CHAPTER 6: SUBSURFACE WATER

● Subsurface water is relatively free of pollution and is especially useful for

domestic use in small towns and isolated farms.
● Groundwater temperatures are usually relatively low, and large quantities are
used for cooling in warm regions.
Occurrence of Subsurface Water
● The two major subsurface zones are divided by an irregular surface called water
table. The water table is the locus of points (in unconfined material) where
hydrostatic pressure equals atmospheric pressure.
● Above the water table, in the Vadose Zone, soil pores may contain either air or
water; hence it is sometimes called Zone of Aeration.
● In the Phreatic Zone, below the water table, interstices are filled with water;
sometimes this is called the Zone of Saturation.
● Confined groundwater is usually under pressure because of the weight of the
overburden and the hydrostatic head.
● Piezometric level, the artesian equivalent of the water table.
Moisture in the Vadose Zone
1. Soil Water – in the region penetrated by roots of vegetation, ranging to 10m
below the soil surface, which fluctuates in amount as vegetation removes
moisture between rains.
2. Capillary Fringe – Above the water table, moisture is raised by capillarity into
the capillary fringe, which may have a vertical extent of several centimeters to
about a meter depending on the pore sizes of the material.
3. Intermediate –Intermediate region exists where moisture levels remain constant
at the field capacity of the soil and rock of the region.
Soil-Water Relationships
● Soil moisture may be present as gravity water in transit in the larger pore
spaces
● Capillary water in the smaller pores
● Hygroscopic moisture adhering in a thin film to soil grains
● Water vapor
Capillary potential – is defined as the work required to move a unit mass of water from
the reference plane to any point in the soil column. Thus, the capillary potential is the
potential energy per unit of mass of water.
Equilibrium Points
• Field capacity – is defined as the moisture content of soil after gravity drainage
is complete.
• Wilting point – represents the soil-moisture level when plants cannot extract
water from soil.
• Available moisture - The difference between the moisture content at field
capacity and at wilting point. It represents the useful storage capacity of the soil
and the maximum water available to plants.
Tensiometer – consists of a porous ceramic cup which is inserted in the soil, filled with
water, and connected to a manometer. A tensiometer can indicate soil-moisture tension
from saturation to a tension of about 100 kPa.
Measurement of Soil Moisture
● Resistivity Method
● Neutron-Scattering Method
● Aerial observation of natural gamma radiation
● Satellite observations
Movement of Soil-Moisture
Infiltration – is the movement of water through the soil surface into the soil as
distinguished from percolation, the movement of water through the soil.
Aquifers
● Aquifer – a geologic formation which contains water and transmits it from one
point to another in quantities sufficient to permit economic development.
● Aquiclude – is a formation which contains water but cannot transmit it rapidly
enough to furnish a significant supply to a well or spring.
● Aquifuge – has no interconnected openings and cannot hold or transmit water.
Porosity – The ratio of the pore volume to the total volume of the formation.
Original porosity - is that which existed at the time the material was formed.
Secondary porosity - results from fractures and solution channels.
Determination of Permeability
Laboratory measurements of permeability are made with permeameters
Sources of Groundwater
• Almost all groundwater is meteoric water derived from precipitation.
• Connate water – was present in the rock at its formation and is frequently highly
saline.
• Juvenile water – formed chemically within the earth and brought to the surface
in intrusive rocks, occurs in small quantities.
Direct percolation – is most effective in recharging groundwater where the soil is
highly permeable or the water table is close to the surface.
Safe Yield – is defined by Meinzer as “the rate at which water can be withdrawn for
human use without depleting the supply to such as extent that withdrawal at this rate is
no longer economically feasible”.
Flow rates in the groundwater are normally extremely slow, and considerable time
may be involved in groundwater phenomena.