MAL1033: GROUNDWATER

HYDROLOGY

About the Course

Dr. Shamsuddin Shahid

Associate Professor
Department of Hydraulics and Hydrology
Faculty of Civil Engineering

Room No.: M46-332; Phone: 07-5531624; Mobile: 0182051586

Email: sshahid@utm.my
 Course Information

Course Title: GROUNDWATER HYDROLOGY

Course Code: MAL1033
Credit Hour: 3 (Three) Credit Hours
Number of Lecture per Week: 1
Duration of Each Lecture: 3 (three hours)
Time of Lecture: Tuesday (8:00 – 11:00 AM)
Total Number of Lectures: 14 Lectures in 14 weeks
Lecturers: Dr. Shamsuddin Shahid

2
Synopsis of Course

Preliminary emphasis on basic hydrogeology and

nature of groundwater, assessment of groundwater
resources, groundwater movement, groundwater
investigation and development, well hydraulics,
multiphase flow, unsaturated zone, evaluation of
groundwater resources, mass transport and
subsurface contaminants, groundwater remediation,
and case histories.

3
Objectives of the Course

The objectives of the course are as follow:

1. To develop an understanding of the occurrence and

movement of groundwater systems
2. To learn standard and advanced techniques for
evaluating the properties and temporal evolution of
groundwater flow and pollutant transport systems
3. To provide methods for estimating the relationship
between discharge from a well and the characteristics of
the soil profile of the watershed
4. To introduce methods for the proper long-term
management of water stored in the soil profile

4
 Learning Outcomes
Programme
Assessme
Learning
No. Course Learning Outcomes nt
Outcome(s)
Methods
Addressed

Able to describe the occurrence and Test/Exam

1. LO1, LO2, LO3
movement of groundwater Project
Assignment

Able to apply theories, identify and Test/Exam

2. LO1, LO2, LO3
analyze the groundwater related Project
problems Assignment
Able to evaluate the properties and Test/Exam
3. temporal evolution of groundwater flow LO1, LO2, LO3 Project
and pollutant transport systems Assignment
Test/Exam
4. Able to analyze the aquifer potential LO1, LO2, LO3 Project
Assignment
5
TEACHING METHODOLOGY

Lectures

Assignment/Project

Homework

Quiz

Tests/Examinations

6
 Assessment

No. Assessment Number % each % total

1. Assignments 4 7% 28
2. Project 1 12% 12
3. Quizzes 2 7% 14
4. Presentation 1 6% 6
5. Test
6. Final Exam 1 40% 40
Overall Total 100%

7
 Student Learning Time
Student Learning Time
No. Teaching and Learning Activities
(hours)
1. Lecture & Tutorial 42
Independent Study
- self learning 42
- information search
2.
- library search
- reading
- group discussion
Assignment & Quiz
3. - self learning
15
- group discussion
Project
- information search
4. - library search 15
- group discussion
- report writing
Presentation
5. - preparation 5
- group discussion 5
6. Test 0
7. Exam (1x) 4
Total 128 8
 Student Attendance

The student should adhere to the rules of attendance as stated in

the University Academic Regulation :-

1. Student must attend not less than 80% of lecture hours as

required for the subject.

2. The student will be prohibited from attending any lecture and

assessment activities upon failure to comply the above
requirement. Zero mark will be given to the subject.

9
Course Schedule (Before mid-semester break)
Week Lecture On Lecture Method
1 Introduction of Groundwater Hydrology Power Point
Presentation
2 Occurrence of Groundwater Power Point
Presentation
3 Groundwater Movement Power Point
Presentation
4 Groundwater and Well Hydraulics Power Point
Presentation
5 Groundwater and Well Hydraulics Power Point
Presentation
6 Drilling and Water Wells Power Point
Presentation
7 Unsaturated Zone Power Point
Presentation
Course Schedule (After mid-semester break)
Week Lecture Lecture Method
8 Groundwater Contamination Power Point
Presentation
10 Groundwater Remediation Power Point
Presentation
11 Multiphase Flow and Pollutant Transport Power Point
Presentation
12 Saltwater Intrusion Power Point
Presentation
13 Saltwater Intrusion Power Point
Presentation
14 Groundwater Management & Modelling Power Point
Techniques Presentation
15 Tutorial / Project Presentation / Test
 Reference Materials

1. Hydraulics of Groundwater, Jacob Bear, 1979, McGraw-Hill

2. Groundwater, R. Allan Freeze and John A. Cherry, 1979, Prentice-Hall
3. Groundwater Hydraulics and Pollutant Transport, Randall J. Charbeneau, 2000,
Prentice-Hall
4. Introduction to modeling of Transport in Porous Media, Jacob Bear, and Yehuda
Bachmat, 1990, Kluwer Academic Publishers
5. Groundwater Hydrology (2nd Edition), David Keith Todd, 1980, John Wiley &
Sons
6. Groundwater Engineering, Abdel- Aziz Ismail Kashef, 1987, McGraw-Hill
7. Ground Water Contamination-Transport and Remediation (Second Edition),
Philip B. Bedient, Hanadi S, Rifai and Charles J. Newell, 1999, Prentice Hall
8. Introducing Groundwater, Michael Price, 1985, George Allen & unwin
9. Groundwater Flow (Second Edition), A. Verruijt, 1982, The Macmillan Press
10. Bioremediation Principles, Eweis, Ergas, Chang and Schroeder, 1998, McGraw-
Hill
11. Site Remediation-Planning and Management, J. Andy Soesilo and Stephanie R.
Wilson, 1997, Lewis Publishers
12. Analysis and Evaluation of Pumping Test Data (Second Edition), G. P. Kruseman
and N. A de Ridder, 1990, International Institute for Land Reclamation and
Improvement, The Netherlands
12
13. The Physical and Chemical Hydrogeology, Patrick A. Domenico and Franklin W.
Schwartz, 1990, John Wiley & Sons
Lecture-1:
Introduction of Groundwater Hydrology

1. Properties of soils and water

2. Porous Media
3. Distribution of Subsurface Water
4. Porosity and Related Properties of soils
5. Subsurface Hydrologic Cycle & Goundwater Balance
6. Hydrogeologic formation
7. Groundwater in the Malaysia
Lecture-2:
Occurrence of Groundwater

1. Classification of Aquifers
2. Hydraulic Approach to Flow in Aquifers
3. Continuum Approach to flow through Porous Media
4. Inhomogeneity and Anisotropy
5. Groundwater Quality
Lecture- 3:
Groundwater Movement

1. Darcy’s Law
2. Hydraulic Conductivity & Aquifer Transmissivity
3. Flow in Anisotropic Aquifers
4. Dupuit Assumption for a Phreatic Aquifer
Lecture- 4:
Groundwater and Well Hydraulics

1. Steady flow to a well

2. Transient flow to a well in an Ideal Confined Aquifer
3. Pumping Tests
Lecture- 5:
Groundwater and Well Hydraulics

1. Partially Penetrating Wells

2. Slug Tests
3. Well Tests
Lecture- 6:
Drilling and Water Wells

1. Test Holes and Well Logs

2. Methods for Constructing Shallow Wells
3. Methods for Drilling Deep Wells
4. Well Completion & Development
5. Testing Wells for Yield & Pumping Equipment
6. Protection of Wells & Well Rehabilitation
7. Horizontal Well
Lecture- 7:
Unsaturated Zone

1. Capillary Action
2. Soil-Water Characteristic Curves
3. Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity
4. Governing Equation for Unsaturated Flow
5. Measurement of Soil Properties
Lecture- 8:
Project Presentation
Lecture- 9:
Groundwater Contamination

1. Solute transport by Advection

2. Solute Transport by Diffusion
3. Advection-Dispersion Transport
.
Lecture- 10:
Groundwater Remediation

1. Introduction to Remediation Methods

2. Containment Methods for Source Control
3. Hydraulic Control and Pump and Treat Systems
4. Bioremediation
5. Soil Vapor Extraction Systems
6. Remediation NAPL Sites
7. Emerging Remediation Technologies
8. Case Studies of Remediation
.
Lecture- 11:
Multiphase Flow and Pollutant Transport

1. Principles of Multiphase flow

2. Capillary Trapping
3. Residual Saturation and Mass Transfer
4. Multiphase flow in porous media
5. Mass Transport of multiphase fluid under isothermal conditions
6. Heat and Mass Transport
Lecture- 12:
Saltwater Intrusion

1. Occurrence of Saline Water Intrusion

2. Ghyben-Herzberg Relation Between Fresh and Saline Waters
3. Shape of the Fresh-Salt Water Interface
4. Structure of the fresh-salt Water Interface
5. Upconing of Saline Water
6. Control of Saline Water Intrusion
Lecture- 13:
Saltwater Intrusion

1. Surface Investigation of Groundwater

2. Subsurface Investigation of Groundwater
3. Artificial Recharge of Groundwater
Lecture- 14:
Groundwater Management & Modeling Techniques

1. Concepts of Basin Management

2. Equation of Hydrologic Equilibrium
3. Groundwater Basin Investigation
4. Data Collection and Fieldwork
5. Basin Management by Conjunctive Use
6. Porous Media Models
7. Analog Models
8. Electric Analog Models
9. Numerical Models
Hydrological Cycle
Spatial distribution of energy and temperature drives circulation
 Distribution of Water on Earth

The vast majority of Earth’s

water is in the oceans (salt
water)

Smaller, but geologically

important, quantities of fresh
water in lakes, rivers, and
ground water.
Surface Runoff
The precipitation that reaches the surface of the Earth but does not
infiltrate the soil flows over the land moves laterally towards the
stream is called Surface Runoff.
Infiltration and Percolation
Infiltration
A portion of the precipitation that reaches
the Earth's surface seeps into the ground.
Infiltration is the physical process
involving movement of water from
atmosphere to the soil. Water that is
infiltrated is stored in the soil. Later it is
evapotranspirated or may cause
subsurface runoff.

Percolation
Once underground, the water is moved
by gravity. Percolation is the downward
movement of water though the soil and
it's layers, by gravity and capillary forces.
Finally the water moves to a zone of
saturation, called groundwater.
Groundwater
When rain falls to the ground, some of it
sink into the ground. The water moves
into the spaces between the particles of
sand and form groundwater.
Groundwater is water that is found
underground in the cracks and spaces in
soil, sand and rock.

Less than 1% of the water in the hydrosphere is groundwater, defined as

all the water contained in spaces within bedrock and regolith.

Although the percentage of groundwater in the hydrologic system is

small, it is 40 times larger than the volume of all the water in freshwater
lakes or flowing in streams and nearly a third as large as the water
contained in all the world's glaciers and polar ice.

More than half of all groundwater, including most of the water that is
usable, occurs within about 750 m (2460 ft) of the Earth's surface.
Global Water Budget

Evaporation:
Ocean: 425000 km3
Land : 71000 km3
Total: 496000 km3
Precipitation:
Ocean: 385000 km3
Land: 111000 km3
Total: 496000 km3

Malaysia (Billion m3)

Annual Rainfall 990
Surface Runoff 566
Evapotranspiration 360
Groundwater Recharge 64
Global Water Budget
Water Usages

Global Usages Percentage

Agriculture (mostly irrigation) 69%
Industry 23%
Domestic use (household, drinking water, sanitation) 8%

Usages Percentage Usages (Africa) Percentage

(Europe) Agriculture 88%
Agriculture 33% Industry 7%
Industry 54% Domestic 5%
Domestic 13%
Water Usages (Asia and Malaysia)

Usages (Asia) Percentage Usages (Malaysia) Percentage

Agriculture 86% Agriculture 75%
Industry 8% Industry 18%
Domestic 6% Domestic 8%
Usages of Water Per Person
Recommended fair level of water use per person per day: 100 liters

Basic water requirement per person per day: 50 liters

Therefore, Water Poverty Threshold: 50 liters

Country Liters/Day Country Liters/Day

USA 575 Mozambique 4
Australia 493 Ethiopia 15
Italy 386 Cambodia 15
Japan 374 Bangladesh 46

3.75 billion people in 90 countries are getting less than 50 liters of water per day.

In Malaysia, average use of water is 300 liters/person.

In urban areas of Malaysia it is 500 liters/person
What is groundwater?
Groundwater is water that is found underground in the cracks and spaces in
soil, sand and rock. When rain falls to the ground, some of it flows along the
surface to streams or lakes, some of it is used by plants, some evaporates
and returns to the atmosphere, and some sinks into the ground. The water
moves into the spaces between the particles of sand and form groundwater.
Advantages
Groundwater has many advantages over surface water for
water supply:

1. It can often be tapped where it is needed, on a stage-by-

stage basis.
2. Groundwater is relatively fresh and less polluted
compared to surface water
3. It is cheaper to develop, since, unpolluted, it requires little
treatment.
4. It is less affected by catastrophic events.
5. It is reliable in dry seasons or droughts because of the
large storage.

Groundwater is one of the most valuable natural resources. It

has become immensely important for human water supply in
urban and rural areas in developed and developing nations
alike.
Groundwater from hydrological point of view

1. Groundwater is more difficult to observe and measure

2. Groundwater flow is not constrained by fixed catchment
boundaries
3. Aquifer extent and properties often have to be inferred from
indirect measurements
4. Analysis and prediction frequently requires the use of models
Aquifer
A water bearing geologic formation or stratum capable of
transmitting water through its pores at a rate sufficient for
economic extraction by wells is called ‘aquifer’.

Formations that serve as good aquifers are:

unconsolidated gravels, sands, alluvium

lake sediments, glacial deposits
sand stones
limestones with cavities (caverns)
granites and marble with fissures and cracks,
weathered gneisses and schists
heavily shettered quartzites
vescicular basalts
slates
Terminology

Aquiclude: A geologic formation, which can absorb water but can not
transmit significant amounts is called an Aquiclude. Examples are
clays, shales, etc.

Aquitard: A geologic formation of rather impervious nature, which

transmits water at a slow rate compared to an aquifer is called an
Aquitard. Examples are clay lenses interbedded with sand.

Aquifuge: A geologic formation with no interconnected pores and

hence can neither absorb nor transmit water is called an Aquifuge.
Examples are basalts, granites, etc.
Aquifer Types

Confined (Artesian)
Unconfined (Water Table)
Semi-confined
Perched
An unconfined aquifer has no
confining layers between the zone of
saturation and the land surface.

A confined aquifer is overlain by a

confining layer or aquitard, This
layer does not allow water to pass
through or the rate of movement is
extremely slow.

A semi-confined aquifer is overlain

by a low permeability layer that can
store ground water and transmit it
slowly from one aquifer to another.

A perched aquifer is a saturated

zone within the zone of aeration that
overlies a confining layer. A perched
aquifer sits above the main water
table.
HYDROGEOLOGICAL UNITS
 Unconfined Aquifers

• GW occurring in aquifers: water fills partly an aquifer:

upper surface free to rise and decline: UNCONFINED or
water-table aquifer: unsaturated or vadose zone

• Near surface material not saturated

• Water table:
– at zero gage pressure
– separates saturated and unsaturated zones
– free surface rise of water in a well
 Confined Aquifer

• Artesian condition

• Permeable material overlain by relatively impermeable

material

• Piezometric or potentiometric surface

• Water level in the piezometer is a measure of water

pressure in the aquifer
UNDERGROUND WATER
Properties of aquifers

• Porosity
• Permeability
• Hydraulic Conductivity
• Storage coefficient
• Specific Yield
Porosity
In sediments or sedimentary rocks the porosity
depends on
• grain size,
• the shapes of the grains, and
• the degree of sorting and the degree of
cementation.

 Well-rounded coarse-grained sediments usually

have higher porosity than fine-grained sediments,
because the grains do not fit together well.
 Poorly sorted sediments usually have lower
porosity because the fine-grained fragments tend to
fill in the open space.
 In igneous and metamorphic rocks porosity is
usually low because the minerals tend to be
intergrown, leaving little free space. Highly
fractured igneous and metamorphic rocks,
however, could have high porosity
 Porosity

Porosity (f) – the percentage of rock or soil that is void of material

– The openings between particles are called pore spaces.

– Effective porosity is the porosity available for fluid flow
– Primary porosity – water in pores between sediment grains.
– Secondary porosity – water in fractures

Porosity of Mineral Grains Fractures or Joints

 Porosity and Packing
• Rank in order of highest to lowest porosity
Porosity
Permeability
Permeability is a measure of the degree to which the
pore spaces are interconnected, and the size of the
interconnections.

Low porosity usually results in low permeability, but high

porosity does not necessarily imply high permeability. It
is possible to have a highly porous rock with little or no
interconnections between pores.
Permeability
Permeability is the capability of a rock to allow the passage of fluids.
Permeability is dependent on:

 the size of pore spaces and

 to what degree the pore spaces are connected.
 Grain shape, grain packing, and cementation affect permeability.
Permeability
In general, fine grained sediments will have lower permeability than
coarse grained sediments, so in descending order of permeability:

- Gravel (High Permeability)

- Sand
- Silt
- Clay
- Shale (Low Permeability)

A thin layer of water will always be attracted to mineral grains due to

the unsatisfied ionic charge on the surface. This is called the force of
molecular attraction. If the size of interconnections is not as large as
the zone of molecular attraction, the water can't move. Thus, coarse-
grained rocks are usually more permeable than fine-grained rocks,
and sands are more permeable than clays.
Specific Yield
Specific yield (Sy) is the ratio of the volume of water that drained from a rock
(due to gravity) to the total rock volume.

• Grain size has a definite effect on specific yield. Smaller grains have larger
surface areas. Larger surface areas mean more surface tension. Fine-
grained sediment will have a lower specific yield than more coarsely-grained
sediment.
• Sorting of material affects groundwater movement. Poorly sorted material is
less porous than well-sorted material.
Specific Retention
Specific retention (Sr) is the ratio of the volume of water a rock can retain (in spite
of gravity) to the total volume of rock.

Specific yield plus specific retention equals porosity

SPECIFIC YIELD AND RETENTION

n=Sy+Sr
Sy=Vd/Vt
Sr=Vr/Vt

n=porosity
Sy=specific yield
Sr=specific retention
Vd=volume of water that drains
from a total volume of Vt.,
Vr is the volume of water retained
in a total volume of Vt
Vt=total volume of a soil or rock sample
Specific Yield Range of Different Sediments
Specific Yield and Retention
• Porosity: maximum amount of water that a rock can contain when
saturated.
• Portion of the GW: draining under influence of gravity: SPECIFIC
YIELD
• Portion of the GW: retained as a film on rock surfaces and in very
small openings: SPECIFIC RETENTION
Hydraulic Head
Hydraulic head (h) is the name given to the driving force that moves
groundwater. The hydraulic head can be though of as the standing elevation that
water will rise to in a well allowed to come to equilibrium with the subsurface.
Groundwater always moves from an area of higher hydraulic head to an area of
lower hydraulic head. Therefore, groundwater not only flows downward, it can
also flow laterally or upward. Direction of flow is dependent on local conditions.

Water Head of Unconfined Aquifer

Water Head of Confined Aquifer
Hydraulic Gradient
The change in hydraulic head (pressure) per unit distance in a given direction
(dimensionless). It is the driving force of fluid flow in a porous medium. The
hydraulic gradient (I) is approximately the slope of the water table.
Storage coefficient
The volume of water given out by a unit prism of aquifer when the
piezometric surface or the water table drops by unit depth is called the
storage coefficient of the aquifer (S).

It is a dimensionless fraction.

It is the same as the volume of water taken into storage by a unit prism of
the aquifer when the piezometric surface or water table rises by unit
depth. In the case of water table (unconfined) aquifer, the storage
coefficient is the same of specific yield (Sy).

For artesian aquifer S ranges from 0.00005 to 0.005

For water table aquifer S = Sy = 0.05–0.30.

Storage coefficient

The specific yield (unconfined aquifers) and storage coefficient

(confined aquifers), values can be determined by Estimating the
changes in the ground water storage due to fluctuation in the GWT or
piezometric surface (ps) by using following equation:

ΔGWS = Aaq × Δ(GWT or ps) × (S or Sy)

Where,
ΔGWS = change in ground water storage
Aaq = involved area of the aquifer
ΔGWT or ps = fluctuation in GWT or ps
S or Sy = storage coefficient (confined aquifer)
or specific yield (unconfined aquifer).
Problem:
In a certain alluvial basin of 100 km2, 90 Mm3 of ground water was
pumped in a year and the ground water table dropped by about 5 m
during the year. Assuming no replenishment, estimate the specific yield
of the aquifer. If the specific retention is 12%, what is the porosity of the
soil?

Solution:
Change in ground water storage,
ΔGWS = Aaq × ΔGWT × Sy
= 90 × 106 = (100 × 106) × 5 × Sy
∴ Sy = 0.18

Porosity, n = Sy + Sr
= 0.18 + 0.12
= 0.30. or 30%
 Confined flow: Darcy’s Experiment

Groundwater moves from areas of higher elevation or higher

pressure/hydraulic head (recharge areas) to areas of lower
elevation or pressure/hydraulic head.
Darcy’s Law

Q = Flow rate [L3/T]

L = Length of tube [L]
K = Hydraulic conductivity [L/T]
A = Cross sectional Area [L2]
h1= Hydraulic head at inflow [L]
h2 = Hydraulic head at output [L]
Hydraulic Conductivity
Hydraulic Conductivity (K) is the rate at which water moves
through material. Internal friction and the various paths water
takes are factors affecting hydraulic conductivity.

Hydraulic conductivity is generally expressed in meters per day

(m/day) or feet per day (ft/day).
Hydraulic Conductivity
Problem: Hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer is 150 m/day,
hydraulic gradient is 0.0002, width and thickness are 1000 m and
100 m respectively. Compute the discharge of the aquifer.

K = 150 m/day;
[(h2-h1)/L)] = 0.0002;
A = 1000 x 100 = 100000 m2

Q = 150 x 0.0002 x 100000 m3

= 3000 m3
Transmissivity
The transmissivity T (m2/sec) is a hydraulic property, which measures the
ability of the aquifer to transmit ground water throughout its entire
saturated thickness. It is defined as the product of the hydraulic conductivity
K (m/sec) and the saturated thickness B (m), in the direction normal to the
base of the aquifer. Therefore,

T = Kb
Groundwater Recharge

Groundwater recharge occurs by

infiltration of precipitation
through the surface and from
seepage from streams and lakes.

Groundwater discharge goes into

rivers, lakes and the ocean.
Recharge: during and immediately following periods of precipitation.
Discharge: continuous process as long as groundwater heads are above
the level at which discharge occurs
 GROUNDWATER VELOCITY

Time required by groundwater to move from recharge to discharge

areas
Few days (zones adjacent to discharge) to millennia (central part of
some recharge through deeper GW systems.
Groundwater Flow

• Groundwater flows from high pressure zone to low pressure zone.

• Groundwater flows from the zone of recharge to the zone of
discharge.
• Groundwater flow in sedimentary basin is usually follow the surface
topography
Movement of groundwater under stress
Cone of Depression

Cone of depression (or "influence") is the draw-down of the water table or

potentiometric surface that happens when a well is pumped.
 Functions of Groundwater Systems

• Hydraulically:
– stores water to extent of porosity.
– transmits water from recharge areas to discharge areas

• Water from recharge areas  guided by hydraulic

gradients and conductivity  to discharge areas
Safe Yield and Recharge
Safe yield is the term used to express the amount of water an aquifer or
well can yield for consumption without producing unacceptable negative
effects.

“the maximum dependable draft, which can be made continuously from a

water supply source without causing unacceptable effects during a critical
dry period with a one percent chance of occurrence.”
 Aquifer Sustainability

Aquifer shallow deep

Residence time 10’s of years 1000’s of years Supply

Recharge rate >>10 cm/year 0.5 cm/year

Domestic 1 cm/year Demand

consumption (2640 persons/km2; 10L/person/day)

Irrigation 60 cm/year

=> Deep aquifer will likely sustain domestic consumption, but not
necessarily irrigation use
Global Use of Groundwater
Global Use of Groundwater
Global Groundwater Use
Global Use of Groundwater
Irrigation

Irrigation technologies used in 1996

BGS, 2001
Aquifer Sustainability
Aquifer Sustainability
 Aquifer Sustainability

Domestic
use

As As
 Aquifer Sustainability

Domestic irrigation
use

As As

As

As

As
 Major Challenges

The major challenges in groundwater research:

• Groundwater Quantity

• Groundwater Quality
 Groundwater in Malaysia

• surface water have been exploited groundwater

systems relatively untouched‘

• During previous dry spells, groundwater provided

rescue for the people especially in Melaka, Selangor
and Sarawak.

• To date only 3 % of the supply use groundwater

(60% domestic, 35% for industrial and 5% for
agricultural use)

• Kelantan use groundwater > 70% for public water

supply
 Groundwater in Malaysia

Five main types of aquifers:

• aquifers in shallow alluvium

• aquifers in deep alluvium
• aquifers in deep hard rocks
• aquifers in peat and
• aquifers in island
 Groundwater in Malaysia

• The most productive aquifers are the alluvium (sand and

gravel), yield from 50 to 100 m3/h/well

• The most productive aquifer in hard rock is in limestone,

yield up to 50 m3/h/well. Sinkhole may occur in developed
areas

• Fractured sandstone, their metamorphic equivalent and

volcanic rock aquifers can yield up to 30m3/h/well

• The least productive type of aquifer is made up of fractured

igneous rocks, yield 20 m3/h/well.