BIOE 360: General Hydrology:

Groundwater Hydrology
Fall 2024

Instructor: Dr. Abu Mansaray and Dr. Niroj Aryal

Glimpse
• What is groundwater?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83qBb7KRkAE
Motivation
• Groundwater storage in US is greater than all aboveground storage in streams, rivers,
reservoirs and lakes including the Great Lakes (1.05% vs 0.009% globally)
• 22% of all fresh water occur underground
• Important water resource
• Source of stream flow during precipitation free periods
• Source of drinking water
• Many aquifers are being pumped at a greater rate for agriculture and water supply than it is
recharged leading to reduced groundwater availability and drawdown
• Groundwater is increasingly being contaminated (waste disposal, leachate and infiltration)
• Protection of groundwater quality and quantity is necessary
• Protection requires understanding of availability and movement of groundwater
• Movement is in three dimensions
• Fluid properties such as velocity, pressure, temperature, density, and viscosity vary in time and space
Porosity and permeability
• Porosity: Proportion of void space: pore
space, cracks, vesicles
• Gravel : 25-45%, Clay: 45-55%
• sandstone: 5-30%, Granite: <1 to 5%
• higher porosity in well rounded, equigranular, coarse
grained rocks
• Permeability: Measure of how readily fluid
passes through a material
• Depends on the size of the pores and how well
they are interconnected
• Clay has high porosity but low permeability

Less porosity
 porosity permeability
Clay 45-55% <0.01 m/day
sand 30-52% 0.01 - 10
gravel 25 - 45% 1000 to 10,000
Subsurface distribution of water
• Zone of aeration/unsaturated zone – the
interstices/pores are filled with water and
air
• Zone of saturation- the interstices are filled
with water only
• Commonly called groundwater zone
• Water table – line separating zone of
saturation and aeration
Specific yield and specific retention
𝑉
Specific yield, 𝑆𝑦 = 𝑑 …………….tells how much
𝑉𝑡
water is available for human use
• Vd= vol of water that drains from a total
volume Vt
• Vt= total volume of a soil or rock sample
𝑉
Specific retention, 𝑆𝑟 = 𝑟 ..…….tells how much
𝑉𝑡
water remains in the rock after it is drained by
gravity
• Porosity, n = Sy + Sr
• Vr= vol of water retained in a total volume Vt
Aquifer
• An aquifer is a water-bearing stratum or formation that is capable of transmitting water in
quantities sufficient to permit development
• Should be porous and permeable.
• Classified to following based on whether or not a water table or free surface exists under
atmospheric pressure
• Unconfined aquifer – open to atmosphere eg, overlain by permeable rocks and soils
• Confined aquifer- sandwiched between aquitards
US aquifers
Aquitard, Aquiclude, Aquifuge,
• Aquitard – partly permeable, saturated, no sufficient groundwater yield eg sandy clay
• Aquiclude – saturated, but impermeable eg clay
• Aquifuge – neither permeable nor saturated eg rock
• Perched water table=Local aquifer in vadose Zone
◼Artesian System: Water
rises above the level in
aquifer because of
hydrostatic pressure
◼Potentiometric surface:
Height to which water
pressure would raise the
water.
Mechanics of flow-Hydrostatics
• Mechanics-how groundwater moves in porous media
• Water in pores of a saturated medium are under pore
pressure (p)
• Can be measured by inserting a piezometer
• P=haγ
• γ = specific weight of water
• ha = the head measured from the point to the water table
• p=the pore pressure (gauge pressure)
• Pore pressure is negative if measured below or positive
if measured above the point under consideration
• If an arbitrary datum is assumed, Pp = z + h
• Pp= piezometric potential = ha + za for point A and zb-hb for
point B
• ha= pore pressure of A
• -hb = tension or vacuum (negative pore pressure)
• h= height
Groundwater flow
• Flow in pipes is analogous to flow in saturated confined aquifers (both under pressure)
• The flow of groundwater with a free surface is similar to that in an open channel
• The major difference is the geometry of groundwater system flow channel as compared with common
hydraulic pipe flow or channel systems
• Equivalent to flow through a discharging cross section composed of a number of small
openings, each with its own geometry, orientation, and size so that the flow velocity
issuing from each pore varies in both magnitude and direction
• Unknown quantities if temperature is assumed constant
• Pressure
• Density
• Velocity
Darcy’s law
• Rate of flow is proportional to the hydraulic • Applicable to many groundwater
gradient problems
• Hydraulic Gradient: Slope of the ground water table • Valid for Reynolds number less than 1
• Darcy’s law for fluid flow through a permeable • But not valid for Reynolds number >1
bed is: • Reynolds number, NR
𝑑ℎ 𝜌𝑞𝑑
𝑄 = −𝐾𝐴 𝑁𝑅 =
𝑑𝑥 𝜇
• Q= the flow across the control area A • q=specific discharge
• K=the hydraulic conductivity of the material • d=the mean grain diameter
• A=the total cross-sectional area including the space • ρ=fluid density
occupied by the porous material • µ= dynamic viscosity
𝑑ℎ
𝑞 = −𝐾
𝑑𝑥
• q=Q/A = specific discharge
Darcy velocity and seepage velocity
𝑑ℎ
• 𝑞 = 𝑄/𝐴 = −𝐾 =v = Darcy velocity
𝑑𝑥
• Darcy velocity is a fictitious velocity since it assumes that flow occurs through the entire cross section
of the material (in actual case, flow limited to pore space only)

𝑣 𝐾 𝑑ℎ
• Seepage velocity = 𝑣𝑣 = =−
𝑛 𝑛 𝑑𝑥
• 𝜂 or n= porosity = Vv/V
Flow to wells
• A well system is used to tap groundwater resources
• A well system consists of three elements
• The well structure
• Pump
• The discharge piping

• A well structure consists of an open section through which water enters

• The open section is usually a perforated casing or slotted metal screen
• Occasionally, gravel is placed at the bottom of well casing around the screen
Cone of depression

• Due to water removal from well, flow occurs from

adjacent distances of the well to replenish the
withdrawal. Soil provides a flow resistance
leading to head loss and depression in potential
surface of piezometer.
• Cone of depression spreads until equilibrium is
reached and steady state conditions are
established
 Steady unconfined radial flow toward a well
• Assumptions
• Flow is assumed to be radial
• Original water table is horizontal
• The well penetrates the aquifer fully to infinite areal
extent
• Steady state conditions exist
• Flow towards well (Q) at any distance x from the
well is equal to the product of cylindrical element of
area at that section and the flow velocity.
• Applying Darcy’s law
𝑑𝑦
𝑄 = 2𝜋𝑥𝑦𝐾𝑓
𝑑𝑥
• Kf= the hydraulic conductivity, ft/s
• dy/dx=the water table gradient at distance x
• Q=well discharge, ft3/s
Steady unconfined radial flow toward a well

• If Kf is in gpd/ft2, Q in gpm, h in ft and ln to log

𝑟2
1055𝑄log(𝑟 )
1
𝐾𝑓 =
(ℎ22 − ℎ12
Steady confined radial flow toward a well
• Basic equilibrium equation for a
confined aquifer
• Same assumptions
𝑑𝑦
𝑄 = 2𝜋𝑥𝑚𝐾𝑓
𝑑𝑥

• Integrating and rearranging,

𝑟2
528𝑄ln(𝑟 )
1
𝐾𝑓 =
𝑚(ℎ2 − ℎ1
• Q in gpm
• Kf in gpd/ft2
• r, h in ft
• m thickness
Fluctuations in groundwater level
• Any circumstance that alters the pressure imposed on underground water will cause a
variation in the groundwater level
• Seasonal factors,
• changes in stream and river stages,
• evapotranspiration,
• atmospheric pressure changes,
• winds,
• tides,
• external loads,
• various forms of withdrawal and recharge
• earthquakes
 Consequences of Ground Water Withdrawal

1. Lowering of Water Table

• Cone of depression: Circular lowering
of water immediately around a well
• overlapping cones of depression
causes lowering of regional water
table
• rate of recharge too slow for
replenishment in human life time
2. Compaction and Subsurface subsidence
• Building damage, collapse

Compaction and Subsurface subsidence

3. Saltwater Intrusion
–upconing below cone of depression
–Aquifer below Brooklyn, NY destroyed
–Serious problem in Gulf Coast and California

Salt water
incursion
in coastal
aquifer
Groundwater Conservation

• Pump less and recharge more

• Shift water-hungry crops to regions with more rainfall
• Use drip irrigation to reduce evaporation loss
• Use pipes to reduce transport loss
• Water lawns in morning and evening or opt for no lawn
• Direct storm water in recharge basins
Groundwater hydrology-introductory terms
• Aquifer- underground formation that holds and yields water
• Steady flow: only space dependency occurs
• Unsteady flow: when time dependency in flow occurs, solutions are difficult
• Isotropic – medium has uniform properties in all directions from a given point
• Anisotropic – one or more properties that depend on a given direction
• Heterogeneous – non-uniform media properties of anisotropy or isotropy
• Homogenous - media are uniform in their characteristics
Darcy’s law
• Applicable to many groundwater problems
• Valid for Reynolds number less than 1
• But not valid for Reynolds number >1
• Reynolds number, NR
𝜌𝑞𝑑
𝑁𝑅 = Electric analog models of groundwater flow systems
𝜇 Darcy’s law is analogous to Ohm’s law
• q=specific discharge i=(1/R)E 𝑑ℎ
𝑞 = −𝐾
• d=the mean grain diameter i=the current 𝑑𝑥
• ρ=fluid density R= the resistance
• µ= dynamic viscosity E= the voltage
K analogous to E
1/R is analogous to dh/dx
Subsurface distribution of water
Soil water zone: Ground surface to major root
band; Unsaturated except after heavy
infiltration
Intermediate zone: Zone from the bottom of
the soil-water zone to the top of capillary
fringe
Capillary zone: Immediately above
groundwater table to a height determined by
the capillary rise that can be generated in the
soil; Function of soil texture
Saturated zone: Groundwater fills the pore
spaces completely
Water table – line separating zone of
saturation and aeration
Aquifer performance test
• Hydraulic characteristics of an aquifer (storage coefficient and aquifer permeability) can
be determined by laboratory or field studies
• Can be either equilibrium or non-equilibrium
• Equilibrium: The cone of depression must be stabilized for a flow equation to be derived
• Non-equilibrium: The derivation includes a condition that steady-state conditions have not been
reached