CHAPTER 8:

GROUNDWATER
 INTRODUCTION
GROUNDWATER The water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock.

It is stored in and moves slowly through geologic formations of soil, sand and rocks called aquifers.
 Aquifers are typically
made up of gravel, sand,
sandstone or fractured
rock, like limestone.

Groundwater supplies
are replenished, or
recharged, by rain and
snowmelt that seeps
down into the cracks.
FORMS OF SUBSURFACE WATER
Water in the soil mantle is called subsurface water and is considered in two
zones.
1. Saturated zone
2. Aeration zone
SATURATED FORMATION
All earth materials, from soils to rocks have pore spaces.
The saturated formations are classified into four categories:
1. Aquifer
2. Aquitard
3. Aquiclude
4. Aquifuge
 SATURATED FORMATION
AQUIFER AQUITARD

It is a formation through which only seepage

An aquifer is a saturated formation of earth
is possible and thus yield is insignificant
material which not only stores water but
compared to an aquifer. It is partly
yields it in sufficient quantity.
permeable.

AQUICLUDE AQUIFUGE

It is a geological formation which is

It is a geological formation which either
essentially impermeable to the flow of water.
porous or non porous nor permeable. There
It may considered as closed to water
are no interconnected openings and hence
movement even though it may contain large
it cannot transmit water.
amount water due to its high porosity.
WATER TABLE
WELLS
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving or drilling to
access liquid resources, usually water.
AQUIFER PROPERTIES

1.Porosity
2.Specific Yield
3.Specific Retention
4.Coefficient of permeability
5.Transmissibility
6.Specific storage
7.Storage Coefficient
 AQUIFER PROPERTIES
POROSITY

The amount of pore, or open space between

soil particles.

SPECIFIC YIELD

The ratio of the volume of water that drains

from groundwater storage due to the
attraction of gravity to the volume of the
saturated aquifer.
AQUIFER PROPERTIES

SPECIFIC RETENTION

The ratio of the volume of water that cannot

be drained out to the volume of the
saturated aquifer.

COEFFICIENT OF PERMEABILITY

It is the ease with which water can flow in a

soil mass or rock.
AQUIFER PROPERTIES

TRANSMISSIBILITY

It is the discharge rate at which water is

transmitted through a unit width of an
aquifer under a unit hydraulic gradient.

SPECIFIC STORAGE

It is the amount of water per unit volume of a

saturated formation that is stored or
expelled from storage.
AQUIFER PROPERTIES
STORAGE COEFFICIENT

It is the volume of water released from

storage , or taken into storage, per unit of
aquifer storage area per unit change in
head.