Pumping Test Results for Determination of Aquifer Characteristics

and yield calculations for the Proposed 12.0 MLD Water Supply
Scheme in Varaha River at Etikoppaka village for Yelamanchili
Municipality, Visakhapatnam District

TECHNICAL REPORT
2020

Dr .V.Venkateswara Rao
Professor (Retd.), Geo-Engineering, A.U
QCI-NABET Accredited FAE in Geology& Hydrogeology
Visakhapatnam- 530 017
____________________________________________________________________
Commissioner, Yelamanchili Municipality, Visakhapatnam Dt.

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 DEPT. OF GEO-ENGINEERING
A.U. COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, ANDHRA UNIVERSITY
VISAKHAPATNAM - 530 003

Dr .V.Venkateswara Rao Phone: 0891-2531754

Professor (Retd.), Geo-Engineering, A.U Mob: 9393106937
QCI-NABET Accredited FAE in Geology& Hydrogeology
Plot-119, Sector-4, M.V.P Colony
Visakhapatnam- 530 017
Date: 01-07-2020

Pumping Test Results for Determination of Aquifer Characteristics

and yield calculations for the Proposed 12.0 MLD Water Supply
Scheme in Varaha River at Etikoppaka village for Yelamanchili
Municipality, Visakhapatnam District

Name of the Client : Municipal Commissioner

Yelamanchili Municipality,
Visakhapatnam Dt.

Location of Site : Varaha Riverbed

At Etikoppaka village,
Visakhapatnam Dt.
Lat:17030’05.1”; Long: 82044’11.6”

Reference : Roc .No: 1655//2020-21/MAE/YUMAE, Dt. 22-05-2020

Dates of Testing : 16-06-2020 to 18-06-2020

A. Introduction:
Earlier integrated investigations were carried include- remote sensing, geology, hydrogeology,
geophysics, drilling and soil samples analysis at the proposed site during the year 2014 and
identified potential aquifer zone in the Varaha river bed. The river cutting across the lower part
of Eastern ghats for about 6km and enter into the plains near Etikoppaka village. River width
varies between 100m and 130m in the selected reach for the gallery proposed. At the end point of
the valley where hill slope on the left bank ends, a small groin is constructed across the river for
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a length of about 145m to divert river water for irrigation in the downstream through left bank
canal. Advantage of the groin with respect to laying the gallery is to store surface and base flow
towards its upstream to the extent of its height above the river bed. Alluvial soil including sand

gets deposited to the upstream of the groin. River reach of about 1.0km upstream of the groin is
selected for the proposed gallery to draw subsurface water in the river bed. Detailed investigation
resulted in selection of 600m reach of the river bed for laying gallery as shown in fig. 1 which is
a satellite imagery acquired in April, 2014. Image shows the deposition of sand (white color in
the river bed) for a length more than a kilometer continuously from the groin towards upstream.
All the time water stagnation also noticed along the left bank of the river. In the upstream
catchment there are no surface reservoirs to store flood water. Sarpa river is one of the minor
originate from upper part of the Eastern ghats and join with Varaha about 6km upstream of the
gallery site. However, there is sufficient catchment to yield sufficient surface runoff that
recharge the proposed gallery site in addition to some surface and subsurface storage due to
groin constructed in the downstream.
Hydraulic characteristics and Aquifer yields – Hydraulic conductivity (K), Transmissivity (T),
Storage coefficient are essential for designing the water supply system to the required quantity.
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Proposed quantity of groundwater exploration in Varaha river at Etikoppaka village for
Yelamanchili municipality will be about 12.0 million litres per day(MLD).
Pumping test has been proposed at the proposed gallery site and the location is shown in fig. 2
which is the satellite acquired in April, 2020 which is down loaded from google satellite image.
Pumping test is conducted before onset of the rainy season during the second week of June, 2020
to determine the yields of the aquifer that represent summer. Location of the pump test site is

shown in fig.2. The site is same shown in fig. 1 shows sand spread is less but water stagnation is
noted for the entire summer. Pumping well is chosen at a location where sand thickness was
more than 8m while investigation conducted during 2014 and its geographical coordinate is
N17030’05.1; E82044’11.6”. It is about 400m upstream from the proposed intake well and almost
the starting point of the gallery. In this image Polavaram canal aqueduct under construction is
just 50m downstream of the groin/anicut.
Bore holes are drilled for pumping and observation wells as shown in fig. 2. Bore hole drilled
with 200m for pumping is up to 7m where gravel and pebbles bed met. Two observation wells

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are drilled up to 5m depth. Coarse sand layer is met for the entire depth of drilling. Aquifer
parameters- Transmissivity, storage coefficient and aquifer yields can be determined through
pumping test which involves abstraction of water at a controlled rate and observing drawdown
with respect to time, the water level changes in the pumped well and two observation wells.
Pumping test field procedure and water level observations are described below:
B. Description of Pumping Test: Pumping test has been conducted in the river bed that
consists of sand. Aquifer of the river bed is
unconfined and the material consists of
medium coarse and fine medium sand. As
per the bore holes data at the pumping and
observation wells sand bed thickness
variable between 6.5m to 7.0m followed by
gravel and boulders. Drilling was carried
with Rotary method, slotted casing of
200mm diameter is inserted in to the
pumping well and 125mm diameter into the
two observation wells which are at a
distance of 5m(r1) and 15m(r2) from the
pumping well. Pumping well is drilled to 7.0m and observation wells to 5m depth. Schematic
diagram of the pumping and observation wells shown Fig.3.
A centrifugal pump is used for pumping groundwater from the pumping well. Water levels in the
pumping and observation wells are measured with electronic water level indicator. Field photos
of pumping test are shown in fig. 4.

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The photo mosaic shows the close view of the test site through satellite image (A), at this place
river width is about 100 m and sand thickness is 7m. Synoptic view of the pumping test site is

shown in photo- B. during the summer also there is stagnation of water at the test site may be due
to groin located just 600m downstream. Three pumping test bore wells drilled location- (three
people at the bores drilled) is very adjacent to the regular river flow of the course. Below the
grass layer entire top soil consists of sand layer and is continued to 6m to7m depth known by the
bores drilled for pumping test. Water pools can be observed where ever sand mining has taken
place in the recent years.
Pumping well is drilled to 7.0m and cased with 200mm diameter perforated plastic pipe. The
pipe is perforated with 2mm diameter holes with 1” grid in between the rows. Two observation
wells drilled to m depth and cased with125mm diameter at a distance of 5m (Ob1) and 20m
(Ob2) from the pumping well as shown in C. Photo ‘D’ shows the pumping well after
construction. Pumping well is fitted with 5.0 HP centrifugal pump and the delivery hose pipe is
run for 50m distance away from the pumping well downstream to reduce the pumped water
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influence on the water levels around the pumping well (E). Discharge is measured (F) 3 to 4
times while the pumping test is conducted and found the discharge is same at all the pumping
time. Water levels in the pumping well and observation wells are taken with regular time interval
and the readings are shown the table- 1.

Table- 1: Varaha River, Etikoppaka village, Yelamanchili Municipality, Visakhapatnam Dt.

Geo-Coordinates of Testing site: . N17030’05.1; E82044’11.6”
S.No. Time Pumping well Observation well-1 Observation well-2
interval (5m from PW) (20m from PW)
minutes D.W.T Residual D.W.T Residual D.W.T Residual
from GL DD (sw) from GL DD(s1) from GL DD(s2)
1 0 1.06 0.00 1.04 0.00 1.20 0.00
2 5 1.26 0.20 1.06 0.02 1.21 0.01
3 10 1.41 0.35 1,04 0.03 1.215 0.015
4 15 1.50 0.44 1.07 0.03 1.215 0.015
5 25 1.55 0.49 1.075 0.035 1.215 0.015
6 30 1.60 0.54 1.08 0.04 1.215 0.015
7 40 1.64 0.58 1.09 0.05 1.22 0.02
8 50 1.67 0.61 1.095 0.055 1.22 0.02
9 60 1.69 0.63 1.10 0.06 1.22 0.02
10 90 1.74 0.68 1.11 0.07 1.225 0.025
11 120 1.77 0.71 1.12 0.08 1.225 0.025
12 150 1.79 0.73 1.12 0.08 1.225 0.025
13 180 1.79 0.73 1.12 0.08 1.225 0.025
14 240 1.79 0.73 1.12 0.08 1.225 0.025
15 300 1.79 0.73 1.12 0.08 1.225 0.025
Q= 36 m3/h, or 10 lps; r1= 5m; r2= 20m; rw= 100mm; sw= 0.73m, s1= 0.08m, s2= 0.025m
Pump Testing bores- Total depth PW= 7.0m, OB 1= 5.0m, OB 2= 5.0m;
H= 5.9m; hw= 5.17m, h1= 5.82m, h2= 5.875m

Average thickness of the sand layer is 7.0 m at the pump test site, and average static water table
is at 1.10m in all the pumping and observation wells from the river bed level at the bore wells.
Uniform rate of the pumping well is 36,000 lph or 10 Lps and attained steady state in less than
150 minutes in PW. Residual draw-down is the water level at pumping time less static water
table. Steady state is arrived in the pumping well in less than 150 minutes of pumping and
residual drawdown is 0.73m. Pumping is continued for 240 minutes and the water level is in the
steady state from 150 minutes till the end. In the observation well Ob-1, maximum residual
drawdown 0.08m and steady state is reached in 120 minutes of pumping. Similarly at OB- 2
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maximum drawdown is 0.02m after in less than 120 minutes. Reaching Steady state of PW in 60
minutes indicate the inflow into the well is equal to the outflow at that rate of pumping. Steady
state indicates that the inflow into the pumping well is equal to the pumping quantity. In order to
know the quantification of aquifer parameters and yields, the data has been analysed with
relevant hydraulic equations describe below:

C. Pumping Test Data Analysis:

The data has been analysed using Dupuit equations. These are developed with certain
assumptions and type of aquifers. The present pumping test is conducted for i) Unconfined
aquifer, ii) uniform rate of pumping and steady radial flow into the well. Dupuit’s equations
assumptions are:
a) Stabilized drawdown- constant rate of pumping and steady state reached.
b) Aquifer is homogeneous, isotropic, infinite areal extent and constant thickness.
c) Complete penetration of the pumping well for the entire thickness of aquifer and 100% well
efficiency.
d) Flow lines are radial and flow is laminar.
e) The well is infinitely small with negligible storage.
The pumping test conducted at Palakonda site fulfill the almost all the assumptions mentioned
above. The equations are:
i) In case of two observation wells kept at r 1 and r2 from the pumping well
Q = πK(h22 – h12)/2.303 log10 (r2/r1) ( 1.1)
ii) Q = 2πKH(H - hw)/2.303 log10 (R/rw) or Q = 2.72T(H - hw)/ log10 (R/rw)
where T=KH; considering radius of influence ‘R’ (1.2)
Where
Q- Rate of flow
K- Permeability
T- Transmissivity
H- Thickness of aquifer
R- Radius of influence
r1- Distance of observation well 1 (OB-1)from PW
r2- Distance of observation well 2 (OB-2)from PW
h1- Thickness of water column at OB- 1
h2- Thickness of water column at OB- 2

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 hw- Thickness of water column at PW
sw, s1, s2 are residual drawdowns at pumping, OB-1 and OB2 respectively
Pumping test field data has been plotted on a graph- distance of observation wells vs residual
drawdown is shown in fig. 5.

Physical measurements at the pumping test site and drawdown parameters from the graph are
listed in the above graph (fig. 5). To obtain the radius of influence – R, drawdown curve is drawn
on enhanced scale to get the clarity of the interception point is shown in fig. 6. The curve touches

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the zero drawdown at 25m distance from the Pumping well. Hence R can be taken as 25m. For
the purpose of calculation of permeability, storage coefficient and yield of the aquifer, all the
required parameters are obtained from the field measurements as well analysis of pumping test
data. While considering the thickness of the saturated aquifer, H is considered as 5.9m

D. Determination of Aquifer Parameters.

A 20cm diameter well penetrates 5.9m below static water level (GWT). After a long period of
pumping at the rate of 10 lps, the residual drawdown in the observation wells at 5m and 20m
from the pumped well are 0.08m and 0.025m, respectively. Radius of influence R is taken as
25m as per the drawdown curve (fig. 6).
D, i) Permeability –K as per the Dupuit’s equation (1.1)
Q = πK(h22 – h12)/2.303 log10 (r2/r1)
Q= 0.01 m3/sec.; h2 = H-s2 = 5.9 – 0.025 = 5.875 m; h1 = H – s1 = 5.9 – 0.08 = 5.82 m;
r1 = 5m; r2 = 20m
0.001 m3/sec = πK(5.8752 – 5.822)/2.303 log10 (20/5)
K = 6.84X10-3 m/s or 591m/day
D. ii) Transmissivity T = KH = 6.84X10-3 m/s X 5.9 m = 4.04 x 10-2 m2/sec or 3456 m2/day
Yield of the aquifer is arrived considering the coefficient of permeability- K as 591 m/day and
thickness (b) of aquifer as 5.9m.
D. iii) Specific Capacity of a well: A well of 200mm diameter and 7.0m depth with saturated
thickness of 5.9m unconfined aquifer for which the specific capacity is given below.
Specific capacity can be calculated using the equation
Sc = Q/dd; Q is discharge – 0.01m3/sec, and dd is 0.73m
Sc = 0,01m3/sec/0.73m = 0.0137 m3/sec/ one meter drawdown
Sc = 822 lpm/ one meter drawdown
Hence, Specific capacity of the well is 822 lpm/ one meter drawdown
Yield of the well in a day i.e 20 hours of pumping in a day will be 0.99 Million Litres per
day (MLD).

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D. iv) Well yields as per Dupuit’s equation:
A well of 200mm diameter and 7.0m depth with saturated thickness of 5.9m unconfined aquifer..
Applying in the Dupuit’s equation
Q = 2.72T(H - hw)/ log10 (R/rw)
where T=Kb , K- permeability m/day= 591 m/day; b= 5.90m; R= 25m, rw = 0.1m;
H-hw= sw= 0.73m
Q = 2.72x((591/24)x5.9))x0.73/2.60 = 125 m3/h per meter drawdown
Q is 125m3/h for one meter drawdown, i.e., 2.2 mld @ 20 hours/per day of pumping.
Hence, well yield is 2080 lpm per one meter drawdown with radius of influence of 25m.
D. v) Yield calculation through Infiltration Gallery pipe &Infiltration wells:
The calculation is similar to above, but the increasing diameter to 300mm
Applying in the Dupuit’s equation
Q = 2.72T(H - hw)/ log10 (R/rw)
where T=Kb , K- permeability m/day= 591 m/day; b= 5.9m; R= 25m, rw = 0.3m;
H-hw= sw=0.73m
Q1 = 2.72x((591/24)x5.9) x0.73)/1.92 = 150 m3/h per meter drawdown
Q1 is 150m3/h for one meter drawdown, i.e., 3.0 mld @ 20 hours/per day of pumping.
Comparing the yields between the 100mm radius and 300mm radius is given below:
Q = 125 m3/h with 100mm radius; Q1 = 150 m3/h with 300mm radius
Percentage of Increase of yield = (Q1 – Q)/ Q = (150 – 125)/125x100 = 20%
The increase of yield is by 20% by increasing the diameter of the pumping well of 200m
diameter to 600mm diameter gallery pipe.

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F. Conclusions & Recommendations:
 Pumping test was conducted in summer and the aquifer yields can be considered as lean
base flows of the river and the quantity can be considered as lean period yields.
 Pumping test is conducted in Varaha river bed that consists of coarse sand and its average
thickness is considered as 7.0m. Aquifer is unconfined, static water table is at 1.10m and
water saturated aquifer thickness is 5.9m. Water levels are measured with electronic
indicator in the pumping well and two observation wells.
 Steady state is reached within 150 minutes after pumping commenced. Aquifer is
considered as unconfined with steady state of pumping to determine the aquifer
parameters. Dupuit’s equations are used to arrive K, T and Sc.
 Hydraulic conductivity/ permeability of the aquifer is K = 6.84X10-3 m/s or 591m/day,
transmissivity is T = KH = 6.84X10-3 m/s X 5.9 m = 4.04 x 10-2 m2/sec or 3456
m2/day, and Specific capacity of the well Sc=822 lpm per one meter drawdown.
 High permeability clearly indicates the groundwater flow through coarse sand. Since it is
depositional sand porosity also will be high may be in the range of 30% to 35%.
 Well yields recorded as per Dupuit’s equation is 125 m3/h for one meter drawdown and
specific capacity is 822 lpm for one meter drawdown represents high yields of the
aquifer. Considering the low well yield through specific capacity as 822 lpm, for which
one day (20 hours) yield of the well at present ( peak summer) saturation thickness
(5.9m) of the aquifer will be about 2.2 mld, and may yield more during other seasons.
 Comparing the yields of the bore well of 200mm diameter and infiltration gallery pipe of
600mm diameter from which it shows the yields through gallery is 20% more than the
bore well. Each Infiltration well yield is calculated as 0.3 mld.
 On the average the aquifer extends more 25km upstream without withdrawals of
groundwater projects in between. Effective width i.e sand layer width of the aquifer is
about 100m within this reach.
 Establishing Bore wells in the river course is difficult considering the approach to the
establishments and flood flows in the river course. Hence, infiltration galleries with
infiltration wells in between connecting the gallery length is proposed for tapping river
base flow at this site through earlier integrated surveys conducted.

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  Gallery length of 475m with 5 nos. infiltration wells and pumping well as suggested
earlier is sufficient to the required yields of 12.0 MLD at this site

Recommendations/ Suggestions:
 Yields of the bore wells with 200mm diameter of are low when compared to infiltration
gallery pipe diameter of 600mm and the yields are 20% more. Aquifer thickness is less
than 7m and also likely to reduce further due to heavy sand mining activity in the river
course. Gallery proposed at 6m depth with infiltration wells can only yield good filtered
and high quantity of groundwater.
 Infiltration galleries of about 500m length with 600mm diameter RCC pipe with
standard slots and filter media around it is proposed to get the required quantity 12.0 mld
groundwater for Yelamanchili Municipality.
 Further sand mining in the proposed gallery site is to be suspended forth with for laying
the gallery at 6m depth. Sustainability and annual renewability becomes a question if the
sand mining is continued. Restriction should be from the Anicut/ groin in the downstream
to 1.5km upstream along the river course.
 After thorough integrated investigation in the Varaha river from hilly region to NH- 16,
and also examining the nearby rivers Sarada as well Thandava, the present identified site
is only the alternate to yield 12 mld to Yelamanchili municipality.
 There is back up aquifer up to another 5 km upstream in the valley portion but its width is
less than 100m. Possibility of raising the level of present anicut/ groin by another 0.5m to
1.0m may be examined to store extra water during floods for increasing the water
potentiality for the proposed scheme. Intrusion/ stagnation of back waters by another 3 or
4km upstream may not submerge any agricultural land as the entire river course flanked
by steep hills on either side.

Dr .V.Venkateswara Rao
Professor (Retd.), Geo-Engineering, A.U
QCI-NABET Accredited FAE in Geology& Hydrogeology
Visakhapatnam- 530 017

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