GROUNDWATER DEVELOPMENT
retard water flow underground; that is, they act as a
Groundwater
• It is the water found underground in the cracks
and spaces in soil, sand and rock.
• "Groundwater is any water that lies in aquifers
beneath the land surface," said Steven Phillips,
a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in
Sacramento, California.
• It is water that has infiltrated the ground to fill
the spaces between sediments and cracks in
rock. Groundwater is fed by precipitation and
can resurface to replenish streams, rivers, and
lakes.
GROUNDWATER ZONES
• Saturated Zone is a zone in which all the pores
and rock fractures are filled with water,
underlies the unsaturated zone.
• Unsaturated Zone or Vadose Zone is located
between the water table and the land surface.
In the unsaturated zone, moisture is moving
downward to the water table to recharge the
ground water. The spaces between particle
grains and the cracks in rocks contain both air
and water. Although a considerable amount of
water can be present in the unsaturated zone,
this water cannot be pumped by wells because
capillary forces hold it too tightly.
Water table, also called Groundwater Table, upper
level of an underground surface in which the soil or
rocks are permanently saturated with water. The water
table separates the groundwater zone that lies below it
from the capillary fringe, or zone of aeration, that lies
above it
Capillary Fringe is the subsurface layer in
which groundwater seeps up from a water
table by capillary action to fill pores. Pores at the base
of the capillary fringe are filled with water due to
tension saturation.
Recharge is the water found in aquifers is replenished
by drainage through the soil, which is often a slow
process. This drainage is referred to as groundwater
recharge. Rates of groundwater recharge are greatest
when rainfall inputs to the soil exceed
evapotranspiration losses.
AQUIFER
In hydrology, rock layer that contains water and
releases it in appreciable amounts. The rock contains
water-filled pore spaces, and, when the spaces are
connected, the water is able to flow through
the matrix of the rock. An aquifer also may be called a
water-bearing stratum, lens, or zone. Wells can be
drilled into many aquifers, and they are one of the most
important sources of fresh water on Earth.
Aquitards are compacted layers of clay, silt or rock that
barrier for groundwater. Aquitards separate aquifers
and partially disconnect the flow of water underground.
Also known as cap rocks, aquitards limit and direct the
surface water which seeps down and replenishes
aquifers.
Aquiclude is a geological material through which zero
flow occurs.
Types of Aquifer
• Unconfined aquifers are formed in the space
between porous materials such as sand, gravel,
silt or clay and are known as alluvial aquifers
(sediments deposited by flowing water). When
an aquifer is bounded by the water table on the
top.
• Confined aquifers are aquifers beneath a rock
layer that does not allow water to permeate in
measurable amounts. When an aquifer is
confined between two much less permeable
units.
• Artesian aquifers are confined aquifers that are
under pressure. This pressure can push water to
the surface, which when drilled are called
artesian wells.
Most groundwater comes from precipitation.
Precipitation infiltrates below the ground surface into
the soil zone. When the soil zone becomes saturated,
water percolates downward.
Groundwater Movement
• Movement of ground water through pores and
fractures is relatively slow (cms to meters/day)
compared to flow of water in surface streams
– Flow velocities in cavernous limestones
can be much higher (kms/day)
• Flow velocity depends upon:
– Slope of the water table
– Permeability of the rock or sediment
Groundwater is constantly in motion. Compared to
surface water, it moves very slowly, the actual rate
dependent on the transmissivity and storage capacity of
the aquifer. Natural outflows of groundwater take place
through springs and riverbeds when the groundwater
pressure is higher than atmospheric pressure in the
vicinity of the ground surface. Internal circulation is not
easily determined, but near the water table the average
cycling time of water may be a year or less, while in
deep aquifers it may be as long as thousands of years.
Rock Properties that affect the movement and storage
of Groundwater
1. Slope
 - flows downhill in direction of slope of
water table due to gravity
a. rate depends on: permeability of materials
and gradient of water table
b. flow velocities through permeable materials
is always higher than those through
impermeable materials
2. Porosity
- the percentage of rock or sediment that
consists of voids or openings.
- Determines the amount of water a rock
can hold
3. Permeability
- a measure of the ability of water to be
transmitted by a substance
GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION
Groundwater is also one of our most important
sources of water for irrigation. Unfortunately,
groundwater is susceptible to pollutants.
POTENTIAL SOURCES OF GROUNDWATER
CONTAMINATION
• Storage Tanks
May contain gasoline, oil, chemicals, or other types
of liquids and they can either be above or below
ground. There are estimated to be over 10 million
storage tanks buried in the United States and over
time the tanks can corrode, crack and develop
leaks. If the contaminants leak out and get into the
groundwater, serious contamination can occur.
• Septic Systems
Onsite wastewater disposal systems used by homes,
offices or other buildings that are not connected to a
city sewer system. Septic systems are designed to
slowly drain away human waste underground at a slow,
harmless rate. An improperly designed, located,
constructed, or maintained septic system can leak
bacteria, viruses, household chemicals, and other
contaminants into the groundwater causing serious
problems.
• Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste
In the U.S. today, there are thought to be over 20,000
known abandoned and uncontrolled hazardous waste
sites and the numbers grow every year. Hazardous
waste sites can lead to groundwater contamination if
there are barrels or other containers laying around that
are full of hazardous materials. If there is a leak, these
contaminants can eventually make their way down
through the soil and into the groundwater.
• Landfills
Landfills are the places that our garbage is taken to be
buried. Landfills are supposed to have a protective
bottom layer to prevent contaminants from getting into
the water. However, if there is no layer or it is cracked,
contaminants from the landfill (car battery acid, paint,
household cleaners, etc.) can make their way down into
the groundwater.
• Chemicals and Road Salts
The widespread use of chemicals and road salts is
another source of potential groundwater
contamination. Chemicals include products used on
lawns and farm fields to kill weeds and insects and to
fertilize plants, and other products used in homes and
businesses. When it rains, these chemicals can seep into
the ground and eventually into the water. Road salts are
used in the wintertime to put melt ice on roads to keep
cars from sliding around. When the ice melts, the salt
gets washed off the roads and eventually ends up in the
water.
• Atmospheric Contaminants
Since groundwater is part of the hydrologic cycle,
contaminants in other parts of the cycle, such as the
atmosphere or bodies of surface water, can eventually
be transferred into our groundwater supplies.
LOCATING GROUNDWATER
As a non-existent proverb states: "Humans don't live by
surface water alone." For thousands of years, people
have also relied on groundwater to serve their every
need. Groundwater is invaluable for many uses, from
irrigation to drinking-water supply. But, you can't see
groundwater, so how do water scientists know where it
is in order to be able to drill wells and pump it out for
use?
To locate groundwater accurately and to determine the
depth, quantity, and quality of the water, several
techniques must be used, and a target area must be
thoroughly tested and studied to identify hydrologic
and geologic features important to the planning and
management of the resource. The landscape may offer
clues to the hydrologist about the occurrence of shallow
groundwater. Conditions for large quantities of shallow
groundwater are more favorable under valleys than
under hills.
In some regions--in parts of the arid Southwest, for
example--the presence of "water-loving" plants, such as
cottonwoods or willows, indicates groundwater at
shallow to moderate depth. Areas where water is at the
surface as springs, seeps, swamps, or lakes reflect the
presence of groundwater, although not necessarily in
large quantities or of usable quality.
METHODS of LOCATING GROUNDWATER
1. Preliminary Survey
It is highly advisable for phreatic layer
investigators, especially if they are not from the
region concerned, to carry out preliminary
surveys in order to collect information which
 can give them precious data on the places
where there is a likelihood of finding water.
Depending on the size of the expected source, this can
consist of either :
-after a first look at the site and a
meeting with the chiefs or heads of the
villages, a survey with their population
to find out where wells would have
been dug or where springs would have
been used, where the vegetation is
greenest and remains green during the
dry season, where trees and plants
naturally grow best, where the existing
water sources have the highest outflow
in all seasons, where the termite
mounds are located, if any, etc.
- or, at the same time, research into the
region’s geological map, climatic data
and all appropriate information which
may be obtained from the local or
regional authorities or other
organizations or operators working in
the region.
2. Dowsing
- as much as this method has been used
for many years, it’s definitely not
backed up with science and is not a
reliable way to find water.
- In numerous countries (including
France), certain people have the ability
to investigate and determine the
presence of water on a site and detect
water channels (veins, faults and
aquifers).
- These "dowsers" are often people who
have special abilities passed down by
their predecessors or a village wise man
or woman.
3. Modern methods
- These methods make it possible to
locate aquifers with more precision, and
they are much more efficient in
assessing their size, volume, quality and
sustainability.
a. Topography
Analysing maps and local vegetation gives a first
indication of the presence of water. In the case of large-
scale investigations, a global geological analysis can
even be carried out through the interpretation of
satellite images or aerial photos. These can highlight the
presence of the major geological outlines liable to give
rise to fractures with an identifiable direction or
outcrops.
• Next, the hydrologist gathers information on
the wells in the area—their locations, the depth
to water, the amount of water pumped, and the
kinds of rock they penetrate. Because the
water-seeker cannot always afford to drill a test
hole to obtain information, records of wells
already drilled are of great value.
b. Hydrogeophysics
Geophysical methods are now the main methods of
investigation and detection of underground aquifers.
The method chosen mainly depends on the geological
context.
 With these methods, we strive to study the
soil’s physical properties and in particular its
electrical properties. The aquifers are most
often trapped between rock layers. All rocks
conduct a certain amount of electricity, but
their conductivity and resistivity vary according
to their type : compact rock, dry rock, fractured
rock, wet rock, permeable structures or
impermeable ones.
A material’s electrical resistivity is its capacity to
oppose the flow of electric current.
 These methods are thus based on the capacity
of the soil or rock to conduct electricity and the
measurement of their conductivity or resistivity
(the opposite of conductivity).
 From these measurements, the type, size and
quality of the aquifer is deduced and specified,
or perhaps only presumed, but with a high
probability.
c. Geophysical Methods
• Electrical Resistivity – A resistivity survey
measures the electrical resistance to a current
induced into the ground.
The electrical resistance of sediment or rock depends on
many factors such as particle size, porosity, density,
mineral and chemical composition, and moisture level.
Resistivity data can reveal something about these
factors and the geological composition of the area being
measured.
• Seismic Refraction – A seismic refraction survey
measures how fast a “shockwave” travels
through the ground.
Because the waves travel at different speeds depending
upon the density of the material they pass through, the
timing of their arrival at the geophone can be
interpreted to reveal something about the density of
materials at different depths.