GROUND WATER AND HYDRAULICS 17CV742

MODULE-1
Introduction: Importance, vertical distribution of subsurface water, occurrence in different
types of rocks and soils, definitions-aquifers, aquifuge, aquitard, aquiclude, confined and
Unconfined aquifers.

Ground water:

Ground water is the water present beneath the Earth’s surface in soil pore
spaces and in the fractures of rock formation.
Ground water hydrology:
Ground water hydrology may be defined as the science of occurrence,
distribution and movement of water below the surface of earth.
Global water distribution:

 97.2% Water is found in the oceans (salt water)

 2.8% as fresh water.
 Out of this 2.8%, about 2.2 % available as surface water.
 Even out of 2.2%, 2.15% is fresh water in glaciers.
 0.62% as ground water.
Importance of ground water:

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 Ground water, which is aquifers below the surface of Earth, is one of the


Nation’s most important resources.
Ground water is an important source of water supply throughout the
world, its use in irrigation, industries, municipalities and rural homes
continues to increase.
 As the water infiltrates through various strata of soil, sand and gravel
found underground filter out most disease-causing organisms and harmful
chemicals. This is why ground water can be considered as clean water
source.
 Ground water avoids the water scarcity for drinking in arid and semiarid
region.
 At present nearly 1/5th of all the water used in the world is obtained from
ground water resources.
 Agriculture is the greatest user of ground water accounting for 80% of all
consumption.

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Vertical distribution of subsurface water:

Fig.1. subsurface distribution of water

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Water in subsurface may be divided into 2 major zones:
1) Water stored in the unsaturated zone also known as vadose zone or zone
of aeration.
2) Water stored in the saturated zone or ground water or gravitational
moisture.

Zone of aeration:
In this zone there is a free exchange of air and moisture (found b/w ground
surface and water table)
Divided into 3 belts,
1. Soil water.
2. Intermediate zone (Vadose).
3. Capillary water.

Soil water zone:

Water in the soil water zone exists at less than saturation except temporarily when
excessive water reaches the ground surface as from rainfall or irrigation. The zone
extents from the ground surface down the major root zone.

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Intermediate zone:
Intermediate zone vadose zone extends from the lower edge of soil water
zone to the upper limit of capillary zone. Non moving vadose water is held in
place by hygroscopic and capillary forces, temporary excesses of water migrate
as gravitational water.

Fig.2. water held at contact points of particles in the unsaturated zone.

Capillary water:

Below the hygroscopic layer is the capillary fringe held in the pores by
force of surface tension or capillarity. Plants receive water and most of nutrients
from this fringe.

Saturated zone:

After saturation, the excess water drains through the soil under the force

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of gravity and builds up the ground water table. Occasionally a body of ground
water will be found above a bed of impervious material.

OCCURRENCE IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF ROCKS AND SOILS

The various types of rocks posses’ variable water bearing properties, depending
chiefly on permeability and porosity.

1. Igneous rocks:
Intrusive Igneous rocks:
These are generally very compact and dense and hence these are non porous
they are barren of ground water under normal condition .As a result they have
negligible porosity and permeability.

Weathering and fracturing decreases with depth (greater than 80 to 100m) and
disappears, no ground water can be expected in such rocks at great depths.

E.g. Granite, dolerite, syenite etc. ..

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Extrusive Igneous rocks:

These rocks are generally rich in cavities and contraction cracks and as such
may become permeable and source of underground water.

E.g. Volcanic rocks, basalt etc...

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SEDIMENTARY ROCKS:

Among sedimentary rocks gravel posses the highest water retaining as well as
water yielding capacities.

In general next to gravel, the other sedimentary rocks in their successive order
of decreasing capacity are loose sand, sand stone, lime stone etc...

SANDSTONE:

Water bearing capacity depends much upon their texture and nature of
cementing material, coarse grained sandstone may be good aquifer, fine grained
sandstone may prove to be the poorest aquifers.

LIMESTONES:

The dense and fine grained limestone, they have no primary porosity, but
solution cavities and channels are common in them which sometimes make
these rocks highly porous.

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METAMORPHIC ROCKS:

Foliated and/or lineation, if present and well developed, may contribute some

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porosity to metamorphic rocks. But as such rocks are formed under great
pressure. Primary porosity cannot be expected to be much .Among the foliated
form of metamorphic rocks; gneisses are less porous than schist.

Among the non foliated rocks, quartzite has very little porosity by virtue of
their compactness and granulose texture.

SOILS
1. Clay:
Clay and coarser material mixed with clay are generally porous, but there
are so small that they may be regarded as relatively impermeable. Clayey
soils can provide small domestic water supplies from shallow, large
diameter wells.

2. Alluvial deposits
Water courses consist of the alluvium that forms and underlines stream
channel, as well as forming the flood plain. Wells located in highly
permeable strata bordering streams produce large quantity of water.

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Aquifers:

Aquifers may be defined as a formation of permeable material which is capable

to yield appreciable quantity of ground water under the force of gravity.
(Highly porous and highly permeable)
E.g. Unconsolidated deposits of sand and gravel form good aquifers.

Aquiclude:
A geological formation which can absorb water but cannot transmit significant
amount of water called aquicludes.
(Essentially impermeable)
E.g. Clay

Aquifuge:
A geological formation with inter connected pores and hence neither absorb nor
transmit water called aquifuge.
(Neither porous nor permeable)
E.g. Granite, basalt, rhyolite etc...

Aquitard:

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A geological formation through which only seepage is possible, yield
insignificant.
(Partly permeable)
E.g. Sandy clay

TYPES OF AQUIFERS

Aquifers vary in depth, lateral extent and thickness: but in general aquifers fall
into one of the two categories i.e. unconfined and confined aquifers.

1. UNCONFINED AQUIFERS:

Unconfined aquifers are also called non artesian aquifers and are the top
most water bearing strata having no confined impermeable over burden layer
over them.
The ordinary gravity well of 2 to 5 m diameter, which are excavated through
such top most aquifers, are known as unconfined wells. The water level in water

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table as shown in figure. Such wells therefore also known as water table wells
or gravity wells.

Fig unconfined aquifer

2. CONFINED AQUIFERS:

When aquifers are ceased on its upper and under surface by impervious
rocks formation (aquiclude) and in this the catchment area at higher level for

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the creation of sufficient hydraulic head. It is called confined aquifers or
artesian aquifers.
A well excavated through an aquifers yield water that often flows out
automatically, under the hydrostatic pressure.

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There are at least four geological requirements which are essential to be fulfilled
for the development of artesian conditions in a given region they are:

 Aquifers enclosed b/w two impervious beds.

 Exposure of the rim of the aquifer in the upper reaches of catchment area,
so as to enable the aquifer to receive constant recharge for the successful
supply.
 Adequate rainfall in the catchment.
 No other means for the escape or leakage of water except the proposal
well such as spring.

Different types of water on the basis of availability :

1) Vadose water
Vadose water is subsurface water between the land surface and the
saturated below the water table. The vadose (or unsaturated) zone includes
soil water, which is immediately available to the biosphere.

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Fig: Vadose water
2) JUVENILE WATER OR MAGMATIC WATER

JUVENILE WATER is the water that exists within, and in equilibrium with
a magma or water rich volatile fluids that are derived from magma.
This magmatic water is released to the atmosphere during a volcanic
eruption Magmatic water may also be released as hydrothermal fluids during
the late stages of magmatic crystallization or solidification within the earth
crust.
The crystallization of Hydroxyl bearing amphibole and mica minerals acts to
contain part of the magmatic water within a solidified igneous rock Ultimate
source of this magmatic water includes water and hydrous minerals in rocks
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melted during subduction as well as primordial water brought up the deep

mantle.

3) Connate water

Connate water occurs as a film of water around each grain of sand in granular reservoir
rock and is held in place by capillary attraction.
Because most petroleum was initially formed from matter settling to the ocean floor,
some salt water remains in the rock pores. This water is called connate water.
Connate water is water which is trapped in rock pores.

Fig: Connate water

4) Meteoric water

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Meteoric water is the water derived from precipitation (snow and rain). This
includes water from lakes, rivers, and ice melts, which all originate from
precipitation indirectly.
The bulk of rainwater or melt water from snow and ice reaches the sea
through surface flow, a considerable portion of meteoric water gradually
infiltrates into the ground. This infiltrating water continues its downward
journey to the zone of saturation to become a part of
the groundwater in aquifers.

Note:
Water table
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.
The water table fluctuates both with the seasons and from year to year

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because it is affected by climatic variations and by the amount of

precipitation used by vegetation. It also is affected by withdrawing excessive
amounts of water from wells or by recharging them artificially.

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