Lecture 1.

History of
Groundwater Hydrology
• Todd and Mays-Chapter 1
• Fetter-Chapter 1
• Schwartz and Zhang-Chapter 1
History of Modern
Hydrology/Hydrogeology
• Groundwater hydrology, geohydrology,
hydrogeology and hydrology
• differences in terms and scientific
approaches
• Hydrology-water movement, originally
surface water flow, groundwater added later,
currently implies a view of water flow from
the engineering discipline or based solely on
assessment of the hydrologic cycle
History of Modern
Hydrology/Hydrogeology
• Groundwater hydrology- movement of water
through porous media, primarily groundwater
discipline, term of preference in 1980’s
• Geohydrology-approach to groundwater via
mathematics/engineering with reference to
geology or aquifer hydraulic properties
• Hydrogeology-study of groundwater flow
through the investigation of the physical
framework of the geology of the aquifers and
aquifer systems
Important Historical
References
• Meinzer, O. E., 1934, The history and
development of hydrology: Washington
Academy of Science Journal, v. 34, p. 6-32.
• Meinzer, O. E., editor, 1942, Introduction in
Physics of the Earth IX. Hydrology: Dover
Publications, Inc., p. 1-31.
Early Scientific Contributors
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)-infiltration, water
balance or budget, transport of salts to the sea,
evaporation
• Bernard Palissy (about 1509-1589)-infiltration,
groundwater flow, recycling of rainfall
• Pierre Perrault (1608-1680)-made measurements
of rainfall, estimated drainage basin of Seine
River and runoff in basin, showed rainfall
sufficient to supply spring flow, did experiments
of capillarity and evaporation
Early Scientific Contributors
• Edme’ Mariotte’ (1620-1684)-measured
discharge of Seine River at Paris (float method),
published on infiltration theory, showed that
spring flows increased in rainy weather
• Edmund Halley (1656-1742)-evaporation,
demonstrated that evaporation from
Mediterranean Sea was ample to rainfall to
supply rivers flowing into it
• Giovanni Cassini (1625-1712)-development of
the hydrostatic theory of artesian pressure
Early Scientific Contributors
••  Bernardi Ramazzini (1691)-hydrostatic theory

• Antonio Vallisnieri (1715)-correct explanation of

the source of artesian water and mechanism of
artesian systems, theory illustrated with some of
the earliest geologic sections by Scheuchzer
• Herschel (1899)-Frontinus velocity of water flow
(Frontinus-described aqueduct system of the City
of Rome)
• Henri Pitot (1732)-measured velocity in cross
section of river, used curved tube method
Early Scientific Contributors
••  Daniel and John Bernouilli (1738)-first wrote
equation of flow based on works of Castelli
(1577-1644), Torricelli (1608-1647), and Huygens
(1629-1695)
• Bernard Forest Belidor (1697-1761)-book of
hydraulics
• Rev. J. T. Desaguliers (1683-1744)-theory of
ebbing and variations in spring flow
• Jean D’Alembert (1717-1776)-mathematics of
hydraulic theory
Early Scientific Contributors
• Paul Fries (1762)-treatise on rivers, invented
empirical approach to hydrodynamics
• Antoine de Chezy (1775)-expressed relationship
between slope and velocity in formula (still
known as the Chezy formula)
• Dubat (1779)-motive force of each particle of
water due to surface slope of water and
resistance to viscosity of water and friction on a
bed
Early Scientific Contributors
• La Metherie (1798)-permeability of different
kinds of rocks, water balance
• Giovanni Venturi (1798)-flow of water through a
constriction
• 19th Century French where the primary
innovators, including Poucelet, Lesbros. Belanger,
de Thury, Laval, Deschamps, de Buffon, Mulot
• River-velocity formulas, Artesian flow
• Drilled first deep wells
• River Improvement
Early Scientific Contributors
• Selected 19th Century contributions
• Venturoli-analyzed the flow of the Tiber River
• Lombardini-the effects of lakes in equalizing flow
and of levees in increasing flood heights,
statistical methods in analyzing flood discharges
• Julius Weisbach-hydraulic theory
• Johann Eytelwein-experiments for Chezy formula
• John Dalton (1801)-evaporation and law of
partial pressures (Dalton’s Law), infiltration and
percolation
Early Groundwater
Contributors
• Eugene Belgard (1846)-made fundamental
distinction between permeable and
impermeable formations and groundwater
movement
• O. E. Meyer-preceded Darcy in discovering law of
groundwater flow
• Abbe Paramelle-treatise of groundwater (1856)
• Henri Darcy (1856)-law of groundwater flow
• Darcy associates were Jules Dupuit, Jean Dumas,
Gustave, and Henri Bazin
Early Groundwater
Contributors
• Contributions from the late 1800’s to 1920’s
• Hundreds of publications documented by E. Prinz
(1923) and Michael Gortani
• Gabriel Daubree (1887)-treatise of the relation
between geologic structure and movement of
groundwater
• Leon Pochet and Edmond Maillet (1905)-treatises
on groundwater hydraulics
• Edward Martel (1921)-occurrence and flow of
water in cavernous limestone
Early Groundwater
Contributors
• Adolph Thiem (1870)-introduced field
methods for making tests of underground
flow
• Gunther Thiem (1906)-pumping method of
determining permeability (Thiem equation)
• Thiem’s work was documented in Slichter,
C. S., 1898, Theoretical investigations of
the motion of ground water: U. S.
Geological Survey 19th Ann. Report, pt. 2.
Groundwater Contributors
• Many contributions were made in both
groundwater and surface-water hydrology
occurred in Europe and the United States
from late 1800’s to 1935.
• W. Badon Ghyben and A. Herzburg-law of
density balance between freshwater and
seawater
• Thomas C. Chamberlin (1883-1879)-
thorough study of artesian aquifers
Groundwater Contributors
• U. S. Geological Survey founded in 1879.
• First director was John Wesley Powell in
1891
• First national appropriation for water
resources investigation was made in 1888
• Started systematic stream gaging with
Frederick H. Newell being the “father” of
stream gaging
Groundwater Contributors-
Meinzer
• Contributions of the U. S. Geological
Survey under Oscar Meinzer
• Could be considered the “father” of
modern hydrogeology
• Dogmatic and opinionated
• Worked primarily in Eastern US coastal
plain
• Became first chief of the USGS
groundwater branch
Groundwater Contributors-
Meinzer
• Believed that the Thiem equation could be
used to obtain the hydraulic properties of
all aquifer types
• Hired Charles V. Theis as a young engineer
to work on groundwater problems
• Was furious when Theis published his
landmark paper in 1935 on using the heat
flow equations to calculate aquifer
hydraulic properties
Groundwater Contributors-
Charles V. Theis
• True founder of modern groundwater
hydraulics
• Nearly fired for publishing the seminal
paper
• Published few but very important papers
in his career
• He challenged the very base assumptions
of groundwater hydraulics and made vast
improvements in analysis methods.
History of Modern
Groundwater Hydrology
Henri Darcy (1856)

Charles Theis (1935)

USGS Group (1940-70) USGS Trainees (1960-80)

I. S. Papdopolos William Walton
Edwin Weeks James Geraghty
Allan Moench Al Robertson
John Ferris David Miller
William Guyton Thomas Missimer
Modern Groundwater
Contributions
• M. King Hubbert (1940)-groundwater flow
in large geologic basins
• C. E. Jacob (1940)-derivation of the Theis
equation and analytical contributions
• M. Hantush (1960)-described leaky
aquifers and analytical methods to assess
their properties