate ground-water pollution

• liquid and solid wastes from septic tanks, sewage plants, and
animal feedlots and slaughterhouses may contain bacteria,
viruses, and parasites that can contaminate ground water
• acid mine drainage from coal and metal mines can
contaminate both surface and ground water
• radioactive waste can cause the pollution of ground water
Water table steepens near a dump, increasing the velocity
due to the shallow burial of low-level solid and liquid of ground-water flow and drawing pollutants into a well

radioactive wastes from the nuclear power industry

Water-table slope is reversed by pumping, changing
direction of the ground-water flow, and polluting the well

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Groundwater Movement -- Cone of Depression

Consequences of Ground Water
Withdrawal
Lowering of Water Table
Cone of depression: Circular lowering of water
immediately around a well
(from Keller, 2000, Figure 10.10)

Water table

flow flow
Cone of depression

Pumping water from a well causes a cone of depression to form in

the water table at the well site.
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Cone of Depression Development CONSEQUENCES OF GROUND WATER

WITHDRAWAL
–overlapping cones of depression causes lowering of regional
water table
–Water mining: rate of recharge too slow for replenishment
in human life time

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Development of Contamination in Groundwater

BALANCING WITHDRAWAL AND
RECHARGE
• a local supply of groundwater will last indefinitely if it is withdrawn for
use at a rate equal to or less than the rate of recharge to the aquifer
• if ground water is withdrawn faster than it is being recharged, however,
the supply is being reduced and will one day be gone

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Groundwater -- Recharge and Discharge Saltwater

Intrusion
• Water is continually recycled through aquifer systems.
–upconing below cone of
• Groundwater recharge is any water added to the aquifer zone. depression
• Processes that contribute to groundwater recharge include
precipitation, streamflow, leakage (reservoirs, lakes, aqueducts), and
artificial means (injection wells).
• Groundwater discharge is any process that removes water from an
aquifer system. Natural springs and artificial wells are examples of
discharge processes.
Salt water
• Groundwater supplies 30% of the water present in our streams. incursion
Effluent streams act as discharge zones for groundwater during dry in caostal
seasons. This phenomenon is known as base flow. Groundwater aquifer
overdraft reduces the base flow, which results in the reduction of
water supplied to our streams.
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BALANCING WITHDRAWAL AND RECHARGE

• heavy use of ground water can result in:
• a regional water table dropping
• deepening of a well which means more electricity is needed to
pump the water to the surface
• the ground surface settling because the water no longer supports
the rock and sediment
BALANCING WITHDRAWAL AND RECHARGE
• to avoid the problems of falling water tables, subsidence, and compaction, many
towns use artificial recharge to increase recharge; natural floodwaters or treated
industrial or domestic wastewaters are stored in infiltration ponds in the surface
to increase the rate of water percolation into the ground

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Groundwater Overdraft
• Almost half the U.S. population uses groundwater as a primary
Stalactites source for drinking water.
• Groundwater accounts for ~20% of all water withdrawn for
consumption.
• In many locations groundwater withdrawal exceeds natural
recharge rates. This is known as overdraft.
• In such areas, the water table is drawn down "permanently";
therefore, groundwater is considered a nonrenewable resource.
• The Ogallala aquifer underlies Midwestern states, including Texas,
Oklahoma, and New Mexico, while California, Arizona and Nevada
use the Colorado River as their primary water source. All show
Stalagmites serious groundwater overdraft.

Dripstones in a cavern
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WATER QUALITY
URBANISATION AND GROUND WATER
Loss of Recharge
Most freshwater contain dissolved substances
Impermeable cover retards recharge concentrations are described in ppm or ppb
Filling of wetlands kills recharge area TDS=Total Dissolved Solids
Well planned holding pond can help in recharging ground water 500 to 1000 ppm for drinking water
2000 ppm for livestock
some solids (e.g., Iron, Sulfur) more harmful than others (e.g. calcium)
synthetic chemicals can be toxic at ppb level

Radioactive elements pose special hazard

Uranium, Radium, Radon

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There are several problems, which can develop, associated with the lowering of the
EFFECTS OF GROUND-WATER ACTION groundwater surface due to overuse/over pumping:
1. Cone of depression develops
• caves (or caverns): naturally formed underground 2. Lowering of the pieziometric surface, thus wells dry up
3. Saltwater incursion/intrusion if near an ocean
chamber
Groundwater Contamination
• most caves develop when slightly acidic ground Contamination results in a decline in water quality.

water dissolves limestone along joints and bedding Common contaminants:

Types Sources
planes, opening up cavern systems as calcite is Nitrates Sewage, Fertilizers, Feedlots
carried away in solution Pesticides, herbicides Agriculture, lawn care
Organic chemicals Industrial wastes, landfills, spills/leaks of fuels
• most caves probably are formed by ground water Metals Industrial processes
Brines Oil production
circulating below the water table
Protecting groundwater resources
H2O + CO2 + CaCO3 ⇔ Ca++ + 2HCO3- Apply agricultural chemicals properly
carbon calcite in calcium bicarbonate Build better landfills
water
dioxide limestone ion ion Regulate disposal of hazardous materials
→ Regulate underground storage tanks (USTs)
development of caves (solution) Limit contaminant levels in drinking water supplies.
←
development of flowstone and dripstone (precipitation)
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EFFECTS OF GROUND-WATER ACTION

EFFECTS OF GROUND-WATER ACTION
(CONT.)
• stalactites: icicle-like pendants of dripstone hanging
(CONT.)
• sinkholes: closed depressions found on land surfaces underlain by
from cave ceilings, generally slender and are limestone; they form either by the collapse of a cave roof or by solution
commonly aligned along cracks in the ceiling, which as descending water enlarges a crack in limestone
act as conduits for ground water
• stalagmites: cone-shaped masses of drip-stone
formed on cave floors, generally directly below
stalactites

Water moves along fractures and bedding planes in Falling water table allows cave system, now greatly
A collapse sinkhole that formed suddenly in Winter Trees grow in a sinkhole formed in limestone near
limestone, dissolving the limestone to form caves enlarged, to fill with air. Calcite precipitation forms
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below the water table stalactites, stalagmites, and columns above the water2013
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EFFECTS OF GROUND-WATER ACTION

(CONT.)
HOT WATER UNDERGROUND
• karst topography: an area with many sinkholes and with cave systems • hot springs: springs in which the water is warmer than human body
beneath the land surface temperature
• water can gain heat in two ways while underground:
• ground water may circulate near a magma chamber or a body of cooling igneous
rock
• ground water may circulate unusually deep in the earth

Karst topography is marked by underground caves and numerous surface sinkholes. A major river may
cross the region, but small surface streams generally disappear down sinkholes
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HOT WATER UNDERGROUND

• geyser: a type of hot spring that periodically erupts
hot water and stream; the water is generally near
boiling (100oC)
Springs and Streams: Part 2
1 3

2 4

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SPRINGS AND STREAMS Water moves along fractures in

• spring: a place where water flows naturally from crystalline rock and forms springs
rock onto the land surface where the fractures intersect the
land surface
• some springs discharge where the water table
intersects the land surface, but they also occur
where water flows out from caverns or along
fractures, faults, or rock contacts that come to the
surface

Water enters caves along joints

in limestone and exits as springs
at the mouths of caves

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SPRINGS AND STREAMS (CONT.)

Springs can form along faults
when permeable rock has been
moved against less permeable rock. • gaining stream: a stream that receives water from the zone of saturation
Arrows show relative motion • losing stream: a stream that looses water to the zone of saturation
along fault

Springs form at the contact between Stream gaining water from saturated zone Stream losing water through stream Water table can be close to the land
a permeable rock such as sandstone bed to saturated zone surface beneath a dry stream bed
and an underlying less permeable rock
such as shale

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Springs Discharge of groundwater

from a spring in California.
Springs generally emerge at
the base of a hillslope.
Some springs produce water Perennial
that has traveled for many
kilometers; while others emit Stream
water that has traveled only (effluent)
a few meters.
(from Keller, 2000,
Springs represent places Figure 10.5a)
where the saturated zone
(below the water table)
comes in contact with the
land surface. • Humid climate
(from Keller, 2000, Figure 10.8)
• Flows all year -- fed by groundwater base flow (1)
• Discharges groundwater
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Ephemeral
Stream
(influent)
(from Keller, 2000,
Figure 10.5b)

• Semiarid or arid climate

• Flows only during wet periods (flashy runoff)
• Recharges groundwater
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