SALINE WATER

INTRUSION
Saline water intrusion in aquifers

Coastal aquifer- Most large sources of water

Saline water – most common pollutant of groundwater
Saline water can displace or mix with freshwater in
aquifers
In deep aquifers, mixing occurs with upward
advancement of saline water
In shallow aquifers, mixing occurs from surface water
discharges
In coastal aquifers, mixing occurs from the invasion of
sea water
Sources of saline water intrusion

Best source of fresh water-sand deposits- coastal

area
Sources of salinity
 Encroachment of sea water in coastal areas
 Seawater that entered aquifers in the past geological time
 Salt in salt domes, thin beds or disseminated in geological
formations
 Water logging
 Human saline wastes
 Return flows to streams from irrigated lands
 Breaking of barriers
Mechanisms of saline water intrusion

1. Reduction of ground water gradients

 Permits denser water to replace freshwater
 Commonly occurring situation in coastal aquifers in
hydraulic continuity with the sea
 Occurs when continuous and erratic pumping disturbs the
natural hydrodynamic balance
Contd..

2. Destruction of natural barriers

 Destruction of natural barriers that separate fresh and
saline water
 Results in the large scale inland advancement of saline
water that results in the mixing up of saline water with the
fresh water sources
 Eg: construction of a coastal drainage canal that
enable tidal water to advance inland and to
percolate into fresh water aquifers
Contd..

3. subsurface disposal of waste

 Occurs when waste saline water is disposed into disposal wells,
landfills or other repositories
 Creates a situation that helps the saline water to percolate deep
and directly mix with the fresh water
 Leakage of underground tanks and pipe lines, mining activities,
brine water resulting from oil and gas production are the other
main sources
Ghyben- Herzberg relation

The investigators Ghyben andHerzberg found out

that salt water occurred not at sea level but at a
depth below sea level of about 40 times the height of
fresh water above sea level(1888 &1901)
Joseph Du Commun (1828)
This distribution attributed to hydrostatic
equilibrium existing between two fluids at different
densities

DISTRIBUTION OF FRESH WATER

Contd…
Contd…

The above relation is termed as the Ghyben

Herzberg relation
For typical sea water conditions , ρs = 1.025 g/cm3
and ρf = 1 g/cm3
The value of z is calculated as
z = 40 h
Depth of saline water was encounter at a depth of
63m at a distance of 500m. Determine the elevation
of water table above MSL at this point. Saline water
density is 1027 and that of fresh water is 998m3/s
respectively
Shape of fresh-salt water interface
Shape of fresh-salt water interface

Exact solutions for shape of interface have been

developed from potential flow theory
Z 2  2 Ax  A2
q
A
K
Contd…

The corresponding shape of water table is given by

1
 2qx  2
hf   
 (    ) K 
The width xo of the submarine zone through which freshwater
discharges into the sea can be obtained for z = 0, yielding
Contd..

The depth of interface beneath the shoreline zo

occurs where x = 0 so that
q=1.394m3/d/m ;1.355m3/d/m

X=215
Structure of fresh-salt water interface

Sharp interface between fresh and saline water

does not occur under field conditions
A brackish transition zone of finite thickness
separates the fluids
Zone develops from dispersion by flow of fresh
water plus unsteady displacements of interface by
external influences
Transition zones have greater thickness in highly
permeable coastal aquifers subjected to heavy
pumping
Contd…

Where tidal action is the predominant mixing

mechanism, fluctuations of groundwater and hence
thickness of transition zone becomes greater near
the shoreline
Within the brackish transition zone the salinity of
ground water increases with depth from that of fresh
water to that of saline water
Distribution of salinity with depth varies as an error
function
The relative salinity is calculated by

c is the salinity at a particular depth

cf and cs are salinities of fresh and
saline water

Increase in salinity through depth in transition zone (a) linear scale (b) probability
scale
 Upconing of saline water

Occurs when aquifer contains an underlying layer of

saline water and is pumped by a well penetrating only
the upper fresh water portion of the aquifer
Characterized by a local rise of interface below the well
Interface horizontal at the start of pumping
With continued pumping , rising of interface occurs
until it reaches the well
At this case the well is shut down
When pumping is stopped, interface returns to the
former position
Contd…q1` ````
Contd…

Upconing is a complex phenomenon

It is necessary to determine optimum location,depth,
spacing, pumping rate and pumping sequence that
will ensure proper supply of fresh water with least
disturbance to the interface
An approximate analytical solution for upconing
based on Dupuit assumptions and Ghyben Herzberg
relation is given by
The equation indicates that ultimate
rise of interface is directly proportional
to pumping rate Q
Contd…

Maximum permissible rate of pumping without salt

entering the well is given by
 examples

A pumping well partially penetrates a confined

aquifer with the bottom of the well screen at an
elevation of +25m.The impervious top and bottom
elevations of the aquifer are +64 and +8 respectively.
If a horizontal fresh –salt water interface exists at an
elevation of +12m prior to pumping, determine the
maximum allowable pumping rate in order to
prevent the salt water from entering the
well.K=25m/d. If the pumping rate to450m3/day,
find depth of the screen
Fresh – Salt Water Relations on
Oceanic Islands
Fresh – Salt Water Relations on Oceanic Islands

Most small oceanic islands composed of relatively

permeable materials like sand, lava, coral or
limestone
Sea water is in contact with ground water on all sides
Only limited quantity fresh water available as it
originates entirely from rainfall
Radial movement of fresh water occurs from island
towards the coast resulting in formation of a fresh
water lens
Contd…

the lens floats on the underlying salt water

Its thickness decreases from center towards the
coast
Shape of freshwater boundary
Determined from Dupuit assumptions and Ghyben
Herzberg relation
Assume a circular island of radius R receiving
effective rainfall W
Derivation

Outflow Q is given by

Where K is the hydraulic conductivity and h and z are

defined as in the figure

To obtain the shape of interface we have

Contd..

Integrating and applying the boundary condition

h = 0 when r = R

It follows that depth to salt water at any

location is a function of rainfall recharge, size
of island and hydraulic conductivity
Contd…

Tidal, atmospheric and rainfall fluctuations create a transition

zone along the interface of oceanic island
Close proximity to this can introduce saline water into a well
due to upconing
Special care to be taken during pumping so that it causes
minimal disturbance to the equilibrium
Island wells to be designed for minimum drawdown, just
skimming fresh water from top of lens
Small diameter wells should be shallow, dispersed and
pumped at low rates
Infiltration gallery advantageous in shallow water table areas
 Method of controlling sea water intrusion

Pumping pattern
Artificial recharge
Extraction barrier
Injection barrier
Subsurface barrier
 problem

An oceanic island has a radius of 1km and the soil is

made up of sand with an effective size of 0.7mm. If a
rainfall of 300cm occur that year, compute the
maximum height of the water table above the centre
of the island. The runoff coefficient of the island is
0.4.