Quality of ground

water
Physical
Chemical
Bacteriological
Physical quality
• Colour
• Odor
• Taste
• Turbidity
Bacteriological quality
• Bacteriological water quality is defined in
terms of the absence or presence of indicator
organisms. Drinking water does not cause an
infectious disease if it is free from indicator
organisms
• Escherichia coli
• Organic matter:
• BOD: Amount of oxygen required to cause
biological decomposition of organic matter.
• Organic matter:
• BOD: Amount of oxygen required to cause
biological decomposition of organic matter.

• COD or Chemical Oxygen Demand is the total

measurement of all chemicals in the water
that can be oxidized.
Chemical quality
• Determinations are expressed in ionic concentration as cation
and anion. Major, Minor, Trace elements

• Dissolve gases CO2 and H2S are reported in dissociated form.

• TDS (Total dissolved solids)

• Electrical conductance (E.C.)

• Acidity, concentration of hydrogen ion expressed in pH.

• Iron, Fluoride, Nitrate, Nitrite, Manganese, Lead, Boron

Chemical aspect of ground water
Chemical quality
• Reporting: concentration of dissolved salt or ion in water
are expressed by weight and weight - volume or chemical
equivalence
• Weight and weight-volume method
• Relative weight of solute and the solution: ppm= equal to
mg/l
• Chemical equivalence method
• Equivalent weight of an ion= Atomic weight/valence
• Ex. Equivalent wt of Ca: 40.08/2= 20.04
• Equivalent per million (epm)= ppm/equivalent weight of
ion= nearly equal to milligram equivalent per kg.
Chemical constituent of ground
water
• Major Element (1-1000 ppm)
• Secondary (0.01-10 ppm)
• Minor (0.0001 – 1ppm)
• Trace element (<0.001ppm)
•Major Cations
•Sodium (10-15ppm)
•Calcium (10-100ppm)
•Magnesium (500ppm)
Major Anions
• Bicarbonate(100-800 ppm)
• Sulphate (1500 ppm)
• Chloride (500 ppm)
• Secondary (0.01-10 ppm)
• Potassium (1-15ppm)
• Iron
• Strontium
• Carbonate
• Nitrate
• Fluorite
• Boron
• Minor (0.0001 – 1ppm)
• Lead,
• Zinc.
• Aluminum,
• Antimony
• Trace element (<0.001ppm)
• arsenic, barium, bromide, Sc, Th, Au,
Cu, Ag etc.
Sources of Cations:
• Sodium: Plagioclase feldspars
• Calcium: Plagioclase, pyroxene,
amphibole in igneous rocks
Limestone/dolomite in sedimentary
rocks
• Potassium: K- feldspars
• Magnessium: Basic igneous rocks,
Dolomite
Sodium
• Medical practitioners treating people with
severe hypertension or congestive heart
failure should be aware if the sodium
concentration exceeds 20 mg/L.

• Sodium is usually present in water as Sodium

Chloride. Reverse osmosis, ion exchange or
distillation can reduce sodium levels but these
may be expensive to operate.
• Sources of Anions
• Carbonate/Bicarbonate:
CO2 in rain
• Sulphate:
Gypsum, Anhydride
• Chlorite:
Sea water, sodalite,halite
Sulphate
• If the level exceeds 500 mg/L
then purgative effects may occur.
Sulphate levels can be reduced by
reverse osmosis, ion exchange or
distillation but these may be
expensive to operate.
Chloride
• High chloride levels in water are usually caused by
high salt (sodium chloride) levels. High chloride is not
thought to cause health problems but high sodium
levels that usually accompany it (may cause health
effects).

• High chloride levels can be reduced through reverse

osmosis, ion exchange or distillation, but all of these
may be expensive to operate.
Source of Trace elements
• Nickel, cobalt, chromium, titanium:
Basic, ultra basic igneous rocks
• Lead, zinc, copper, tin, arsenic,
beryllium and strontium, radioactive
elements:
Acid igneous rocks
TDS (Total dissolved solids)
• Include Bicarbonates, Sulphates, and
chlorides of calcium, magnesium, sodium
and silica.

• Potassium chloride and nitrate form

minor part of dissolved solids in ground
water.
Sources of TDS
• Movement of ground water
through rocks containing soluble
mineral matter.
• Concentration by evaporation,
contamination due to influx of sea
water and agriculture, industrial
waste disposals.
TDS (Total dissolved solid)
• Classification of water based on TDS
• Fresh water-----------------------<1000 ppm
• Brackish water--------------------1000—10000 ppm
• Salty water------------------------10000—100000 ppm
• Brine water------------------ >100000 ppm

• Water for domestic and industrial use should have

10000ppm,agriculture up to 3000ppm.
Total dissolved solids
• The recommended guideline maximum of 500 mg/L
is based on taste. Generally water with less than 500
mg/L is regarded as good quality water but values of
up to 1000 mg/L can be tolerated. Corrosion may
also become a problem with high TDS levels.

• Suitable treatments include reverse osmosis, ion

exchange and distillation. These may be expensive to
operate. TDS is related to Electrical Conductivity (EC)
of the water and high EC normally produces a high
TDS
pH: Hydrogen ion concentration
• Acidic-1 - 7
• Neutral--7
• Alkali -7-10
Natural ground water will give pH of 6-8.5

• Form of CO2 in ground water

• pH---4.5---- carbonic acid
• pH----4.5-8.2---bicarbonate
• pH-- > 8.2--- carbonate
pH
• The guideline value of 6.5 to 8.5 is based on
the need to control corrosion and scaling.
When the pH falls below 6.5 (acidic) metal
corrosion can become a problem. Above 8.5
(Alkaline) scaling of pipes may occur.
• pH values above 9.5 can cause a bitter taste
and may promote skin irritation.
• Treatment: The pH of water can be adjusted
by the addition of acid or alkali, but care
needs to be taken to avoid excessive addition.
• Electrical conductance (E.C.): Depending on
dissolved materials the water is able to conduct
electric current is called electrical conductivity of
water. It is expressed in Mohs and since the
conductivity is very low in water normally, therefore
it expressed micromohs.
• EC in micromhos/cm= total cations or anions * 100
• TDS in ppm= 0.64 * EC in micromhos/cm

• Pure water has conductivity 0.055 micromohs/cm

and distilled water-0.5—5 micromohs/cm.
Sources of iron in ground water:
Iron minerals
• Silicates------ Pyroxene.
Amphibole and mica
• Sulphides-----------Pyrite and
Chalcopyrite
• Oxides---------Magnetite and
Hematite
Iron
• The guideline of 0.3 mg/L is based on taste and
appearance. High iron levels do not have any health
effects. In the range 0.3 to 1.0 mg/L the water will
be acceptable to some but not to others. Above 1.0
mg/L most will consider the water to be of poor
quality for drinking.

• Iron can be removed from the water supply by

filtration, although preliminary oxidation and/or pH
adjustment may be required in some cases. Levels
above 1 mg/L can produce brown staining where
the water is used for spray irrigation.
Sources of Fluoride
• Fluorite (Calcium fluoride)
• Apatite (complex fluoride bearing
silicate, certain amphiboles and
micas
• The element fluorine is utilized by
higher life forms in the structure
of bones and teeth.
Sources of Nitrate
• Decaying organic
matter
• Sewage
• Rain water
Nitrate
• The guideline value of 50 mg/L is established to
protect bottle-fed infants less than 3 months of age.
Up to 100 mg/L can be safely consumed by adults
and children over three months.
Nitrate can be removed by use of special ion
exchange plants.
Nitrite
• Levels of Nitrite above 3 mg/L
may cause health problems by
interfering with hemoglobin in
the blood.
• Nitrite levels in water can be reduced by
oxidation.
• Nitrite contamination is usually
associated with sewage contamination.
Manganese
• The guideline value of 0.1 mg/L is based on taste
and black staining. Health considerations will arise
at levels greater than 0.5 mg/L.
Manganese can take several forms in water.

• Manganese can be removed by filtration, but some

forms of manganese may require oxidation prior to
filtration.
Lead
• The amount of lead dissolved will
depend on a number of factors
including pH, water hardness, and
the standing time of the water.
In humans, lead is a cumulative
poison that can severely affect the
central nervous system.
Source of Boron (ranges
from 1-10ppm)
Essential for plant growth.
• Tourmaline
• Changes in chemical composition
• Relative concentration of cation and anions
• Under low dissolved solids concentration in
precipitated water
Ca > Mg > Na
HCO3 >SO4 >Cl

• More mineralized water

Na > Mg > Ca
Cl > SO4 >HCO3
Hardness of ground water
ppm value of CaCO3

• 0-75 Soft
• 75-150 Mod hard
• 150-300-Hard
• >300 Very hard

• Temp. Hardness due to bicarbonate of ca and Mg

• H2O+CO2+CaCO3= Ca(HCO3) 2 removed by boiling
• Permanent Hardness: due to sulphate and chloride of
Mg and Ca removed by ion exchange
Characteristic of drinking water
• (Manual of American water works Association)
TDS <1000 ppm
Ca 75 ppm
Mg < 100 ppm
Na 180 ppm
SO4 < 250 ppm
Cl < 250 ppm
CO3 < 50 ppm
HCO3 Not harmful
E.C. 750—3000 micromohs/cm
Fluoride 1-1.5 ppm
Arsenic 0.01 ppm
Nitrate 45 ppm
Iron 1 ppm
Cd 0.01 ppm
Hg 0.001 ppm
pH 6.5-8.5
Methods of analysis
• O2 and H2S by titration
• Na,Ca,K,Mg,NH4,Li
by Ion chromatography
• CH4,CO2,Nitrogen, by
Gas chromatography
• Iron by Spectrophotometry
Titration
Titration

Ca = Ct V t M
Va
• where Ca is the concentration of the analyte,
typically in molarity; Ct is the concentration of
the titrant, typically in molarity; Vt is the volume
of the titrant used, typically in liters; M is the
mole ratio of the analyte and reactant from the
balanced chemical equation; and Va is the
volume of the analyte used, typically in liters.
Ion Chromatography
• Ion chromatography is used for water
chemistry analysis. Ion chromatographs are
able to measure concentrations of major
anions, such as fluoride, chloride, nitrate,
nitrite, and sulfate, as well as major cations
such as lithium, sodium, ammonium,
potassium, calcium, and magnesium in the
parts-per-billion (ppb) range.
• Principle of gas chromatography: The sample
solution injected into the instrument enters a
gas stream which transports the sample into a
separation tube known as the "column."
(Helium or nitrogen is used as the so-
called carrier gas.) The various components
are separated inside the column.
• Spectrophotometry is a method to
measure how much a chemical
substance absorbs light by measuring
the intensity of light as a beam of
light passes through sample solution.
The basic principle is that each
compound absorbs or transmits light
over a certain range of wavelength
Diagrammatic representation of
geochemical data
• Collins diagram
• Pie diagram
• Bilinear diagram
• Trilinear Diagram
(Hill-1940; Piper1944;)
• Hill-1940; Piper1944;
• Piper’s diagram:
• 1. The diagram consist of three distinct field
—two triangle field and a diamond shaped
field.
• 2. In the triangular field, the % epm values
of cations and anions are plotted separately.
• 3. The overall characteristics of the water is
represented in the diamond shaped field, by
projecting the position of plot in the
triangular.
• Hydrogeochemical facies of ground water
• Facies
• A=Calcium type
• B=Sodium dominant type
• C=Magnesium type
• D=Na+K type
• E= Bicarbonate type
• F= Sulphate type
• G=Chlorite type
• Field characters
• 1. Ca+Mg >Na+K (Alkaline earths exceed alkalies)
• 2. Na+K >ca+Mg (Alkalies exceed alkaline earths)
• 3. Weak acid>Strong acid
• 4. Strong acid>Weak acid
• 5. Magnesium bicarbonate type
• 6. Calcium chlorite type
• 7. Sodium chlorite type
• 8. Sodium bicarbonate type
• 9. Mixed type cation anion>50%
Advantage:
• It is useful to visually describing the difference in
major ion chemistry.
• Hydrochemical facies was developed to describe
cation and anion concentration based on subdivision
of piper diagram
• Most frequently used today
• It has the potential to represent large number of
analyses
• It is convenient for showing the mixing of two
waters from different sources
• Exercise-1 Plot the following
chemical analysis of data of
water sample in Hill-Piper
diagram and discuss chemical
characteristic of water. All the
data in ppm
Sam. Ca Mg Na K Hco3 So4 Cl TDS
No.
1 12 19 6.6 98 9 23 190
2 72 135 20 0 252 428 32 1154
3 92 108 1360 0 158 347 218 4270
4 84 60 69 0 306 246 67 717
5 41 26 58 0 54 146 66 476
6 46 26 58 0 89 155 46 469
7 72 22 47 0 23 104 32 451
8 106 33 168 1.4 136 205 280 958
9 32 0 15 0 138 105 31 439
10 127 29 356 0 136 204 625 1550
Classification of
irrigation water
Irrigation use of water
• TDS (expressed in terms of EC) (salinity
hazard)
• Relative proportion of sodium to Ca +Mg
(SAR) (Sodium hazard)
• Sodium concentration
• Boron concentration
• Relative proportion of bicarbonate to
Ca+Mg (bicarbonate hazard)
Sodium Adsorption Ratio

Where each element is calculated by ionic concentration

or in units of gram equivalent weight or milli
equivalent/liter or epm.
US salinity lab
diagram
Classification of Irrigation water

• C1= 100-250- Excellent S1= 10-Excellent

• C2=250-750-Good S2=10-18 Good
• C3=750-2250-Doubtful S3=18-26-doubtful
• C4= >2250 Unsuitable S4=>26-Unsuitable
• >80--Unsuitable
• C1= Water of low salinity hazard used for irrigation with
crops on most soil with no chance of soil salinity developed.
• C2= Medium saline water used if moderate amount of
leaching occur. Plant of moderate salt tolerance can
grow with less salinity control.
• C3= High saline water cannot use for soil within restricted
drainage, with adequate drainage. Plant which are good
salt tolerance can be grown with special salinity control
management.
• C4= Very high saline water generally not suitable but by
deep irrigation method it can be occasionally used
with saline water if sprinkler method used. Salinity may be
kept low more of permeable soil needed to allow adequate
drainage and good salt tolerant plants can be grown.
• S1=Low sodium water. This water can be used for
irrigation all most all crop with little danger of
accumulation of sodium at harmful level.
• S2= Medium sodium water used only for soil having a
lot of organic matter with good permeability.
• S3= High sodium water produces very harmful level
of exchangeable sodium in most soil. We should have
good drainage, high leaching and addition of organic
matter. Presence of gypsum is necessary in soil if this
water is applied.
• S4=very high sodium water not fit for irrigation
except of low medium salinity. Gypsum should be
added to soil to decrease sodium hazard
• If the soil is calcareous, the irrigation
water of C1 S3 and C1 S4 can be used
because calcium of soil will help to
decrease the sodium ion.
• For non calcareous soil irrigation water
class C1S3,C1S4, C2S4 can be improved if
gypsum added .
• For irrigation water of C2S3 and C3S2, it
is necessary to add gypsum to soil
periodically in order to lower sodium
hazard if these water are to be applied.
• Exercise-2 Plot the given data in
salinity lab diagram and classify
the water sample. Write brief note
on suitability of different water
sample for irrigation. Calculate Na
% and determine water class by
plotting the given data of given
sample on Wilcox diagram.
Sam.N EC Ca Mg Na+K Co2 Hco3 Cl+So4
o.

1 260 1.41 0.44 0.89 1.88 0.34 0.33

2 270 0.021 0.05 2.42 1.24 0.68 0.67
3 790 2.49 0.03 7.28 2.39 2.47 2.48
4 900 2.49 5.81 2.83 8.87 1.13 1.02
5 1090 1.20 2.00 8.10 8.10 1.00 2.60
6 1370 8.30 0.75 3.96 2.46 2.73 4.47
7 1740 2.19 0.08 12.67 1.02 12.04 1.80
8 2550 11.40 5.70 12.90 2.80 2.80 23.00
9 4330 12.37 16.71 27.39 2.75 8.55 41.74
Classification of irrigation water
• One of the important ion in ground water
particularly in its relation to agricultural
application is that of Na concentration.
Sodium concentration can be expressed as %
of Na by formula:
• Na%= (Na+K) X 100
Ca+Mg+Na+K
• Where ionic concentration of each element is
taken when refer ionic concentration ppm
changes to epm.
•Na %
•<20---- Excellent
•20-40--- Good
•40-60----permissible
•60-80---Doubtful
Boron hazard
• <1 mg./l Excellent
• 1-2 Good
• 2-3 Permissible
• 3-3.7 Doubtful
• >3.7 Unsuitable
Bicarbonate hazard
• < 1.25 me/l safe for irrigation

• 1.25-2.25 marginal

• >2.25 unsuitable
Industrial Use
• Pharmaceuticals --- purest
water

• Boilars ---- good quality

• Mining industry ---- Quality

requirement are less
Ground water pollution
• Indicator of pollution
• Types of pollution
• Sources of pollution
• Impact of pollution
• Treatment
Ground water pollution
• Indicator of pollution: Colour, test,
turbidity, odour
• Pollutants---- Types
• Organic: Benzene, CCl4,Pesticide,
Detergent
• Inorganic: Heavy metal,
Cd,Cr,Pb,Zn,Cu,Hg,Ni,Ag,NO3,As,TDS,pH,
Radioactive waste.
• Biological: Bacteria, Viruses
Sources of ground water pollution
• Natural—
• Sedimentary rocks and soil,
• Salt water encroachment,
• Effect of geological setting,
• Atmospheric sources,
• Lake acidification
• Human—
• Agricultural activity- Fertilizers, pesticides
• Industrial--- Mining, manufacturing, Heavy metal
from land fill
Impact-
Arsenic—Liver and kidney
• Fluorite—Tooth decay and bone
disorder
• Hardness---Decrease lather formation
• Iron-----Bitter test
• Lead----Affect red blood chemistry
• Volatile organic compound----- cancer
• Pesticide----poisoning
• Coliform bacteria--- Polio, cholera, Typhoid,
• Methods of Treatment of water
pH adjustment
• Removal of suspended solids
• Ion exchange
• Waste disposal—deep well
injection, land fill
• Activated carbon
Methods of treatment of inorganic
contaminants
• (i) Chemical addition
• (ii) Removal of suspended solids
 Coagulation
 Flocculation
 Sedimentation
 Filtration
• (iii) Ion exchange
• (iv) Earth material
• (v) Reverse osmosis
• (vi)Distillation
Chemical addition
• (i) pH Adjustment: The main reason for pH adjustment is
to remove heavy metals from the water and to maintain pH
around 7.
• Acid water are treated by
• (i) Passing water through limestone bed
• (ii) Caustic soda
• (iii) Adding lime (CaO)
• (iv) Adding soda ash (Na2CO3)
• In Lime-Soda Treatment, addition of lime (CaO) and soda ash (Na2CO3) reduces the
level of calcium and magnesium and is referred to as "lime softening."
• Alkaline water by
• (i) Bubbling Co2 in water
• (ii) Adding strong acid
Removal of heavy metals
• pH will have to be raised above 7 to remove the metals
(Fe,Cu,Ni,Cd,Zn,Ag,Pb)
• Fig.

• Solubility
• Mg/l

• --------------------------------------------
• pH
Chemical addition before precipitation
• Iron in ferrous state-
change from ferrous to ferric by adding
oxidizing agent and pH is raised
• Chromium in hexavalent state
Change from hexa to trivalemt by adding reducing
agent-sulphur dioxide,Sodium bisulfite,ferrous
sulphate and then pH is raised
• Arsenic– Add Ferrous or ferric state
and increase pH.
 Removal of suspended solid
• (ii)

• Adding inorganic coagulant – Lime, Alum

and Ferric chloride to neutralize negative
charge. So that particle can come in to
contact and form large particle
(coagulation) and finally settle down.

• Adding high molecular weight polymer to

grow the particles to larger size
( Flocculation) and finally settle down.
Coagulation, flucculation
• Natural and wastewater containing small particulates. They are
suspended in water forming a colloid. These particles carry the
same charges, and repulsion prevents them from combining into
larger particulates to settle. Thus, some chemical and physical
techniques are applied to help them settle. The phenomenon is
known as coagulation. A well known method is the addition of
electrolyte. Charged particulates combine with ions neutralizing
the charges. The neutral particulates combine to form larger
particles, and finally settle down.
•
• Another method is to use high-molecular-weight material to
attract or trap the particulates and settle down together. Such a
process is called flocculation. Starch and multiply charged ions
are often used.
Earth materials
• Movement of pollutant guided by
• Physical process- Advection, Hydraulic
dispersion, diffusion, convection
• Chemical process -Adsorption, Base
exchange, oxidation-reduction
• Grain size- porosity/permeability
Removing of Turbidity, organic matter, bacteria,
viruses by fine grain is more effective than coarse
grain
• (iii) Ion Exchange:
• Ion exchange is basically the
exchange of an ion with high ion
exchange selectivity for an ion
with a lower selectivity.
• Any divalent ion will usually have
higher ion exchange selectivity
than a monovalent ion.
Water softening

• The “softening” of water is the exchange of the hardness

cations (Ca++ and Mg++) for another cation that cannot form
scale because it is much more soluble: the sodium ion Na+ .

• To soften water, you take a cation exchange resin on which

the mobile ion inside the beads is sodium (Na+ ) and you
pass the hard water through a column filled with the sodium
form resin.
• The hardness ions Ca++ and Mg++ move into the resin beads
and each of these divalent cations is replaced by two sodium
ions getting out of the resin.
• The exchange reaction can be written as:
• 2 RNa + Ca++ R2Ca + 2 Na+
• Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process
that uses a partially permeable membrane to remove
ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from
drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure
is used to overcome osmotic pressure, a colligative
property, that is driven by chemical potential
differences of the solvent, a thermodynamic
parameter. Reverse osmosis can remove many types
of dissolved and suspended chemical species as well as
biological ones (principally bacteria) from water, and is
used in both industrial processes and the production
of potable water. The result is that the solute is
retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and
the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side.
Distillation-
Evaporation and
condensation
• Organic compound/ contaminants
• mg/l
• Benzene 0.005
• Ethylbenzene 0.700
• Monochlorobenzene 0.100

• O-Dichlorobenzene 0.600

• Para-Dichlorobenzene 0.075

• Carbon Tetrachloride 0.005

• Cis-1,2-Dichlorethylene 0.070
• 1,2-Dicholoethane 0.005
• 1.,1-Dichloroethylene 0.007

• Dichloromethane 0 .005
• 1,2-Dichlorophane 0.005

• O-,M-,P- Xylene 10.000

• Removal of organic contaminants
• Organics that are readily adsorbed by
activated carbon include:
• Aromatic solvents (benzene, toluene,
nitrobenzenes)
• Chlorinated aromatics (PCBs,
chlorobenzenes, chloroaphthalene)
• Phenol and chlorophenols
• Polynuclear aromatics
(acenaphthene, benzopyrenes)
• Pesticides and herbicides (DDT, aldrin,
chlordane, heptachlor)
• Chlorinated aliphatics (carbon
tetrachloride, chloroalkyl ethers)
• High molecular weight hydrocarbons
(dyes, gasoline, amines, humics)
Waste disposal site-
• Deep well injection
• Land fill should be provided with
impermeable layer.
• Evaluation of regions for subsurface injection
hazardous waste
• Regional stratigraphy
• Regional structure
• Regional hydrodynamics
• Regional seismicity
• Quality of ground water in
• fluvial deposits
• Carbonate deposits
• Coastal deposits
• Aeolian deposits
Fluvial deposits:
• Piedmont deposits:
Least mineralized
• Meander belt:
Moderately mineralized
• Backswamp:
Highly mineralized
•Carbonate deposits
•Limestone/Deposits
•Ca: Mg 1:1
•Evaporite (Gypsum,
anhydrite, halite)
Coastal deposits
• Estuarine
• Marine
• Laccustrine
• Heterogeneity and anisotropic sediments
• Calcium magnesium bicarbonate type
away from coast
• Sodium chloride type near to coast
• TDS and Chloride in lagoon is higher
than sea water
• Aquifer systems that contain
freshwater and saltwater are usually
stratified, with the more dense
saltwater underlying the freshwater.
A groundwater well discharging from
the freshwater zone causes the
saltwater to move upwards towards
the well. This phenomenon is known
as saltwater upconing.
• Aeolian deposits
• Dune deposits-
coastal,
river,
desert dunes
• Loess deposits
• Ground water will be acidic in
igneous rocks
• Ground water will be hard and
brackish in basalts, shale,
deltaic areas close to sea
• Good quality of water from
sandstone and river alluvium
 Artificial Recharge of
Ground Water
• Introduction
• Methods of Artificial recharge
• Advantage
• Disadvantage
Direct artificial recharge
methods:
• (i) Spreading
• (ii) Recharge Pits and Shafts
• (iii)Ditches
• (iv)Schematic of an Injection
Well
Indirect Artificial Recharge
methods
• (i)Enhanced Streambed
Infiltration (Induced
infiltration)
• (ii) Conjunctive Wells
Direct recharge methods:
Spreading methods
• This method involves surface spreading of water in basins that
are excavated in the existing terrain. For effective artificial
recharge highly permeable soils are suitable and maintenance
of a layer of water over the highly permeable soils is necessary.
When direct discharge is practiced the amount of water
entering the aquifer depends on three factors - the infiltration
rate, the percolation rate, and the capacity for horizontal water
movement.
• Recharge by spreading basins is most effective where there are
no impending layers between the land surface and the aquifer
and where clear water is available for recharge. It is common
• Recharge in areas:
• Alluvial fans along piedmont zone,
• Abandoned channel in flood plain,
• Sand dunes,
• Glacier outwashes,
• Eskers and kames,
• Morains,
• Karst,
• Shallow permeable vodose zone.
 Recharge Pits and Shafts
• Conditions that permit surface spreading methods for artificial recharge
are relatively rare. Often lenses of low permeability lie between the land
surface and water table. In such situations artificial recharge systems such
as pits and shafts could be effective penetrate the less permeable strata in
order to access the dewatered aquifer. The rate of recharge has been
found to increase as the side slopes of the pits increased.

• Unfiltered runoff waters leave a thin film of sediment on the sides and
bottom of the pits which require maintenance in order to sustain the high
recharge rates. Shafts may be circular, rectangular, or of square cross-
section and may be backfilled with porous material. Excavation may
terminate above the water table level or may be hydraulic connectors and
extend below the water table. Recharge rates in both shafts and pits may
decrease with time due to accumulation of fine grained materials and the
plugging effect brought about by microbial activity (O'Hare et al., 1986).
Ditches
• A ditch could be described as a long narrow trench,
with its bottom width less than its depth. A ditch
system can be designed to suit the topographic and
geologic conditions that exist at a given site. A layout
for a ditch and a flooding recharge project could
include a series of ditches trending down the
topographic slope. The ditches could terminate in a
collection ditch designed to carry away the water that
does not infiltrate in order to avoid ponding and to
reduce the accumulation of fine material (O'Hare et
al., 1986).
Recharge Wells

Schematic of an Injection Well

Recharge or injection wells are used to directly recharge water into
deep water-bearing zones. Recharge wells could be cased through
the material overlying the aquifer and if the earth materials are
unconsolidated, a screen can be placed in the well in the zone of
injection. In some cases, several recharge wells may be installed in
the same bore hole. Recharge wells are a suitable only in areas
where a thick impervious layer exists between the surface of the soil
and the aquifer to be replenished. They are also advantageous where
in areas where land is scarce. A relatively high rate of recharge can
be attained by this method. Clogging of the well screen or aquifer
may lead to excessive buildup of water levels in the recharge well. In
ideal conditions a well will accept recharge water at least as readily
as it will yield water by pumping.
Indirect Artificial Recharge
• Enhanced Streambed Infiltration (Induced
infiltration)
• This method of induced recharge consists of setting a gallery or a line of wells
parallel the bank of a river and at a short distance from it. Without the wells
there would be unimpeded outflow of groundwater to the river.
• When small amounts of groundwater are withdrawn from the gallery parallel
to the river, the amount of groundwater discharged into the river decreases.
The water recovered by the gallery consists wholly of natural groundwater.
Each groundwater withdrawal is accompanied by a drawdown in the water
table. For high recovery rates this drawdown tends to lower the groundwater
table at the shoreline below that at the river. Thus, surface water from the
river will be induced to enter the aquifer and to flow into the gallery.
• In areas where the stream is separated from the aquifer by materials of low
permeability, leakage from the stream may be so small that the system is not
feasible (O'Hare et al., 1986)
Conjunctive Wells
• A conjunctive well is one that is screened in both a
shallow confined aquifer and a deeper artesian
aquifer. Water is pumped from the deeper aquifer
and if its potentiometric surface is lowered below
the shallow water table, water from the shallow
aquifer drains directly into the deeper aquifer.
Water augmentation by conjunctive wells has the
advantage of utilizing sediment-free groundwater
which greatly reduces the damage of clogging well
screens.
• Advantage:
• Ground water recharge stores water
during wet season for use in the dry
season when demand is highest.
• Aquifer water can be improved by
recharging with high quality injected
water
• Disadvantage
• Contamination
• Significant volume of water is required
• Factors to consider for artificial
recharge
• Available of waste water
• Quality of source water available
• Clogging potential
• Underground storage space available
• Topography/Applicable methods
• Cost