Unit-IV

1. Ground water
 Contents
• Introduction
• Definitions
• Types of aquifer
• Darcy’s law
• Dupits theorem
Introduction:-
Groundwater is water located beneath the earth's surface in soil pore spaces and in the
fractures of rock formations
Groundwater hydrology may be defined as the science of the occurrence, distribution and
movement of water below the surface of the earth.
Groundwater is an important source of water supply through the world.
It serves as an important source in all climatic zones in general and in arid regions.
Most of the earth liquid fresh water is stored as groundwater.
Groundwater is commonly understood to mean water occupying all the voids with in the
geological stratum.
The fresh water is found in aquifer within 100-300 m below the earth surface.
 The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely
saturated with water is called the water table
Advantages of the groundwater:-
Many large capacity sites are available.
Slight to no evaporation losses.
requires little land area.
Uniform water temperature.
Highly biological purity
Disadvantages of Groundwater:-
Water must be pumped.
Suitable for storage and convenience use only
Water may be mineralized
Recharge water may require expensive treatment.
Division of subsurface water:
The occurrence of subsurface water may be divided into zone of aeration and zone
of saturation.
Zone of Aeration:-
This zone may be further sub-divided into soil water zone, intermediate zone
and capillary fringe.
Soil water zone:-
Soil water is held in the pore spaces between particles of soil.
 Soil water is the water that is immediately available to plants.
 This water can be removed by air drying or by plant absorption, but cannot be
removed by gravity.
Plants extract this water through their roots until the soil capillary force (force
holding water to the particle) is equal to the extractive force of the plant root.
 At this point the plant cannot pull water from the plant rooting zone and it wilts
(called the wilting point).
The amount of water held in the soil after excess water has drained is called the field
capacity of the soil.

INTERMEDIATE ZONE:
 This is the layer that is available next to the soil water zone.
 It lies in between the soil water zone and the capillary zone.
CAPILLARY ZONE:
The capillary fringe is the subsurface layer in which groundwater seeps up from a
water table by capillary action to fill pores.
 Pores at the base of the capillary fringe are filled with water due to tension
saturation.
This saturated portion of the capillary fringe is less than total capillary rise
because of the presence of a mix in pore size.
 If pore size is small and relatively uniform, it is possible that soils can be
completely saturated with water for several feet above the water table.
 Alternately, the saturated portion will extend only a few inches above the water
table when pore size is large.
Zone of Saturation:-
In this zone soil is saturated and this zone is also known as ground water zone.
This zone lies below the groundwater table.
The rainwater that infiltrates the ground surface percolates deep and joins the water table
and becomes the groundwater.
In reality, saturation extends slightly above the water table due to capillary attraction

Definitions:-
1. Aquifer:-
It is a water bearing geological formations which stores water and is also capable
transmitting water through its pores at a relatively large rater which is sufficient for
economical extraction of groundwater by wells.
or
It is a saturated formation which not only stores water but also yields it in
sufficient quantity when extracted because of its highly permeability.
Examples:- Gravel and sand
2. Aquitard:-
it is a partly permeable geological formation. It transmits water at such a slow
rate that the yield is insignificant
Examples:- Sandy clay
3. Aquiclude:-
It is an geological formation which contains water but cannot transmits it in
sufficient quantity because of its low permeability.
Examples:- clay and shales
4. Aquifuge:-
It is an geological formation which does not have interconnected pores. It neither
pores nor permeable.
Or
An impermeable body of rock which contains no interconnected openings or interstices and
therefore neither absorbs nor transmits water.
Examples:- granite and hard rock

Types of Aquifer
1. Confined Aquifer:-
It is an aquifer which is sandwiched between to impervious strata called confined
aquifer
 the piezometric surface is much higher than the top level of the aquifer at that point.
 If the water level in the well drilled in a confined aquifer rises above the ground surface
water flows out freely with any pump called artesian well.
 If the water level below the ground surface the well water does not flow freely and the
well called non-artesian well.
2. Un confined Aquifer:-
It is one in which a free surface (i.e water table) exists called un confined aquifer.
 The un confined aquifer extends from the ground surface up to the impervious stratum under
beneath.
A well drilled into an unconfined aquifer indicates the water level corresponding to the water
table at that location
Perched Aquifer
Definition
Aquifer that contain Perched ground water i.e. bodies of ground water separated from an
underlying body of groundwater by an unsaturated zone.

Description:-
A perched aquifer occurs above the regional water table and is generally a relatively small
body of water with an impermeable base under which lies an unsaturated zone. These are
unique water bodies not widely distributed and are not targeted for water supply.
.
Aquifer parameters:-
1.Porosity:-
It is defined as the ratio of the volume of pores or voids in the material to its total
volume

2.Specific yield:-
It is defined as the ratio of the volume of the water in an aquifer which can be
extracted by the force of gravity to the total volume of the saturated aquifer

3. Specific retention:-
It is defined as the ratio of the volume of water that cannot be drained out to the
total volume of the saturated aquifer
The total volume of voids is equal to the sum of volume of water drained out an the volume
of water retained i.e.,, Porosity is equal to the sum of specific yield and retention.

Note:-
Specific yield and specific retention depends upon the shape, size of the particle,
distribution of pores and compaction of the formation
For example, clay has a high porosity but low specific yield because its permeability is
low.
4.Permeability:-
The ability of water to flow through a soil is referred to as the Soil permeability.

5.Co-efficient of permeability:-
It is equal to the discharge per unit area of soil mass under unit hydraulic gradient
It is expressed in m/day.
6.Transmissibility:-
It is equal to the discharge rate at which water is transmitted through a unit width
of an aquifer under a unit hydraulic gradient.
T=kb
It is equal to the average thickness of the saturated zone of an unconfined aquifer.
It is expressed in m2/sec, m3/day/m, liters per day / m
The average value of 1 X 105 liters per day /m
7. Storativity (S) :-
Storativity or the storage coefficient is the volume of water released from storage
per unit decline in hydraulic head in the aquifer, per unit area of the aquifer.
Or
It is the ratio of the volume of water released to original volume.
The average value of storage coefficient usually lies between 1 X 10-5 to 1 X 10-3 .
8. Specific storage:-
It is the storage coefficient per unit saturated thickness of aquifer.
Ss=S/b
It is expressed in 1/cm or 1/m
9. Hydraulic Gradient:-
It is equal to the sum of pressure head and datum head.