2014 Agricultural Engineering Review

Prepared by: Edward R. Lapong, PhD

Groundwater Hydrology – science of the
occurrence, distribution and movement of
water below the earth’s surface.

It may be regarded as a specialized science

combining the elements of geology,
hydrology and fluid mechanics .
 Geology governs the occurrence and
distribution of ground water
Hydrology determines the supply of the
water to the ground
Fluid mechanics explains its movement

Geohydrology has the same connotation

Hydrogeology differs only by its greater emphasis on geology

Groundwater is the water located in saturated
zones below the ground surface, occupying all
the voids within a geologic stratum.

Aquifers - formations having structures that

permit appreciable water to move through
them under ordinary field conditions
(e.g. sand)
Aquiclude is an impermeable formation
which may contain water but is
incapable of transmitting significant
water quantities (e.g. clay)

Aquifuge is an impermeable formation

that neither contain nor transmit water
(e.g. solid granite)
Voids - portion of the soil or rock formation
which is not occupied by solid mineral
matter may be occupied by groundwater.
(interstices, pores or pore spaces)
Characterized by their size, shape, irregularity
and distribution

Classification of voids or interstices

(according to size):
capillary, supercapillary and subcapillary
Capillary interstices are sufficiently small
so that surface tension forces will hold
water within them.

Supercapillary interstices are those larger

than capillary

Subcapillary interstices are so small that

water is held primarily by adhesive forces
The porosity of soil is a measure of the
contained interstices or voids. It is expressed as
the percentage of void space to the total volume
of the mass,
100w

V

w is the volume of water required to fill or saturate

the pore spaces, V is the volume of the soil.
Representative Porosity for Sedimentary Materials

Soil Material Porosity, %

Loose soils 50-60
Clay 45-55
Silt 40-50
Medium to coarse mixed sand 35-40
Uniform sand 30-40
Fine to medium mixed sand 30-35
Gravel 30-40
Gravel and sand 20-35
Sandstone 10-20
Shale 1-10
Limestone 1-10
 Vertical Distribution of Groundwater

Zone of saturation all void spaces are filled

with water under hygroscopic pressure

Zone of aeration consists of void spaces

occupied partially by water and partially by
air
The saturated zone is bounded at the top by either a limiting
surface of saturation or overlying impermeable strata, and
extends down to underlying impermeable strata such as clay
beds or bedrock.
In the absence of overlying impermeable
strata, the upper surface of the zone of
saturation is the water table or phreatic
surface.
Subdivision of Zone of Aeration
(Vadose Zone)

1. Soil water zone

2. Intermediate zone

3. Capillary zone.
 Soil Water Zone

- extends from the ground surface down through

the major root zone
- water in the soil water zone exists at less than
saturation except temporarily when excessive
water reaches the ground surface as from rainfall
or irrigation
- its thickness varies with soil type and vegetation
- soil water is of great importance to agriculture
and soil science.
Soil water is classified into three categories
dependent upon its concentration in the soil
zone:

 hygroscopic water
 capillary water
 gravitational water
Gravitational
water
is excess soil
water which
drains through
the soil under
the influence of
gravity.
Capillary water exists as continuous films
around the soil particles and is held by
surface tension, moved by capillary action,
and available to plants.

Hygroscopic water
absorbed from the air & forms thin films of
moisture on soil particle surfaces. The
adhesive forces are very large (˃ 31 bars), so
that this water is unavailable to plants.
 Intermediate Zone
- extends from the lower edge of the soil water zone to
the upper limit of the capillary zone
- serves primarily as a region connecting the zone near
the ground surface to that near the water table
through which water moving vertically downward
must pass

Non-moving or pellicular water in the intermediate

zone is held in place by hygroscopic and
capillary forces, and is equivalent to field
capacity in the soil zone
 Saturated Zone
Groundwater fills all of the interstices in
the saturated zone, hence, the porosity is a
direct measure of the water contained per
unit volume.

Not all of this water may be removed from

the ground by drainage or pumping from
a well.
The specific retention, Sr, of soil is the ratio
expressed as a percentage of the volume of
water it will retain after saturation against the
force of gravity to its own volume.
100w r
Sr 
V
The water which can be drained is expressed
as the specific yield, Sy.

100w y
Sy 
V
Representative Specific Yield of Water-Bearing Soils

Soil Material Specific Yield, %

Gravel 25
Sand, including sand and ravel 20
Fine sand, hard sand, tight sand, 10
sandstone and related deposits

Clay and gravel, cemented gravel 5

and related deposits

Clay , silt, sandy clay, lava rock 3

and related fine-grained deposits
Types of Aquifers

90% of all the developed aquifers consist of

unconsolidated rocks, chiefly gravel and sand.

The sand and gravel beds of aquifers produce

large quantities of water, most of which is
replenished by seepage from streams,
infiltration and deep percolation from
mountainous and vegetated areas.
1. Unconfined aquifer
- water table serves as the upper
surface of the zone of saturation.
(also known as free, phreatic or
non-artesian aquifer.)
2. Confined aquifer
-where ground water is confined
under pressure greater than
atmospheric by overlaying,
relatively impermeable strata
(also known as artesian or
pressure aquifer)
Wells tapping perched
aquifers yield only
temporary or small
quantities of water.

Clay lenses in
sedimentary deposits
often have shallow
perched water bodies
overlaying them.
3. Perched aquifer
- occurs wherever a ground water body
is separated from the main ground water
by a relatively impermeable stratum of
small areal extent and by the zone of
aeration above the main body of ground
water.
Piezometric surface or level of a confined aquifer is
an imaginary surface coinciding with the hydrostatic
pressure level of the water in the aquifer.

'Hydrostatic pressure' is the pressure

exerted by a fluid due to its weight.
Groundwater and Well Hydraulics
Wells are one of the most important aspects
of applied hydrogeology.
 used for the extraction of groundwater for domestic,
municipal, industrial and irrigation uses.
 used to control salt-water intrusion, remove
contaminated water from an aquifer, lower the water
table for construction projects, relieve pressures under
dam and drain farmland.
 Used to inject fluids into the ground.
 To dispose of wastewater into isolated aquifers
 Means of groundwater management, that is, to
artificially recharge aquifers at rates greater than
natural recharge.
Pumping Cone
(Cone of Depression)
– forms in the aquifer
around a pumping well as
the water level decline

Drawdown
– the decline in water
level
 Darcy’s Law: “The flow rate
through a porous media is
h
proportional to the head vK
loss and inversely s
proportional to the length
of the flow path”

where v is the flow rate (m3/s), K the permeability constant

(m/day), h the height or thickness of porous media (m), and
s the distance along the average direction of flow (m).
Dupuit Assumption: “For unconfined aquifer, in
which the water table is flat and the groundwater is
hydrostatic, groundwater flow horizontally and the
groundwater discharge is proportional to the saturated
aquifer thickness”.
h P
0     g
y y
vertical vertical
hydraulic gradient pressure gradient

Continuity Equation: Q  v A
Steady-State Condition:

Assumptions:
 Groundwater has a constant density and
viscosity.
 The pumping well and the observation wells
are fully penetrating; i.e. they are screened
over the entire thickness of the aquifer.
 The pumping well has an infinitesimal diameter
and is 100% efficient.
 Steady Unidirectional Flow
Confined Aquifer
Assumptions:
•The aquifer is confined
top and bottom
•There is no source of
recharge to the aquifer
• The aquifer is
compressible & water is
released instantaneously
from the aquifer as the
head is lowered.
•The well is pumped at a
constant rate.
  2h  2h  2h  h
2
 2  2 0 0
x 2
y z x 2

h h
vx
vK
s K
K is the permeability coefficient and h is the height
of the water table above an impervious base, and
x is the direction of flow
 Steady Unidirectional Flow
Unconfined Aquifer
Assumptions:
•The velocity of the flow
is proportional to the t
tangent of the hydraulic
gradient instead of the
sine as defined by the

Darcy’s Law:
•The flow is horizontal and
uniform everywhere in a
vertical section
 dh
q  Kh
dx
K is the permeability coefficient and h is the height of
the water table above an impervious base, and x is
the direction of flow

K 2
qx  h  C
2

q
K 2
2x

h  h02 
Steady Radial Flow to Well: Confined Aquifer

dh
Q  Av  2rbK
dr

h0  hw
Q  2Kb
lnr 0 rw 
 Q r2 Q r
K T ln 2
2 h2  h1  r1
ln
2bh2  h1  r1
Steady Radial Flow to Well: Unconfined Aquifer

dh
Q  2rKh
dr

h02  hw2
Q  K
lnr0 rw 
Problems:

1. A well n a confined aquifer is pumped at a

rate of 220 gal/min. Measurement of
drawdown in two observation wells shows
that after 1270 min. of pumping, no further
drawdown is occurring. Well 1 is 26 feet
from the pumping well and has a head of
29.34 ft. above the top of the aquifer. Well 2
is 73 feet from the pumping well and has a
head of 32.56 ft above the top of the aquifer.
Find the aquifer transmissivity.
2. A well is drilled to the impermeable base in
the center of a circular island 1 mile diameter
in a large lake. The well completely penetrates
a sandstone aquifer 60 ft thick overlain by
impermeable clay. The sandstone has a
permeability of 50 ft/day. What will be the
steady discharge if the drawdown of the
piezometric level is not to exceed 10 ft at the
well, which has a diameter of 1 ft.?
3. A 70-m thick aquifer is overlain by an
impermeable layer of hard clay material. A
30-cm diameter fully penetrating well drilled
in the aquifer yield a 19 lps constant
discharge. If the constant drawdown is 6 m
below the overlaying impermeable layer and
the aquifer permeability is 5 m/day, how wide
is the cone of depression created due to
pumping?
4. A non-artesian well is drilled in an aquifer
with a fairly horizontal water table. The well
(φ = 25 cm) has a discharge of 167 m3/hr,
creating and a 250 m wide cone of
depression. If the height/depth of the water
table is 60 m and the aquifer permeability is
8 m/day, determine the drawdown.
5. A 5-cm (φ) well is drilled in a vast unconfined
aquifer. The aquifer as an average
groundwater recharge (due to precipitation) of
2.5 mm/day and a water table height of 75 m.
The radius of influence (of the cone of
depression) resulting from the constant
discharge of 80 lps is 100 m. If the aquifer
permeability is 4 m/day, what is the resulting
drawdown due to pumping and recharge at the
same time.
If there is no recharge, what is the drawdown?
End