UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHEASTERN PHILIPPINES

Iñigo St,. Bo. Obrero, Davao City

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Civil Engineering Department

CEC 325
Hydrology

NAME: GLEN VINCENT S. ISRAEL DATE: June 8, 2021

Final Examination

I) Discuss the importance and the applications of the knowledge from each of the following
items in the field of civil engineering.
a) Hydrologic Cycle
Hydrologic cycle is a sequence of conditions in which the water passes from vapor in
the atmosphere through the process of precipitation upon land or any water surface and will
go back into the atmosphere by means of evaporation or transpiration. This cycle is a big
help in the field of civil engineering because it can be studied and analyzed by civil engineers
and how it affects the components of the earth in order to predict and mitigate the possible
water-related problems such as drought or floods. In the application of hydrologic cycle, one
example is the construction of drainage in areas that are flood-prone and also in constructing
dams in which the quantity and availability of water is considered.

b) Infiltration
Infiltration is the process by which the water on the ground surface will enter the soil.
This is caused by gravity, capillary forces, absorption and osmosis. This process is important
in the field of civil engineering because it can be considered as an indicator if the soil can
absorb much water or maybe it exceeded the amount of water that than be absorbed which
weaken the structure of the soil that may lead to soil liquefaction or soil erosion. Now, the
geotechnical engineers will assess the condition of the soil and decide whether it is good as a
foundation on a certain structure to be constructed because the stability of a structure is one
of the factors a civil engineer should consider.

c) Evaporation
Evaporation is defined as a conversion of water from liquid state to vapor state
because of an increase in temperature. This can take place from sea, ocean or other water
surfaces. It can also occur from soil surface. Civil engineering has a big role in assessing this
process because it will address some problems like the excessive loss of water from lakes and
rivers due to the rising of temperature. With this, civil engineers can make a good design for
transporting the water in order to prevent the sudden loss of it and also monitor the rate of
evaporation in strategic locations in order to come up to a solution.

d) Basic Subsurface Flow

Subsurface flow is a flow below the earth’s surface which may return a perched flow such as
from a spring or seep, subsurface return to streams, creeks or rivers. Civil engineering has a role
to play in this kind of flow because it may affect the engineering projects to be made that can be
exposed in subsurface water. With this problem, civil engineers must assess the condition of
subsurface flow underneath the proposed location of a structure or project and to make
adjustments in order to prevent the adverse effects of subsurface flow.
II) Problem Solving:
A confined aquifer has a source of recharge, the piezometric head in the two wells 1500
m apart is 65 m and 60 m respectively, from common datum. The average thickness of the
aquifer is 35 m, and the average width of the aquifer is 5 km. The hydraulic conductivity for the
aquifer is 60 m/day, and the porosity is 0.25.
a) Determine the rate of the flow through the aquifer.
Answer: Vs=0.8 m/day
b) Time travelled from the head of the aquifer to a point 5 km downstream.
Answer: T=6250 days=17.12 years