Lecture V Ground Water

Introduction
Many communities obtain the water they need from rivers, lakes, or reservoirs, sometimes
using aqueducts or canals to bring water from distant surface sources. Another source of water
lies directly beneath most towns. This resource is ground water, the water that lies beneath the
ground surface, filling the pore space between grains in bodies of sediment and clastic
sedimentary rock, and filling cracks and crevices in all types of rock.
Ground water is a major economic resource. Many towns and farms pump great quantities of
ground water from drilled wells. Even cities next to large rivers may pump their water from the
ground because ground water is commonly less contaminated and more economical to use than
surface water.
Some of the water that precipitates from the atmosphere as rain and snow infiltrates the
geosphere and becomes ground water. How much precipitation soaks into the ground is
influenced by climate, land slope, soil and rock type, and vegetation. In general, approximately
15% of the total precipitation ends up as ground water, but that varies locally and regionally
from 1% to 20%.

Porosity And Permeability

Porosity, the percentage of rock or sediment that consists of voids or openings, is a
measurement of a rock’s ability to hold water. Most rocks can hold some water. Some
sedimentary rocks, such as sandstone, conglomerate, and many limestones, tend to have a high
porosity and therefore can hold a considerable amount of water. A deposit of loose sand may
have a porosity of 30% to 50%, but this may be reduced to 10% to20% by compaction and
cementation as the sand lithifies (table 5.1). A sandstone in which pores are nearly filled with
cement and fine-grained matrix material may have a porosity of 5% or less.
Crystalline rocks, such as granite, schist, and some limestones, do not have pores but may
hold some water in joints and other openings. Although most rocks can hold some water, they
vary a great deal in their ability to allow water to pass through them.
Permeability refers to the capacity of a rock to transmit a fluid such as water or petroleum
through pores and fractures. In other words, permeability measures the relative ease of water
flow and indicates the degree to which openings in a rock interconnect.
The distinction between porosity and permeability is important. A rock that holds much water
is called porous; a rock that allows water to flow easily through it is described as permeable.
Most sandstones and conglomerates are both porous and permeable. An impermeable rock is one
that does not allow water to flow through it easily. Unjointed granite and schist are impermeable.
Shale can have substantial porosity, but it has low permeability because its pores are too small to
permit easy passage of water.

The Water Table

Responding to the pull of gravity, water percolates down into the ground through the soil and
through cracks and pores in the rock. The rate of groundwater flow tends to decrease with depth
because sedimentary rock pores tend to be closed by increasing amounts of cement and the
weight of the overlying rock. Moreover, sedimentary rock overlies igneous and metamorphic
crystalline basement rock, which usually has very low porosity.
The subsurface zone in which all rock openings are filled with water is called the saturated
zone. If a well were drilled downward into this zone, ground water would fill the lower part of
the well. The water level inside the well marks the upper surface of the saturated zone; this
surface is the water table.

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Lecture V Ground Water

Most rivers and lakes intersect the saturated zone. Rivers and lakes occupy low places on the
land surface, and ground water flows out of the saturated zone into these surface depressions.
The water level at the surface of most lakes and rivers coincides with the water table.
Ground water also flows into mines and quarries cut below the water table. Above the water
table is a zone where not all the rock openings are filled with water and is referred to as the
unsaturated zone. Within the unsaturated zone, surface tension causes water to be held above the
water table. The capillary fringe is a transition zone with higher moisture content at the base of
the unsaturated zone just above the water table. The capillary fringe is generally less than a meter
thick but may be much thicker in fine-grained sediments and thinner in coarse-grained sediments
such as sand and gravel. Plant roots generally obtain their water from the belt of soil moisture
near the top of the unsaturated zone, where fine grained clay minerals hold water and make it
available for plant growth. Most plants drown if their roots are covered by water in the
saturated zone; plants need both water and air in soil pores to survive.

Table 5-1 . Porosity and Permeability of Sediments and Rocks

Sediment )%( Porosity )%( Permeability
Gravel 25 to 40 Excellent
Sand (clean) 30 to 50 Good to excellent
Silt 35 to 50 Moderate
Clay 35 to 80 Poor
Glacial 10 to 20 Poor to moderate
Rock
Conglomerate 10 to 30 Moderate to excellent
Sandstone
Well-sorted, little 20 to 30 Good to very good
cement 10 to 20 Moderate to good
Average 0 to 10 Poor to moderate
Poorly sorted, well- 0 to 30 Very poor to poor
cemented 0 to 20 Poor to good
Shale up to 50 Excellent
Limestone, dolomite
Cavernous limestone 0 to 5 Very poor
Crystalline rock 5 to 10 Poor
Unfractured 0 to 50 Poor to excellent
Fractured
Volcanic rocks

Darcy’s Law and Fluid Potential

In 1856, Henry Darcy, a French engineer, found that the velocity at which water moves
depends on the hydraulic head of the water and on the permeability of the material that the water
is moving through.
The hydraulic head of a drop of water is equal to the elevation of the drop plus the water
pressure on the drop:
Hydraulic head = elevation + pressure
In figure 1A, the points A and B are both on the water table, so the pressure at both points is
zero (there is no water above points A and B to create pressure). Point A is at a higher elevation
than B, so A has a higher hydraulic head than B. The difference in elevation is equal to the
difference in head, which is labeled h. Water will move from point A to point B (as shown by the
dark blue arrow), because water moves from a region of high hydraulic head to a region of low
head. The distance the water moves from A to B is labeled L. The hydraulic gradient is the
difference in head between two points divided by the distance between the two points:

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Lecture V Ground Water

Hydraulic gradient = difference in head /distance

= Δh / L
In figure 1B, the two points have equal elevation, but the pressure on point C is higher than
on point D (there is more water to create pressure above point C than point D). The head is
higher at point C than at point D, so the water moves from C to D. In figure 1C, point F has a
lower elevation than point G, but F also has a higher pressure than G. The difference in pressure
is greater than the difference in elevation, so F has a higher head than G, and water moves from
F to G.

Figure 5. 1 Ground water moves in response to hydraulic head (elevation plus pressure). Water movement shown by
dark blue arrows. (A) Points A and B have the same pressure, but A has a higher elevation; therefore, water moves
from A to B. (B) Point C has a higher pressure (arrow marked P) than D; therefore, water moves from C to D at the
same elevation. (C) Pressure also moves water upward from F to G.

A perched water table is the top of a body of ground water separated from the main water
table beneath it by a zone that is not saturated (figure 5.2). It may form as ground water collects
above a lens of less permeable shale within a more permeable rock, such as sandstone. If the
perched water table intersects the land surface, a line of springs can form along the upper contact
of the shale lens. The water perched above a shale lens can provide a limited water supply to a
well; it is an unreliable long-term supply.

Figure 5.2 Perched water tables above lenses of less permeable shale within a large body of sandstone. Downward
percolation of water is impeded by the less permeable shale.

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Lecture V Ground Water

The Movement Of Ground Water

Compared to the rapid flow of water in surface streams, most ground water moves relatively
slowly underground water may move downward, horizontally, or upward in response to
differences in head but that it always moves in the direction of the downward slope of the water
table above it. One of the first goals of groundwater geologists, particularly in groundwater
contamination investigations, is to find the slope of the local water table in order to determine the
direction (and velocity) of groundwater movement.
The velocity of groundwater flow is controlled by both the permeability of the sediment or
rock and the hydraulic gradient. Darcy’s Law states that the velocity equals the permeability
multiplied by the hydraulic gradient. This gives the Darcian velocity (or the velocity of water
flowing through an open pipe). To determine the actual velocity of ground water, since ground
water only flows through the openings in sediment or rock, the Darcian velocity must be divided
by the porosity.
Groundwater velocity = permeability/porosity *hydraulic gradient
V = K /n * Δh/L
(Darcy called K the hydraulic conductivity; it is a measure of permeability and is specific to a
particular aquifer. The porosity is represented by n in the equation.)
Ground water moves from regions of high head to regions of low head. The circulation of
ground water in the saturated zone is not confined to a shallow layer beneath the water table.
Ground water may move hundreds of feet vertically downward before rising again to discharge
as a spring or seep into the beds of rivers and lakes at the surface due to the combined effects of
gravity and the slope of the water table. The slope of the water table strongly influences
groundwater velocity. The steeper the slope of the water table, the faster ground water moves.
Water-table slope is controlled largely by topography the water table roughly parallels the land
surface. Even in highly permeable rock, ground water will not move if the water table is flat.
How fast ground water flows also depends on the permeability of the rock or other materials
through which it passes. If rock pores are small and poorly connected, water moves slowly.
When openings are large and well connected, the flow of water is more rapid. One way of
measuring groundwater velocity is to introduce a tracer, such as a dye, into the water and then
watch for the color to appear in a well or spring some distance away. Nearly impermeable rocks
may allow water to move only a few centimeters per year, but highly permeable materials, such
as unconsolidated gravel or cavernous limestone, may permit flow rates of hundreds or even
thousands of meters per day.

Figure 5.3 A well must be installed in an aquifer to obtain water. The saturated part of the highly permeable
sandstone is an aquifer, but the less permeable shale is not. Although the shale is saturated, it will not readily
transmit water.

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Lecture V Ground Water

Aquifers
An aquifer is a body of saturated rock or sediment through which water can move easily.
Aquifers are both highly permeable and saturated with water. A well must be drilled into an
aquifer to reach an adequate supply of water. Good aquifers include sandstone, conglomerate,
well-jointed limestone, bodies of sand and gravel, and some fragmental or fractured volcanic
rocks such as columnar basalt (table 5.1). These favorable geologic materials are sought in
“prospecting” for ground water or looking for good sites to drill water wells.
Wells drilled in shale beds are not usually very successful because shale, although sometimes
quite porous, is relatively impermeable. Wet mud may have a porosity of 80% to 90% and, even
when compacted to form shale, may still have a high porosity of 30%. Yet the extremely small
size of the pores, together with the electrostatic attraction that clay minerals have for water
molecules, prevents water from moving readily through the shale into a well. Because they are
not very porous, crystalline rocks such as granite, gabbro, gneiss, schist, and some types of
limestone are not good aquifers. The porosity of such rocks may be 1% or less. (Shale and
crystalline rocks are sometimes called aquitards because they retard the flow of ground water.)
Crystalline rocks that are highly fractured, however, may be porous and permeable enough to
provide a fairly dependable water supply to wells (figure 5.4).

Wells
A well is a deep hole, generally cylindrical, that is dug or drilled into the ground to penetrate
an aquifer within the saturated zone (see figure 5.4). Usually water that flows into the well from
the saturated rock must be lifted or pumped to the surface. During dry seasons, the water table
falls as water flows out of the saturated zone into springs and rivers. Wells not deep enough to
intersect the lowered water table go dry, but the rise of the water table during the next rainy
season normally returns water to the dry wells. The addition of new water to the saturated zone is
called recharge. When water is pumped from a well, the water table is typically drawn down
around the well into a depression shaped like an inverted cone known as a cone of depression.
This local lowering of the water table, called drawdown, tends to change the direction of
groundwater flow by changing the slope of the water table. In lightly used wells that are not
pumped, drawdown does not occur and a cone of depression does not form. In unconfined
aquifers, water rises in shallow wells to the level of the water table. In confined aquifers, the
water is under pressure and rises in wells to a level above the top of the aquifer.

Figure 5.4 Wells can obtain some water from fractures in crystalline rock. Wells must intersect fractures to obtain
water.

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Lecture V Ground Water

Figure 5.5 An unconfined aquifer is exposed to the surface and is only partly filled with water; water in a shallow
well will rise to the level of the water table. A confined aquifer is separated from the surface by a confining bed and
is completely filled with water under pressure; water in wells rises above the aquifer. Flow lines show direction of
groundwater flow. Days, years, decades, centuries, and millennia refer to the time required for ground water to flow
from the recharge area to the discharge area. Water enters aquifers in recharge areas and flows out of aquifers in
discharge areas.

Springs And Streams

A spring is a place where water flows naturally from rock onto 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.
Climate determines the relationship between stream flow and the water table. In rainy regions,
most streams are gaining streams; that is, they receive water from the saturated zone.

Figure 5.6 Wells can obtain some water from fractures in crystalline rock. Wells must intersect fractures to obtain
water.

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Lecture V Ground Water

Groundwater Pollution
Sources of groundwater pollution. Because it is mixed and circulated over a large area,
groundwater is relatively clean, but the increased population and industrialization of the
twentieth century has led to serious groundwater contamination problems in many parts of the
country. Farming contaminants include pesticides, herbicides , animal waste, and manure. A
variety of contaminants from city and county dumps such as heavy metals (mercury, lead,
chromium, copper, cadmium, arsenic) and other industrial compounds enter the groundwater
from rainwater that has percolated through the landfill. Wastes from septic tanks, sewage plants,
and slaughterhouses may also contribute dangerous bacteria and parasites to the groundwater.
Industries frequently use radioactive compounds, cyanide, polychlorinated biphenyls, and a
degreaser called trichloroethylene that are being found in increasingly greater amounts in
groundwater . Gasoline and other fuel derivatives such as xylene and benzene are carcinogens
that frequently enter the groundwater from leaking storage tanks. Old mining sites contribute
mercury, cyanide, and heavy metals to the groundwater; smoke from old smelters contaminated
soil s for hundreds of square kilometers with metals such as lead, arsenic , and cadmium, which
also migrated into the groundwater.

Contamination identification and cleanup

Most compounds form a contamination plume in the groundwater that grows wider as it
spreads outward from the point of contamination, called the point source. If the plume is flowing
through sand, a portion of the contaminants are naturally filtered from the groundwater. Even
though the plume widens down gradient, the concentration of the contaminant s tends to decrease
through filtering, dilution, or the natural breakdown of substances over time and distance called
natural attenuation. A contamination plume is identified by drilling monitoring wells and
routinely sampling the water for contaminants . A series of monitoring wells studied over time
reveals details about the direction of groundwater flow and the level of contamination . Once the
point source is identified, cleanup work includes removing contaminated material and soil at the
surface and treating the groundwater.
Groundwater is typically pumped out of the ground through a system of wells, cleansed, and
pumped back into the aquifer. This procedure can last for thirty years or longer.

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Lecture V Ground Water

Figure 5.7 Rock type and distance control possible sewage contamination of neighboring wells. (A) As little as 30
meters of movement can effectively filter human sewage in sandstone and some other rocks and sediments. (B) If
the rock has large open fractures, contamination can occur many hundreds of meters away.

Figure 5.8 Groundwater pollution problems caused or aggravated by pumping wells. (A) Water table steepens near a
landfill, increasing the velocity of groundwater flow and drawing contaminants into a well. (B) Water-table slope is
reversed by pumping, changing direction of the groundwater flow and contaminating the well. (C) Well near a coast
(before pumping). Fresh water floats on saltwater. (D) Well in C begins pumping, thinning the freshwater lens and
drawing saltwater into the well.

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