2.

Ground water occurrence

When precipitation falls (Figure 1) it may: (i) be evaporated from the earth's surface or
from the leaves of plants (evapotranspiration) whose roots have taken up the moisture
from the soil; (ii) flow along or near the surface of the earth in watercourses of ever-
increasing size until it reaches the ocean; (iii) infiltrate down through the pores or
crevices of the earth's mantle either at the point where it falls or at some distant point to
which surface flow has carried it. Water which evaporates from the earth's surface or
bodies of water is ready to start the cycle over again as precipitation.
When water is added to dry or unsaturated soil it is held in the voids between particles
by capillary forces. Once the voids are saturated, however, the water is free to descend
under the effect of gravity. As long as there is sufficient water to maintain saturation, the
water will descend until it is stopped by some impervious layer, such as rock or highly
impervious clay. The water can then flow laterally through the voids or rock crevices
above the barrier. If there are significant differences in surface elevation, the water may
flow out along the impervious layer at some lower point called a spring. If a hole is made
vertically down into the saturated layer, water will flow into the hole. If the saturated
layer has sufficient interconnected voids, water will flow through it relatively rapidly.
When the saturated layer yields water in economic quantities, it is called an aquifer and
the hole made into it could be developed into a well. The lack of resistance to flow
through porous material is called permeability. In general, fine grained material such as
clay or silt is low in permeability; sand is of medium permeability, and gravel is most
permeable. Fractured rock varies in permeability depending on the degree and pattern
of fracture. The quantity of water which can be stored in an aquifer is equal to the total
volume of voids between the solid particles. The fraction of the total volume of an
aquifer made up of voids is called porosity. If the voids are interconnected, aquifers of
high porosity also tend to have high permeability.
Fig. 1 Hydrologic cycle
Sometimes groundwater is trapped under an impervious layer. An aquifer thus located
is called a confined aquifer. If the inflow area to a confined aquifer is higher than the
confining layer where a well penetrates it, the water will be under pressure and will rise
in the well to some level above the confining layer. Such a well is referred to as
artesian. If the water rises to the top of the well a "flowing well" results.
Obviously some locations offer better chances for successful wells than others. Clues
which can be helpful in selecting well locations are (i) locations and depth to water of
existing wells; (ii) existence of springs and/or streams; (iii) relative locations of infiltration
areas and rock outcroppings which might constitute an impervious layer; and (iv)
existence of known phreatophytes (plants requiring abundant water, whose roots
frequently extend to the water table). In some areas of uniform geology, such as certain
alluvial deposits in valleys, wells can be constructed anywhere with equal success.
In the absence of any clues or data, a test boring can be carried out by one of the
methods described under small diameter wells. Such a boring can be carried out
relatively quickly and cheaply and can save considerable time, money and frustration in
the long run.
When a well is pumped, the water in it drops to some level below the static level (Figure
2). The water surface in the aquifer then forms a "cone of depression" as it slopes from
the static level at some fairly large radius, R, to the well whose radius is r. If the well
completely penetrates the aquifer with the static height of water being H and the height
of water during pumping, h, then theoretical considerations give:
where:

Q = yield or rate of pumping (e.g. m3/hr, litres/sec, etc.)

K = permeability of the aquifer
Fig. 2 Flow into a well

(H - h) is known as the "drawdown" of the well. If the drawdown is small compared to H,

then the term (H + h) is approximately equal to 2H and the yield, Q, is approximately
proportional to the product of H times the drawdown. This shows the importance of
penetrating the aquifer to an adequate depth. By contrast the yield, Q, is much less
responsive to changes in well diameter, since it is inversely proportional to the natural
log of the ratio, (R/r).

GENERAL FACTS AND CONCEPTS ABOUT GROUND WATER

The following review of some basic facts and concepts about ground water serves as background
for the discussion of ground-water sustainability.
• Ground water occurs almost everywhere beneath the land surface. The widespread
occurrence of potable ground water is the reason that it is used as a source of water
 supply by about one-half the population of the United States, including almost all of the
population that is served by domestic water-supply systems.
• Natural sources of freshwater that become ground water are (1) areal recharge from
precipitation that percolates through the unsaturated zone to the water table
(Figure 4) and (2) losses of water from streams and other bodies of surface water
such as lakes and wetlands. Areal recharge ranges from a tiny fraction to about one-half
of average annual precipitation. Because areal recharge occurs over broad areas,even
small average rates of recharge (for example, a few inches per year) represent significant
volumes of inflow to ground water. Streams and other surface-water bodies may either
gain water from ground water or lose (recharge) water to ground water. Streams
commonly are a significant source of recharge to ground water downstream from
mountain fronts and steep hillslopes in arid and semiarid areas and in karst terrains (areas
underlain by limestone and other soluble rocks).

Figure 4. The unsaturated zone, capillary fringe, water table, and saturated zone.

Water beneath the land surface occurs in two principal zones, the unsaturated zone and
the saturated zone. In the unsaturated zone, the spaces between particle grains and the
cracks in rocks contain both air and water. Although a considerable amount of water
can be present in the unsaturated zone, this water cannot be pumped by wells because
capillary forces hold it too tightly.

In contrast to the unsaturated zone, the voids in the saturated zone are completely filled
with water. The approximate upper surface of the saturated zone is referred to as the
water table. Water in the saturated zone below the water table is referred to as ground
water. Below the water table, the water pressure is high enough to allow water to enter
a well as the water level in the well is lowered by pumping, thus permitting ground water
to be withdrawn for use.

Between the unsaturated zone and the water table is a transition zone, the capillary
fringe. In this zone, the voids are saturated or almost saturated with water that is held in
place by capillary forces.
• The top of the subsurface ground-water body, the water table, is a surface, generally
below the land surface, that fluctuates seasonally and from year to year in response
to changes in recharge from precipitation and surface-water bodies. On a regional
scale, the configuration of the water table commonly is a subdued replica of the land-
surface topography. The depth to the water table varies. In some settings, it can be at or
near the land surface; for example, near bodies of surface water in humid climates. In
other settings, the depth to the water table can be hundreds of feet below land surface.
• Ground water commonly is an important source of surface water. The contribution of
ground water to total streamflow varies widely among streams, but hydrologists estimate
the average contribution is somewhere between 40 and 50 percent in small and medium-
sized streams. Extrapolation of these numbers to large rivers is not straightforward;
however, the ground-water contribution to all streamflow in the United States may be as
large as 40 percent. Ground water also is a major source of water to lakes and wetlands.
• Ground water serves as a large subsurface water reservoir. Of all the freshwater that
exists, about 75 percent is estimated to be stored in polar ice and glaciers and about
25 percent is estimated to be stored as ground water. Freshwater stored in rivers, lakes,
and as soil moisture amounts to less than 1 percent of the world's freshwater. The
reservoir aspect of some large ground-water systems can be a key factor in the
development of these systems. A large ratio of total ground-water storage either to
ground-water withdrawals by pumping or to natural discharge is one of the potentially
useful characteristics of a ground-water system and enables water supplies to be
maintained through long periods of drought. On the other hand, high ground-water use in
areas of little recharge sometimes causes widespread declines in ground-water levels and
a significant decrease in storage in the ground-water reservoir.
• Velocities of ground-water flow generally are low and are orders of magnitude less than
velocities of streamflow. The movement of ground water normally occurs as slow
seepage through the pore spaces between particles of unconsolidated earth materials or
through networks of fractures and solution openings in consolidated rocks. A velocity of
1 foot per day or greater is a high rate of movement for ground water, and ground-water
velocities can be as low as 1 foot per year or 1 foot per decade. In contrast, velocities of
streamflow generally are measured in feet per second. A velocity of 1 foot per second
equals about 16 miles per day. The low velocities of ground-water flow can have
 important implications, particularly in relation to the movement of contaminants.
• Under natural conditions, ground water moves along flow paths from areas of recharge
to areas of discharge at springs or along streams, lakes, and wetlands. Discharge also
occurs as seepage to bays or the ocean in coastal areas, and as transpiration by plants
whose roots extend to near the water table. The three-dimensional body of earth material
saturated with moving ground water that extends from areas of recharge to areas of
discharge is referred to as a ground-water-flow system (Figure 5).

Figure 5. A local scale ground-water-flow system.

In this local scale ground-water-flow system,inflow of water from areal recharge occurs
at the water table. Outflow of water occurs as (1) discharge to the atmosphere as
ground-water evapotranspiration (transpiration by vegetation rooted at or near the water
table or direct evaporation from the water table when it is at or close to the land surface)
and (2) discharge of ground water directly through the streambed. Short, shallow flow
paths originate at the water table near the stream. As distance from the stream
increases, flow paths to the stream are longer and deeper. For long-term average
conditions, inflow to this natural ground-water system must equal outflow.
• The areal extent of ground-water-flow systems varies from a few square miles or less to
tens of thousands of square miles. The length of ground-water-flow paths ranges from a
few feet to tens, and sometimes hundreds, of miles. A deep ground-water-flow system
with long flow paths between areas of recharge and discharge may be overlain by, and in
 hydraulic connection with, several shallow, more local, flow systems (Figure 6). Thus,
the definition of a ground-water-flow system is to some extent subjective and depends in
part on the scale of a study.

Figure 6. A regional ground-water-flow system that comprises subsystems at different

scales and a complex hydrogeologic framework. (Modified from Sun, 1986.)
Significant features of this depiction of part of a regional ground-water-flow system
include (1) local ground-water subsystems in the upper water-table aquifer that
discharge to the nearest surface-water bodies (lakes or streams) and are separated by
ground-water divides beneath topographically high areas; (2) a subregional ground-
water subsystem in the water-table aquifer in which flow paths originating at the water
table do not discharge into the nearest surface-water body but into a more distant one;
and (3) a deep, regional ground-water-flow subsystem that lies beneath the water-table
subsystems and is hydraulically connected to them. The hydrogeologic framework of
the flow system exhibits a complicated spatial arrangement of high hydraulic-
conductivity aquifer units and low hydraulic-conductivity confining units. The horizontal
scale of the figure could range from tens to hundreds of miles.
• The age (time since recharge) of ground water varies in different parts of ground-water-
flow systems. The age of ground water increases steadily along a particular flow path
through the ground-water-flow system from an area of recharge to an area of discharge.
In shallow, local-scale flow systems, ages of ground water at areas of discharge can vary
from less than a day to a few hundred years. In deep, regional flow systems with long
flow paths (tens of miles), ages of ground water may reach thousands or tens of
thousands of years.
• Surface and subsurface earth materials are highly variable in their degree of particle
consolidation, the size of particles, the size and shape of pore or open spaces between
particles and between cracks in consolidated rocks, and in the mineral and chemical
composition of the particles. Ground water occurs both in loosely aggregated and
unconsolidated materials, such as sand and gravel, and in consolidated rocks, such as
sandstone, limestone, granite, and basalt.
• Earth materials vary widely in their ability to transmit and store ground water. The
ability of earth materials to transmit ground water (quantified as hydraulic conductivity)
varies by orders of magnitude and is determined by the size, shape, interconnectedness,
and volume of spaces between solids in the different types of materials. For example, the
interconnected pore spaces in sand and gravel are larger than those in finer grained
sediments, and the hydraulic conductivity of sand and gravel is larger than the hydraulic
conductivity of the finer grained materials. The ability of earth materials to store ground
water also varies among different types of materials. For example, the volume of water
stored in cracks and fractures per unit volume of granite is much smaller than the volume
stored per unit volume in the intergranular spaces between particles of sand and gravel.
• Wells are the principal direct window to study the subsurface environment. Not only are
wells used to pump ground water for many purposes, they also provide essential
information about conditions in the subsurface. For example, wells (1) allow direct
measurement of water levels in the well, (2) allow sampling of ground water for chemical
analysis, (3) provide access for a large array of physical measurements in the borehole
(borehole geophysical logging) that give indirect information on the properties of the
fluids and earth materials in the neighborhood of the well, and (4) allow hydraulic testing
(aquifer tests) of the earth materials in the neighborhood of the well to determine local
values of their transmitting and storage properties. In addition, earth materials can be
sampled directly at any depth during the drilling of the well.
• Pumping ground water from a well always causes (1) a decline in ground-water levels
(heads; see Figure 7) at and near the well, and (2) a diversion to the pumping well of
ground water that was moving slowly to its natural, possibly distant, area of
discharge. Pumping of a single well typically has a local effect on the ground-water-flow
system. Pumping of many wells (sometimes hundreds or thousands of wells) in large
areas can have regionally significant effects on ground-water systems.
Figure 7. The concept of "hydraulic head" or "head" at a point in an aquifer.
Consider the elevations above sea level at points A and B in an unconfined aquifer and
C in a confined aquifer. Now consider the addition of wells with short screened intervals
at these three points. The vertical distance from the water level in each well to sea level
is a measure of hydraulic head or head, referenced to a common datum at each point A,
B, and C, respectively. Thus, head at a point in an aquifer is the sum of (a) the elevation
of the point above a common datum, usually sea level, and (b) the height above the
point of a column of static water in a well that is screened at the point. When we discuss
declines or rises in ground-water levels in a particular aquifer in this report, we are
referring to changes in head or water levels in wells that are screened or have an open
interval in that aquifer.
(Box A)
• Ground-water heads respond to pumping to markedly different degrees in unconfined
and confined aquifers. Pumping the same quantity of water from wells in confined and
in unconfined aquifers initially results in much larger declines in heads over much larger
areas for the confined aquifers (see Box A). This is because less water is available from
storage in confined aquifers compared to unconfined aquifers. At a later time, as the
amount of water derived from storage decreases and the system approaches equilibrium,
the response of the system no longer depends upon being confined or unconfined. The
amount of head decline at equilibrium is a function of the transmitting properties of the
 aquifers and confining units, discharge rate of the well, and distance to ground-water-
system boundaries. Many aquifers, such as the upper part of the deep flow subsystem
shown in Figure 6, exhibit a response to pumping that is intermediate between a
completely confined and a completely unconfined aquifer system.

8. Water in the Unsaturated Zone

8.1 Introduction
In most areas, with the exception of bogs and swamps, the water table is some distance below the
ground surface. Between the ground surface and the water table is a region in which the pore
spaces of the rock or soil may be partly filled with air and partly with water. This region is
referred to as the unsaturated zone or vadose zone and water in this zone is referred to as soil
moisture. Hydrologists want to be able to describe the flow of water in the unsaturated zone to
deal with a number of important issues. For example, in the last chapter we discussed the concept
of recharge to subsurface aquifers. Recharge takes place most often through the unsaturated zone,
either overlying an unconfined aquifer or in the recharge zone of a confined aquifer.
Another important aspect of water flow in the vadose zone is the water balance of plants. Most
terrestrial plants extract water from the vadose zone. Plants wilt when soils become too dry
because the forces holding the water in the soil are too great to allow the plants access to the
water. Related to the water balance of plants is the practice of irrigation in agriculture.
Agriculture accounts for about two-thirds of global water use, with about 2.35¥106 km2 of
cropland irrigated worldwide, or about 16% of the total (Postel, 1993). Arid regions are
especially dependent on irrigation. One estimate of world-wide average irrigation efficiency, the
ratio of volume of water utilized by crops to the total volume applied, is approximately 37%
(Postel, 1993). Understanding the movement of soil water, and its uptake by plants and "loss"
through evapotranspiration and recharge to the groundwater system, is essential in this regard.
An example of an important problem in vadose-zone hydrology is the use of semiarid locations
with deep unsaturated zones for the disposal of wastes. The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy
Act was passed by the United States Congress in 1980. This act provides for the formation of
regional compacts by states to supply sites for the safe disposal of low-level radioactive waste
(LLRW). LLRW includes test tubes, rags, rubber gloves, tools, and so forth used in medical
research and treatment, in other research (for example, in research in environmental sciences to
study the biodegradation of organic wastes), and in nuclear power plants. The major concern
about finding a suitable site is groundwater contamination, because the pathway through
groundwater is the one that is most likely to be the one that places human populations at risk of
exposure to contaminants. Given the concern for transport of contaminants to groundwater, it has
been recognized for some time that disposal of wastes in the unsaturated zone in a desert
environment should be one of the safest alternatives for such disposal (Winograd, 1974).
In response to the LLRW Policy Act, Arizona, California, North Dakota, and South Dakota
formed the Southwest Compact and selected a site in Ward Valley in the Mojave Desert for the
first disposal site for the Compact. Before any site can be used for the disposal of wastes, a
license must be obtained. The licensing procedure requires careful study of the site and estimates
of rates at which radionuclides might leach into the groundwater. One of the key parts of the
analysis is the determination of flow rates in the unsaturated zone. Even with careful study, siting
waste-disposal facilities is a contentious issue and opposition can be expected to any site.
Opponents often challenge the scientific assumptions regarding hydrological processes. The
relationships between the forces on and the flow of water are ingredients of arguments presented
by both proponents and opponents of waste-disposal facilities. We will return to the case of Ward
Valley at the end of this chapter after we have developed the ideas useful in describing the flow
of soil moisture.
Finally, as we will see in our discussion of catchment dynamics in Chapter 9, the storage within
and release of water from the vadose zone are quite important in determining the stormflow
dynamics of a catchment. The infiltration and movement of water in the unsaturated zone
represents one potential pathway for precipitation entering a stream. Variation in the ability of
water to infiltrate a soil or rock is therefore an important aspect of catchment water dynamics.
The early literature recognized three divisions within the unsaturated zone: the capillary fringe,
the intermediate belt and the belt of soil water (e.g., see Meinzer, 1923). According to Meinzer,
the capillary fringe is "a zone in which the pressure is less than atmospheric, overlying the zone
of saturation and containing capillary interstices some or all of which are filled with water that is
continuous with the water in the zone of saturation but is held above that zone by capillarity
acting against gravity." That is, the capillary fringe is a saturated zone above the water table
where water is affected by capillary forces. The uppermost belt, or belt of soil water, is "that part
of the lithosphere immediately below the surface, from which water is discharged into the
atmosphere in perceptible quantities by the action of plants or by soil evaporation." This
definition recognizes that plants, for the most part, extract water from a portion of the soil (the
"root zone") near the surface. The intermediate belt is "that part of a zone of aeration [i.e., the
unsaturated zone] that lies between the belt of soil water and the capillary fringe." The
intermediate belt is distinguished mainly by the fact that something must be between the root
zone and the capillary fringe. The distribution of moisture above the water table is what
motivates the definition suggested above. The volumetric moisture content (or simply moisture
content) in the capillary fringe is the saturation value (Figure 8.1). In other words, the pores are
completely filled with water. Volumetric moisture content, or more precisely volume wetness, is
defined as the volume of water per bulk volume of soil sample. We will use the symbol q to
represent volumetric moisture content. After a rather rapid decrease from saturation, the moisture
content in the intermediate belt may remain fairly constant. Field capacity is a term used to
represent this "constant" moisture content. The moisture content in the soil water belt decreases
rapidly from the field capacity due to the extraction of water by plant roots and to direct
evaporation at the soil surface.
The divisions of the vadose zone often are useful in describing general observations of soil
moisture. Of course, there are no sharp dividing lines marked off in the field. The physical
principles that we use to quantify flows in the vadose zone do not change in moving, say, from
the root zone to the intermediate zone. The terminology introduced above is used widely,
however, and we will encounter these descriptive terms later. Our introduction to the physics of
soil moisture will hold for all of the zones.
Figure 8.1 The distribution of moisture in the vadose zone and the classification of waters
according to Meinzer (1923). Water near the surface of the soil is available for uptake by plant
roots. After several days of fair weather, the moisture content in this belt of soil water (or root
zone) decreases substantially due to evapotranspiration. Directly beneath the root zone, the
moisture content tends to be fairly constant over a depth of up to a meter or more. The relatively
constant value of moisture content in this region is referred to as the field capacity of the soil.
Near the water table, the pores of the soil act as "capillary tubes" and remain saturated even
though the pressure head in the water is negative. This saturated zone above the water table is the
capillary fringe.

8.2 Forces on Water in the Unsaturated Zone

The unsaturated zone is a three-phase system consisting of soil, water, and air. The physical
description of the system and of the flow of water in the system are thus more complex than for
the two-phase system of the saturated zone. A full treatment on a microscale of the diverse forces
acting on water in an unsaturated soil and the resultant motion of this water is not feasible.
Fortunately, empirical work shows that, as in saturated soils, water flow in unsaturated soils is
down a gradient of hydraulic head of soil water. For flow of groundwater in the saturated zone,
the hydraulic head is composed of two components, pressure head (p/rg) and head due to gravity,
or elevation head (z). Darcy's law states that the flux of groundwater is proportional to the
gradient in hydraulic head. Gradients in elevation head and in pressure head also drive flows in
the vadose zone. All terrestrial water, including soil moisture, is within the Earth's gravitational
field. Therefore, head due to gravity in the vadose zone is once again the potential energy per unit
weight, z, that is, the elevation above datum. The main way that the physics for the vadose zone
differs from that for the saturated zone is in the pressure head term of the force balance.

8.2.1 Pressure head

If water is withdrawn from a rock or soil matrix that does not shrink upon drying, air enters the
pore space, and air-water interfaces (menisci) are present in the pore space. Such curved
interfaces are maintained by capillary forces. Surface tension acting in the interfaces provides a
mechanism of soil-water retention against externally applied suction. This phenomenon is seen in
the rise of water in capillary tubes, for example, and is explained by the attractive forces between
the glass walls of the tube and the water. The glass attracts the adjacent water molecules more
strongly than do other water molecules themselves. The water is therefore "pulled" up the inside
of the tube (Figure 8.2). This "pull" is a tension which, in the terms that we are using, is a
negative (gage) pressure. That is, the gage pressure in unsaturated soils is negative. Negative
pressure heads are developed in unsaturated rock and soil matrices. The height of rise in a
capillary tube (a measure of the negative pressure head) is inversely related to the diameter of the
tube. Water will rise higher in a tube with a small diameter than it will in a tube with a large
diameter. This observation translates to soil physics in that smaller diameter pores retain water
against higher suctions than do larger pores (cf. the large capillary tube and the small capillary
tube sketched in Figure 8.2). Thus, when water drains from a soil or rock, large pores empty first
because it takes relatively less applied suction to pull water out of larger pores. The negative
pressure produced by capillary forces, when divided by rg, is referred to as the capillary-pressure
head.
Figure 8.2 Surface tension "pulls" water up into capillary tubes. Water pressure within the tubes
is less than atmospheric pressure, or is negative in gage units. The height of water above the free
surface in the tube is equal to the negative of the capillary-pressure head. The amount of negative
pressure head with which a capillary tube can "hold" water is inversely related to the diameter of
the tube. That is, small-diameter tubes (and by analogy, soil pores) hold water at a more negative
pressure head than do large-diameter tubes (or soil pores).

At first glance, the idea of negative pressure head does not seem intuitive to most people. Yet
there are commonplace examples with which most of us are familiar. If asked about the pressure
head at the surface of a pan of water in your kitchen, you should be comfortable with the answer
"zero." But what happens if you bring a dry sponge just barely into contact with the water
surface? Water rises into the pores of the sponge. The sponge pulls water up from a state of zero
pressure head. The "pull" is capillary tension, a negative gage pressure. Conversely, if the sponge
subsequently is withdrawn from the water surface, all of the water does not drain out. The sponge
retains water against the downward action of gravity by counteracting the downward gradient in
elevation head with an upward gradient in (negative) pressure head.

8.3 Capillary-Pressure Head and the Moisture Characteristic

For areas where there are moderate fluxes of water through the vadose zone, the two major
driving forces on soil water are the gradients in the negative capillary-pressure head and the
gradient in elevation head. This situation is exactly analogous to that for flow in the saturated
zone, with the only change being that the positive pressure heads encountered in groundwater are
replaced by negative capillary-pressure heads.

Thus, the hydraulic head for the vadose zone is defined to be the sum of the head due to gravity
and the (negative) capillary-pressure head. (In general, several forces act to create the negative
pressure heads in the unsaturated zone. The treatment given here remains valid, but an
"equivalent" negative pressure head that incorporates all important forces, rather than just
capillarity, is used. See Childs (1969) or Guymon (1994) for further explanation. The material
that we present is strictly valid for relatively moist soils and rocks and is valid for almost all
circumstances with the extended definition of negative pressure head.)
A suction (or negative pressure relative to atmospheric pressure) must be applied in order to
withdraw water from the unsaturated zone above the water table. The greater the applied suction,
the more water is withdrawn, and the lower is the soil-moisture content when the soil has reached
equilibrium with the applied suction. Our example of a sponge may provide insight. In the
kitchen, we don't have devices to exert suction to remove water from a sponge. We can make an
analogy between exerting suction and "squeezing" the sponge, however. If we exert small effort
in squeezing a sponge, a relatively small amount of the water will be forced from the pores. To
paraphrase the sentence referring to exerting suction on a rock, the greater the applied
"squeezing" to the sponge, the more water is withdrawn, and the lower is the amount of water
remaining in the sponge when "squeezing" has ceased. The relationship between the external
suction applied to a rock and the amount of water per bulk volume (the moisture content) that the
rock retains against that de-watering suction is called the moisture characteristic. The applied
negative pressure is a measure of the water-retaining forces of the soil and represents the
capillary-pressure head, y. The moisture characteristic generally is presented as a plot of y versus
q.
The moisture characteristic for a porous material can be determined using a pressure plate
apparatus (Figure 8.3). The rock (soil) sample sits on a porous plate made of a fine-grained
material (e.g., a ceramic) that remains saturated even at high negative pressure heads. The sample
is allowed to equilibrate at a given negative pressure head and the moisture content associated
with this capillary-pressure head is determined. The experiment is repeated at different negative
heads to obtain other points on the moisture characteristic. The locus of all such points then
defines the moisture characteristic (Figure 8.4). The moisture characteristic is one of the
important curves that define the relationships among hydraulic variables in the soil-water system.
Another is the relationship between moisture content and hydraulic conductivity.

Figure 8.3 A pressure plate for measuring capillary-pressure head. The rock sample is placed in
contact with the ceramic plate which is saturated with water under a negative pressure head that
is set by the distance of the free water surface to the right of the diagram below the ceramic plate.
The moisture content of the sample is recorded after the sample has come to equilibrium with the
selected capillary-pressure head. This measurement gives one point on the moisture characteristic
curve.
Figure 8.4 Moisture characteristic for a fine sand determined by starting at saturation and
draining the sample. Note that for this sand, saturation is maintained for capillary-pressure heads
between 0 and -0.36 m. The capillary fringe in such a material would be 0.36 m high. As the
capillary-pressure head is reduced from about -0.40 m to -0.45 m, the moisture content drops
sharply from the saturation value of 0.35 to about 0.15. This steep drop is typical for sandy soils.
Much of the pore space is in large pores which drain once a critical suction is exceeded. The
moisture content therefore drops abruptly. On the other hand, moisture content drops by only
about 0.08 as capillary-pressure head drops from -0.45 m to -0.60 m.

Aquifers: Underground Stores of Freshwater

By Becky Oskin - Contributing Writer 2018-10-17T17:04:00Z

• 
 
 
 
 

Shares
(Image: © Environment Canada / USGS)

Aquifers are underground layers of rock that are saturated with water that can be brought to the
surface through natural springs or by pumping.
The groundwater contained in aquifers is one of the most important sources of water on Earth:
About 30 percent of our liquid freshwater is groundwater, according to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The rest is found at the surface in streams, lakes, rivers
and wetlands. Most of the world's freshwater — about 69 percent — is locked away in glaciers
and ice caps. The U.S. Geological Survey website has a map of important aquifers in the
contiguous United States.

Groundwater can be found in a range of different types of rock, but the most productive aquifers
are found in porous, permeable rock such as sandstone, or the open cavities and caves of
limestone aquifers. Groundwater moves more readily through these materials, which allows for
faster pumping and other methods of extracting the water. Aquifers can also be found in regions
where the rock is made of denser material — such as granite or basalt — if that rock has cracks
and fractures.

"Aquifers come in many shapes and sizes, but they are really a contained, underground
repository of water," said Steven Phillips, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
in Sacramento, California.
Dense, impermeable material like clay or shale can act as an "aquitard," i.e., a layer of rock or
other material that is almost impenetrable to water. Through groundwater might move through
such material, it will do so very slowly (if at all). Faults or mountains can also block the
movement of fresh groundwater, as can the ocean, Phillips said.
An aquitard can trap groundwater in an aquifer and create an artesian well. When groundwater
flows beneath an aquitard from a higher elevation area to a lower elevation, such as from a
mountain slope to a valley floor, the pressure on the groundwater can be enough to force the
water out of any well that's drilled into that aquifer. Such wells are known as artesian wells, and
the aquifers they tap into are called artesian aquifers or confined aquifers.
How groundwater moves
When new surface water enters an aquifer, it "recharges" the groundwater supply. Recharge
primarily happens near mountains, and groundwater usually flows downward from mountain
slopes toward streams and rivers by the force of gravity, Phillips said. Depending on the density
of the rock and soil through which groundwater moves, it can creep along as slowly as a few
centimeters in a century, according to Environment Canada. In other areas, where the rock and
soil are looser and more permeable, groundwater can move several feet in a day.
The water in an aquifer can be held beneath the Earth's surface for many centuries: Hydrologists
estimate that the water in some aquifers is more than 10,000 years old (meaning that it fell to the
Earth's surface as rain or snow roughly 6,000 years before Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza was
built). The oldest groundwater ever found was discovered 2 miles (2.4 km) deep in a Canadian
mine and trapped there between 1.5 and 2.64 billion years ago.
But the deeper one digs for water, the saltier the liquid becomes, Phillips said. "Groundwater can
be very, very deep, but eventually it's a brine," he said. "For freshwater, the depths are very
limited."

Much of the drinking water on which society depends is contained in shallow aquifers. For
example, the Ogallala Aquifer — a vast, 174,000 square-mile (450,000 square kilometers)
groundwater reservoir — supplies almost one-third of America's agricultural groundwater, and
more than 1.8 million people rely on the Ogallala Aquifer for their drinking water.
Similarly, Texas gets almost 60 percent of its water from groundwater; in Florida, groundwater
supplies more than 90 percent of the state's freshwater. But these important sources of freshwater
are increasingly endangered.
Agriculture and a growing human population place significant demands on dwindling aquifers.
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Threats to aquifers
By 2010, about 30 percent of the Ogallala Aquifer's groundwater had been tapped, according to a
2013 study from Kansas State University. Some parts of the Ogallala Aquifer are now dry, and
the water table has declined more than 300 feet in other areas. More than two-thirds of this
Ogalalla aquifer groundwater could be drained in the next several decades, the study found.
"The water levels have just been going down, down, down," Phillip said. "A lot of that system
was recharged 10,000 years ago during the most recent glacial period, and what we're doing now
is mining the water. We're taking out old water that isn't being replenished."
The same problem is increasingly found throughout the world, especially in areas where a
rapidly growing population is placing greater demand on limited aquifer resources — pumping
can, in these places, exceed the aquifer's ability to recharge its groundwater supplies.
When pumping of groundwater results in a lowering of the water table, then the water table can
drop so low that it's below the depth of a well. In those cases, the well "runs dry" and no water
can be removed until the groundwater is recharged — which, in some cases, can take hundreds
or thousands of years.
When the ground sinks because of groundwater pumping, it is called subsidence. In California's
southern San Joaquin Valley, where farmers rely on wells for irrigation, the land surface settled
28 feet (8.5 meters) between the 1920s and the 1970s, according to NASA, which uses satellite
data to track subsidence.
"Land subsidence is a threat to aquifers and also to infrastructure on the surface," Phillips said.
In addition to groundwater levels, the quality of water in an aquifer can be threatened by
saltwater intrusion (a particular problem in coastal areas), biological contaminants such as
manure or septic tank discharge, and industrial chemicals such as pesticides or petroleum
products. And once an aquifer is contaminated, it's notoriously difficult to remediate.

Groundwater or phreatic water is subsurface water which absolutely saturates the pore
spaces above an impermeable layer.

Water found in the pore spaces, cracks, tubes, crevices beneath the surface has been
termed as underground water, groundwater, subsurface water and subterranean water.
Sources of Groundwater:
There are four sources of groundwater:
(i) Connate water:
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At the time of rock formation water is trapped in the interstices of sedimentary rocks.
(ii) Meteoric water:
It originates in the atmosphere, falls as rain and ultimately becomes groundwater by
infiltration. It forms the major part of groundwater.
(iii) Juvenile water:
It originates in the earth’s interior and reaches the upper layers of the earth’s surface as
magmatic water.
(iv) Condensational water:
It is the prime source which replenishes water in deserts and semi-desert areas. During
summer, land becomes warmer than the air trapped in the soil, which leads to a huge
difference of pressure between the water vapour in the atmosphere and the water
vapour trapped in the soil. Thus the atmospheric water vapour penetrates the rocks and
gets converted into water due to falling temperature of the water vapour below.
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All the four sources get mixed along complex water-migration routes.
Occurrence of Groundwater:
More than half of all groundwater is available within 750 m of the earth’s surface.
However, evidences of the presence of groundwater are also found at a depth of more
than 11000 m, for instance in the Kola Peninsula of Russia. Water below the ground is
available in four zones, viz., soil zone, intermediate zone, capillary zone and saturation
zone.
The zone where water is available is called the zone of aeration. There are two forces
which actively prevent groundwater from moving downward, viz., (a) the molecular
attraction between water and the rock and earth materials and (b) the molecular
attraction between water particles.
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The zone of aeration is further sub-divided into three layers—soil moisture zone,
intermediate zone and capillary zone, collectively called Vadose Zone. Some amount of
water in this zone is used by plants. At the bottom of the intermediate zone lies the
capillary fringe (a thin layer of 2 to 3 cm) from where water moves upward. The capillary
condition is temporarily destroyed when heavy rain takes place. In such cases the
groundwater body is replenished by recharge.
The zone of saturation lies below the zone of aeration and is also called the phreatic
zone. The water available in this zone is known as groundwater. The groundwater table
or water table segregates the zone of aeration and the zone of saturation. The maximum
elevation of water in a well which penetrates the groundwater zone is known as
piezometric water table. Generally, the water table follows the irregularities of the
earth’s surface; for example, the water table is highest beneath hills and lowest beneath
valleys.

A geological structure fully saturated by water, capable of producing sufficient quantities

of water that can be economically used and developed, is known as aquifer (Latin; to
bear water). Examples include sandstone layer, unconsolidated sand and gravel,
limestone, fractured plutonic and metamorphic rocks which act as aquifers. An aquifer
can be broadly divided into (a) unconfined and (b) confined aquifers.
In the former case, water recharge may take place from lateral groundwater flow or from
upward movement of water. The latter (also known as artesian or pressure aquifers)
have an impermeable stratum that maintains hydrostatic pressure sufficient enough to
raise water higher than the surface of the aquifer. Confining layers of the aquifer can be
categorised into aquicludes, aquitards and aquifuges. Aquicludes form small saturated
layers above the impermeable layers; examples are clay, shale and most of the igneous
and metamorphic rocks.
Aquitards’ form confining layers but cannot completely check water flow to or from an
adjacent aquifer. An aquifuge consists of a rock layer which has no interconnected
opening or interstices. So it neither stores nor transmits water, for example, quartzite,
obsidian. Water penetrates an aquifer through a recharge area which is exposed or is
covered by a permeable zone of aeration. Water rises to the level of water table if digging
can be done through the zone of aeration into the saturation zone.

Controlling Factors of the Occurrence of Groundwater:

The occurrence of groundwater is influenced by the following factors:
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Climate Groundwater is easily available at great depths in arid regions while it exists at
shallow depth in humid regions. Water table rises during rainy season and sinks in dry
season.
Topography the water table tends to be higher near the hilltops and lower near the
valleys, because near the valleys water seepages into streams, swamps and lakes cause
descending water table.
Types of Materials Porosity and permeability of the underground materials have an
impact on the storage and movement of groundwater. The variability in porosity exists
as the underground materials are heterogeneous in nature.
Porosity refers to the percentage of the total volume of rock with voids. Porosity
determines the volume of water a rock body can retain. Four types of pore spaces are
found—(i) Pore space between mineral grains, (ii) Fractures, (iii) Solution cavities, and
(iv) Vesicles.
Permeability refers to the capacity of a rock body to transmit water. Sandstone and
conglomerate are highly permeable because of the presence of relatively large
interconnected pore space between the grains.
Nature and Movement of Groundwater The groundwater movement takes place through
pore spaces at extremely slow velocity. The flow velocity of groundwater is expressed in
metres-1 day. Water percolates from areas of high water table to the areas where water
table is lowest i.e., towards lakes and surface streams.
Such differences of water table are known as hydraulic head. Groundwater percolates
through the soil layers after being activated by gravity. Since the bottom layers of a soil
are compact due to tremendous weight exerted by the overlying soil, permeability
decreases downward. So, the vertical infiltration of water decreases and if the soil is
situated on a slope groundwater deflects downslope as thorough flow.
The nature of groundwater at shallow depth reveals that it acts both as reservoir as well
as conduit. Groundwater at shallow level forms a small but integral part of the
hydrological cycle.
Precipitation falls on recharge areas where water adds up to the saturated zone. It
moves ultimately to discharge areas i.e., areas where subsurface water is discharged to
river or other water bodies. The areal extent of discharge areas is smaller than recharge
areas.

In humid regions recharge areas are found everywhere except streams and adjacent
floodplains whereas in arid regions recharge areas encompass only the mountains and
bordering alluvial fans and also the major streams underlain by porous alluvium
through which water percolates and recharges groundwater.
The fluctuation of water table is evident from the fact that in regions like the Indian
subcontinent which experiences monsoon climate, the water table flattens and gradually
the high water table beneath hills decreases to the level of valleys particularly during dry
periods.
If the permeability of the ground remains uniform, the velocity of groundwater flow
increases with an increasing gradient of slope of the water table (hydraulic gradient).

How Ground Water Occurs

It is difficult to visualize water underground. Some people believe that ground water collects in underground lake
fully saturates pores or cracks in soils and rocks. Ground water is replenished by precipitation and, depending on
rain falls or snow melts, some of the water evaporates, some is transpired by plants, some flows overland and col
water that enters the soil replaces water that has been evaporated or used by plants during a preceding dry period
unsaturated zone. In this unsaturated zone, there usually is at least a little water, mostly in smaller openings of th
rain, the zone may be almost saturated; after a long dry spell, it may be almost dry. Some water is held in the uns
forces hold enough water in a wet towel to make it feel damp after it has stopped dripping.

How ground water occurs in rocks.

After the water requirements for plant and soil are satisfied, any excess water will infiltrate to the water table--th
all the openings in the rocks are full of water that moves through the aquifer to streams, springs, or wells from w
because ground water moves slowly through the unsaturated zone and the aquifer. The rate of recharge is also an
underlies the High Plains of Texas and New Mexico--an area of slight precipitation--was emptied, it would take c
shallow aquifer in an area of substantial precipitation may be replenished almost immediately.
Aquifers can be replenished artificially. For example, large volumes of ground water used for air conditioning ar
artificially recharged in two main ways: One way is to spread water over the land in pits, furrows, or ditches, or t
it to infiltrate to the aquifer; the other way is to construct recharge wells and inject water directly into an aquifer a
spreading method is not feasible. Although some artificial-recharge projects have been successful, others have be
environments and their receptivity to artificial-recharge practices.
A well, in simple concept, may be regarded as nothing more than an extra large pore in the rock. A well dug or d
If water is pumped from a well, gravity will force water to move from the saturated rocks into the well to replace
pumping stress to assure a continuing water supply? Some rock, such as clay or solid granite, may have only a fe
small quantities of water and are poor aquifers. By comparison, rocks such as fractured sandstones and cavernou
rocks transmit larger quantities of water and are good aquifers. The amounts of water that an aquifer will yield to
day.

Aquifer has to contain water and transmit water (two requirements to be an quifer), otherwise it’s not an aquifer.
It’s gonna let the water in and also out

Two types of aquifer

1. Unconfined aquifer – it’s not confined on top or bottom. NOT confined on top but only at bottom
2. Confined aquifer – it’s got layers on top and bottom. The WATER IN CONFINED AQUIFER
is pressurized

Aquifer Properties