GROUNDWATER

Ground water is that part of precipitation that infiltrates through the soil to
the water table. An important component of water resource systems
SOURCES OF GROUNDWATER

Precipitation
Interception
Subsurface flow
Soil moisture
ZONES OF UNDERGROUND WATER

Zone of aeration/ vadose zone

- a zone that contains both water and air
Saturated zone
- where all the interconnected openings between rock
particles are filled with water
 Soil moisture- water in the upper layers of zone of aeration

Groundwater- called the water in the zone of saturation

Perched water table - when a small water body is

separated from the main groundwater body by a relatively
small impermeable stratum.

Capillary fringe/ tension-saturated zone - the place

above the water table. In this region the pore space is
completely filled with water.

Groundwater may be recharged or discharged

How ground water occur in rocks?
Two characteristics of all rocks that
affect the presence and movement of
ground water :

Porosity - size and amount of void spaces

Permeability -the relative ease with which

water can move through spaces in the rock.
Water table

It is a surface of a water body that is constantly adjusting

itself toward an equilibrium condition.
If there were no recharge to or outflow from the ground-water
basin, the water table would eventually become horizontal.
Aquifer
is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or
unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt) from
which groundwater can be extracted using a water well.
2 types of aquifer:

Unconfined aquifers - are those into which water seeps

from the ground surface directly above the aquifer.
 Confined aquifer/artesian aquifer are separated from the
ground surface by an impermeable layer and are generally at
greater depths than unconfined aquifers.
Groundwater movement
Groundwater flows underground in response to elevation
differences (downwards) and pressure differences (from
areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure).

Darcy's law relates

the rate of the groundwater movement (Q)
to the hydraulic conductivity (K),
the cross-sectional area (A)
and to the hydraulic gradient or slope of the water table (h/l)
: The hydraulic conductivity depends on the permeability of
the rock and on the properties of the water. Water generally
flows in the direction of the hydraulic gradient and slope of
the water table.

Q= Kah/l
Wells and Pump

Well is an excavated hole, usually a

vertical shaft, in the earth allowing
access to groundwater
Pumping a well lowers the water level
around the well to form a cone of
depression in the water table. If the
cone of depression extends to other
nearby wells, the water level in those
wells will be lowered.
HYDRAULICS OF WELLS
Static Water Level [SWL] (ho) is the
equilibrium water level before pumping
Commences

Pumping Water Level [PWL] (h)

is the water level during pumping

Drawdown (s = ho - h) is the
difference between SWL and PWL

Well Yield (Q) is the volume of water

pumped per unit Time

Specific Capacity (Q/s) is the yield per

unit drawdown
Types of Wells
Sources of contamination in
groundwater

Salt contamination
Leakage and spills
Pesticides and fertilizers
Waste disposals