Subject Code: WER300S

Subject Name: Engineering Hydrology

Chapter 5 - Groundwater

Dr. Yaw O-Asante Mr. R M Mambwe

Civil Engineering Dept., Civil Engineering Dept.,
CPUT, Bellville Campus. CPUT, Bellville Campus.
ABC Building ABC Building
Room 1.34 Room 1.06
Overview
Introduction
 Definition of Groundwater hydrology and groundwater
 Importance of groundwater
 Sources of groundwater
 Occurrence of groundwater
 Aquifer types

Groundwater storage
 Porosity
 Specific retention
 Specific yield

Groundwater movement
 Permeability (hydraulic conductivity)
 Porosity
 Specific yield
 Well hydraulics
Groundwater Hydrology
Groundwater hydrology deals with the occurrence,
storage, movement and quality of water
beneath the earth’s surface (subsurface water).
 Groundwater is defined as that water that is
resident / held by strata beneath the earth’s surface and will
flow to boreholes, wells, springs and other abstraction points.
 In strict terms the term refers to water found in the
saturated zone
 Sandstone

Water transmitted
between grains

Water transmitted in
bedding planes, cracks
and fissures
Chalk or
limestone
Definition
The importance of groundwater
Primary source of base flow for many (effluent)
rivers and streams.
Source of drinking water supply.
Superior quality to surface water & cheaper to
develop
Provides attenuation of flood peaks. The
management of storm water can be accomplished by
onsite infiltration – encouraging groundwater
recharge.
Informs engineers on choice of foundations and
other structural considerations
Sources of groundwater

The main source of groundwater is precipitation (called

meteoric) which may;

Infiltrate the soil surface and percolate to sat. zone

Enter surface streams and percolate from these (influent)

channels to recharge groundwater

Other sources include artificial infiltration e.g. irrigation and

onsite infiltration
Other sources include water from deep in the earth that is
carried upward in intrusive rocks and water trapped in
sedimentary rocks during their formation called connate
water. The quantities of these waters are very small,
mineralized and therefore not suitable for use.
Problems associated with groundwater abstraction
(1) Depletion of Supply: GW taken out of the ground at a faster
rate than it enters the ground in recharge areas.
(2) Land Subsidence: When pore water is removed, the pores
collapse. Soil compacts, ground surface sinks
(3) Saltwater Infiltration: In coastal areas, fresh groundwater
lies over salty groundwater. When you pump out the fresh
water too fast, the salt water may rise up into the well.
(4) Contamination: Pollutants may seep from septic tanks or
land fills down into the groundwater system.
Occurrence and distribution of subsurface water

Saturated formations below the earth’s surface act as media

for the transmission of groundwater and as reservoirs for the
storage of water.

Ground water occurs in the subsurface in two (2) broad

zones; (a) the unsaturated zone - also called the vadose
zone and (b) the saturated zone or phreatic zone or
groundwater zone
Schematic diagram of subsurface water
occurrence
Aquifers and their properties
Are unconsolidated geologic formations (i.e. rocks and soils)
that contain and are able to transmit significant quantities of
water through their pores.
Typical aquifers are sand, gravel, sandstone, limestone,
fractured igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Formations that are porous but impermeable, transmitting
insignificant quantities of water are called aquicludes.
Typical aquicludes include clay, mudstone, shale, evaporate
and unfractured igneous and metamorphic rocks.
• Also - artesian aquifer; overlain by aquiclude
• Water under pressure, so artesian conditions
• Potentiometric surface plays role of water table
• No overlying aquitard between water table and
land surface
• Water table = top of aquifer
The water table is often described as a subdued replica
of the surface topography.
Unconfined aquifers are generally close to the surface,
with continuous layers of materials of high intrinsic
permeability extending from the land surface to the base
of the aquifer.
 A special case of an unconfined aquifer is the perched
aquifer.
A perched aquifer occurs when water moving down
through the unsaturated zone is intercepted by a
localised impermeable formation.
In this case, the impermeable layer is not continuous
over a large area and is situated at some height above the
main groundwater body.
Clay lenses in sedimentary deposits often have shallow
perched water bodies overlying them.
• Saturated zone within zone of aeration, i.e. above main water
table underlain by aquiclude
• Source of intermittent springs
 Material Porosity
Sand & Gravel (well sorted) 25-50%
Sand & Gravel (poorly sorted) 20-35%
Chalk 5-30%
Granite 5-10%
Clay 33-60%

Clays are highly porous but transmit water poorly

because the particle sizes and pore spaces
between them are very small
The volume of water that is retained by surface tension forces
is known as specific retention.

Specific yield is that volume of water that can drain freely

from an aquifer, under the influence of gravity.

It is normally expressed as a percentage of the total volume of

aquifer.

The important aquifers e.g. deposits of sand and gravel have

high specific yield.
 Specific
Specific Yield
Yield and
and Retention
Retention
capillary water

Porosit
Specific y
Void ratio - % by

retentio adsorbed water

n
Specifi
c yield Water forms a thin film
volume

around a particle. Thus

specific yield is always
less than porosity.

clay silt san grave

d l
Grain size
mm
Principles of groundwater flow
Hydraulic head
The driving force for groundwater movement is
defined by Bernoulli’s equation:
h = z + p/ρg + v2/2g
Where h = hydraulic head
z = elevation above datum
p = fluid pressure with constant density ρ
g = acceleration due to gravity
v = fluid velocity (small – ignored)
p/ρg = h is pressure head (fluid pressure)
 Depth to water

Pressure head hp
Measuring
point in flow
field

Elevation head
Total head h z
 Darcy’s law
Current understanding of groundwater movement is based
on the findings made by Darcy in the 1850’s
In 1856, Darcy carried out experiments to examine the factors
governing flow of water in a saturated, homogeneous
medium (sand).
Darcy’s apparatus:
- a steady flow of water forced through at a discharge rate of Q
Findings
v = -K i
where i is the hydraulic gradient = ∆h/∆L or
( h1-h2)/L. Natural hydraulic gradients rarely exceed 0.2 –
0.4%
K is the hydraulic conductivity (L/T) & is a
function of the size & shape of the voids between the
particles making up the porous media as well as the viscosity
of the water.
The negative sign indicates that the direction of flow is in the
direction of decreasing head.
The results of Darcy’s experiments defined the basic
empirical principles of groundwater flow on which current
assessments of groundwater flow rates are premised.
Using the principle of continuity, v = -K i
v = -K (∆h/∆L) or v =-K ( h1-h2/L)
Q = - K A (h1 - h2 /L) or Q = -K A ∆h/∆L
The equations may readily be applied to steady
state one dimensional groundwater flows
Worked example
Given a vertical sand column of length L = 1,20
m and cross-sectional area A = 200 cm2. The
difference between water levels at the inflow and
the outflow reservoirs is h = 120 cm. The
hydraulic conductivity K = 20 m/day.
What is the total discharge Q? (3)
Q = K A (h1 - h2 /L)
Q = [20 x100x 200 x (120/120)]/(24x60x60)
Q= 2000 x 200/ 86400
Q = 4.63cm3/sec more appropriately 4.63x10-6 m3/s
Problem
Q : Given the unconfined aquifer system below, calculate the
flow rate (Q) using Darcy’s law,
The average width is 0.7km
The length is 2.5km
The average thickness is 200m
Hydraulic conductivity is 2m/day
The elevation at point 1 is 350m
The elevation at point 2 is 300m. [5]
SOLUTION:
Q = K A ∆h/∆L
K = 2m/d = 2.315 x 10-5 m/s
L = 2500 m
Thickness of aquifer is 200 m
Average width = 700 m
h2 = 350 m
h1 = 300 m
∆h = 50 m
Area = 700 x 200 = 140 000 m2
Q = 2.315 x 10-5 (140 000)(50/2500)= 6.48 x 10-2 m3/s
Calculate the Darcy flux of water in an aquifer. The
water flows through a sand with permeability of
5m/day. There are 2 piezometers placed 20m
apart and they give the following data:

Piezometer 1 Piezometer 2

Aquifer level (Z) 0 -5

(m)
Pressure head 0.4 0.25
(m)
Radial flow to unconfined aquifers
When a cased well is drilled into an aquifer, water flows
into the aquifer from all directions
By pumping a well at a steady rate, the initial horizontal
water table is depressed in a circular manner as a
gradient towards the well forms to facilitate flow without
which no flow would occur
This circular depression is called the cone of
depression
The associated drop in water level, Z is called the
drawdown
If the original height of the water table is ho and at any
point where the drawdown is noted h = ho - Z
At any radial distance r from the well, applying the law of
Darcy, the flow toward the well is
Q = - K A (h1 - h2 /r)
where A is the area of the cylinder through which
flow occurs and is given by 2лrh. Therefore,
Q = 2лrh K (∆h/∆r)
If observations are located at distances r1 and r2
from the pumped well and the steady state values at these wells
are h1 and h2 respectively.
Integrating Q = 2лrh K (∆h/∆r) with respect to r from r1 to r2
and h from h1 and h2 gives

Q = лK (h22 – h12 / ln (r2/r1))

This equation is called Dupuit’s equation

Example Question 1
A well penetrates an unconfined aquifer. Prior to
pumping, the water level h0 was 25 m. After
pumping for a while at a constant rate of
0.05 m3/s, drawdowns at distances of 50 m and
150 m from the well were observed to be 3 m and
1.2 m respectively. Determine the hydraulic
Conductivity.
Solution
The equation Q = лK (h22 – h12 / ln (r2/r1)) is rearranged to
solve for K

Q ln (r2/r1) / л (h22 – h12) = K

K= 0.05 ln (150/50)
л (23.82 – 222)
= 1.7494 x 10-2
566.4 – 484

= 2.12 x 10-4 m/s

Example Question 2
A well penetrates an unconfined aquifer and is
pumped for a while at a constant rate of
25 l/s. The thickness of the aquifer is 15 m and the
elevation of the water table is 12.5 m above the
underlying aquiclude at an observation well 20 m
away from the well and 14.6 m above the
aquiclude at a well 50 m away. What is the value
of K for this aquifer.
Solution

K =Q ln (r2/r1) / л (h22 – h12)

= 0.025 ln (50/20)
л (14.62 – 12.52)
= 1 x 10-4 m/s
Radial flow to confined aquifers
As with unconfined aquifers when a cased well is drilled into
an aquifer, water flows into the aquifer from all directions
By pumping the well at a steady rate and waiting till the well
level is constant, the observation of the drawdown levels h1
and h2 at observation wells located r1 and r2 from the pumped
well allows for the estimation of the permeability of the
aquifer
If the permeability of the aquifer is multiplied by its
thickness, then the transmissivity of the aquifer is
determined
Applying Darcy’s law
At any radial distance r from the well, the flow toward the
well is
Q = - K A (∆h/∆r )
Where A is the area of the cylinder through which
flow occurs and is given by 2лrD. 2лr is the
perimeter of the cylindrical shell and D is the
thickness of the aquifer
Q = 2лrKD (∆h/∆r ) can be integrated with
respect to r from r1 to r2 and h from h1 and h2
gives
Q = 2лKD (h2 – h1/ ln (r2/r1) ) equation is called
the Thiem equation
Q ln (r2/r1) / 2 лD (h2 – h1) = K (m/s)

Transmissivity (T) is a measure of the amount of water that

can be transmitted horizontally through a unit width by the
fully saturated thickness of an aquifer under the hydraulic
gradient equal to 1. Transmissivity is equal to the hydraulic
conductivity multiplied by the saturated thickness of the
aquifer T = KD
Example Question 1
A well penetrates a 25 m confined aquifer. After
pumping for a while at a constant rate of
0.05 m3/s, drawdowns at distances of 50 m and
150 m from the well were observed to be 3 m and
1.2 m respectively. Determine the hydraulic
Conductivity and transmissivity of the aquifer.
Solution
Q ln (r2/r1) / 2 лD (h2 – h1) = K
0.05 ln (150/50)/ 2 л 25 (1.8) = 1.94 x 10-4 m/s
T = KD
T = 1.94 x 10-4 (25) = 4.85 x 10-3m/s
Example Question 2
A well penetrates a confined aquifer of thickness
15 m and is pumped for a while at a constant rate
of 25 l/s. The height of the water surface is at an
elevation of 114.6 m at an observation well 50 m
away and 112.5 m at an observation well 20 m
away from the well. What are the values
of K and T for this aquifer.
Solution
K = 0.025 ln (50/20)/2. л.15 (114.6-112.5)
= 0.0001 m/s
T = KD
= 0.0001 x 15 = 0.0015 m2/s.