Groundwater &

Infiltration
Water Cycle and Groundwater
What is the water cycle?
~The water cycle is also called the
hydrologic cycle. It is a model used to
illustrate the movement and the phase
changes of water at and near the Earth's
surface.
~It is fueled by the sun.
Aim: What happens to rain water after it reaches the ground?
 Steps of the water cycle:
Evaporation- Liquid to gas (water to water vapor)

Transpiration- Liquid to gas- evaporation from plants

Condensation- Gas to Liquid (water vapor to water)

Precipitation- any form of water leaving a cloud (rain, snow,

sleet, hail)

Infiltration: Rain water seeps into the ground to form ground

water. Water that infiltrates the ground is pulled down by
gravity.

Runoff- water that does not go into ground will flow in nearby
bodies of water
When water reaches the ground
50% evaporates again
18 % trickles down into the ground
32% runs off the surface of the land into rivers and lakes
What happens when precipitation falls on
the ground?
~It can be stored or retained on the
surface as ice or snow (water retention).
~It can infiltrate or seep (sink into) the
Earth’s surface.
~It can flow over the Earth’s surface as
runoff.
~It can be evaporated or transpired
(both of these together is called
evapotranspiration).
 ESRT, p1-
Properties of
Water
Aquifer: Underground area that contains and
carries water

Groundwater zones
Zone of Saturation: Area where, all spaces
cracks and other openings in the soil and rock
grains become filled with water.

Impermeable Bedrock- Zone of solid bedrock

where water cannot pass through.

Water Table: The uppermost surface of the

saturated zone. The water table will rise and sink
depending on the season.

Zone of Aeration/Unsaturated Zone: Area

Above the water table. The pores are filled with
air. Impermeable
bedrock
If you increase the amount of rain
(recharge) the water table will rise.

http://techalive.mtu.edu/meec/module06/Permeability.htm

http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/earthguide/diagrams/groundwater/groundwater.swf
The Water Table (cont.)
Factors Affecting Infiltration
** Remember: Infiltration means to sink into. **
Ex: Watering a plant

• Slope of the Land • Sorting

• Degree of Saturation • Shape

• Porosity • Capillarity
• Permeability • Vegetation
• Packing • Land Use
http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/earthguide/diagrams/groundwater/
 Slope of the Land
The steeper the slope (gradient), the less
the infiltration or seepage
--- inverse or indirect relationship
 Degree of Saturation
The more saturated the loose Earth
materials are, the less the infiltration
--- inverse or indirect relationship
 Waterinfiltrates into the ground until it meets the interface
between the zone of saturation and the zone of aeration
This interface is the WATER TABLE
 The depth of the water table below the surface varies with
the amount of infiltration
 Subsurface water below the water table is called
GROUND WATER
 Porosity
Porosity is the percentage of open space (pores
and cracks) in a material compared to its total
volume
Generally: the greater the porosity, the
greater the amount of infiltration that can occur
---Direct Relationship

Dependent upon shape

 Shape
 Well rounded particles have a greater porosity.

 Round particles = more pore

space, higher porosity, and more
infiltration

 Angular particles = less

pore space, less porosity,
and less infiltration
 Packing

 The closer the particles are packed

together, the lower the porosity

 Therefore if you have a lower

porosity, infiltration will also be lower.
 Sorting
 If all the particles in a material are about the same size,
they are said to be sorted

 If the particles are of mixed sizes, they are said to be

unsorted

Sorted = higher porosity

or pore space

Unsorted = lower porosity

because the smaller particles fill
in the pore space
 Permeability

The ability of a material to allow fluids such

as water to pass through it. Larger particles
will increase permeability, because pore
space is larger.

**Impermeability may be due to tight packing

or cementing of particles, which seals off the
pores from one another.
ex: ice in the winter
Porosity and Permeability

Zone of Aeration

Water Table

Saturated Zone

Poor
 Permeability depends on:
Permeab Shape Packing Sorting
ility
High Rounded Loose Sorted

Low Angular/fla Tight unsorted

t

Permeability
http://techalive.mtu.edu/meec/module06/Permeability.htm
 Porosity depends on:
Porosity Shape Packing Sorting

High Rounded Loose Sorted

Tightly packed
Low Angular/Fla unsorted
t

Permeability
http://techalive.mtu.edu/meec/module06/Permeability.htm
 Capillarity
The process by which water is drawn into
openings due to the attractive force
between water molecules and the
surrounding earth materials. As the size of
the particles decrease, capillarity increases.

When water moves upward against gravity,

it is called capillary action.
ex: How plants take water from the soil
 Vegetation
Grasses, trees and other plant types capture
falling precipitation on leaves and branches,
keeping that water from being absorbed into the
Earth

If any water gets through the vegetation, the

velocity of the water will be reduced and this will
give the ground more time to absorb the water

Ground without vegetation usually has high runoff

and low infiltration rates
 Land Use
Roads, parking lots, and buildings create
surfaces that are not longer permeable.

These impermeable surfaces often channel

runoff.

Farming, cutting down trees and grazing

animals will reduce vegetation and
therefore decrease permeability.
 Factors Affecting Runoff and Stream
Discharge
Runoff can occur when:
1) The rate of precipitation exceeds the permeability rate
2) The pore space of loose material or rock is saturated
with water
3) The slope of the surface is too great to allow infiltration
4) The water on the surface has not evaporated

**The greater the runoff, the greater the amount of stream

discharge (volume of water flowing past a certain spot
in a stream in a specific amount of time.)**
UNITS FOR STREAM DISCHARGE = meters/sec

**Flooding occurs when a stream overflows its normal

channel**
A cone of depression- forms when water is pumped out
faster than it can be replenished. This can cause a well to
run dry.
 Effects of
Pumping Wells
Gaining
Stream
Pumping wells
 Accelerate flow
 Reverse flow Water Table
Drawdown
Low well
 Cause water Cone of Dry Spring
table drawdown Depression
Gaining
 Form cones of Stream Low well
Low river
depression

Pumping well
 Effects of
Dry well

Pumping Wells
Continued water- Losing
Stream
Dry well

table drawdown
 May dry up
springs and wells
 May reverse flow
of rivers (and
may contaminate Dry well
aquifer) Dry river

 May dry up rivers

and wetlands