2.

7 Well hydraulics
A well is a hydraulic structure which, if properly designed and constructed, permits
economic withdrawal of water from an aquifer. When water is pumped from a well, the
water table (or the piezometric surface in case of a confined aquifer) is lowered around
the well. The surface of a lowered water table resembles a cone and is, therefore, called
the cone of depression. The horizontal distance from the center of a well to the practical
limit of the cone of depression is known as the radius of influence of the well. It is larger
for wells in confined aquifers than for those in unconfined aquifers. All other variables
remaining the same, the radius of influence is larger in aquifers with higher
transmissivity than in those with lower transmissivity. The difference, measured in the
vertical direction, between the initial water table (or the piezometric surface in the confined
aquifer) and its lowered level due to pumping at any location within the radius
of influence is called the drawdown at that location. Well yield is defined as the volume
of water discharge, either by pumping or by free flow, per unit time. Well yield per unit
drawdown in the well is known as the specific capacity of the well.
With the continued pumping of a well, the cone of depression continues to expand in an
extensive aquifer until the pumping rate is balanced by the recharge rate. When pumping
and recharging rates balance each other, a steady or equilibrium condition exists and there
is no further drawdown with continued pumping. In some wells, the equilibrium condition
may be attained within a few hours of pumping, while in others it may not occur even after
prolonged pumping.

2.7.1 Steady Flow toward a Well in Confined and Unconfined Aquifers

Wells are one of the most important aspects of applied hydrogeology. Water wells are
used for the extraction of ground water to fill domestic, municipal, industrial, and
irrigation needs. Wells have also been used to control salt-water intrusion, remove
contaminated water from an aquifer, lower the water table for construction projects,

15
relieve pressures under dams, and drain farmland. Wells also function to inject fluids into
the ground. Still another function of wells is to dispose of wastewater into isolated
aquifers. Finally, as a means of ground-water management, wells are sometimes used to
artificially recharge aquifers at rates greater than natural recharge.
The same theoretical considerations apply to wells that either extract water or inject
water. During well pump age, draw down of the head in the aquifer around the well
occurs; during injection there is an increase in the head in the aquifer. From a
mathematical standpoint, injection is handled by using a negative value for the pumping
rate.
If a well pumps long enough, the water level may reach a state of equilibrium; that is,
there is no further drawdown with time. The region around the pumping well where the
head has been lowered is known as the cone of depression. When equilibrium has been
achieved, the cone of depression stops growing because it has reached a source and the
recharge rate equals pumpage. These are also known as steady-state conditions.
Steady-state groundwater flow is, therefore, best explained by well hydraulics.
The basic principle of groundwater flow basically lies on the law of Darcy. When this law
is put together with an equation of continuity, which describes the conservation of fluid
mass during flow through a porous media, a partial differential equation of flow in
saturated and unsaturated zone can be obtained (Tenalem et al 2000). Dupuit (1863)
was the first one who combined Darcy's law with continuity equation to drive an equation
for well discharge (Mostafa et al, 1998).
2.7.2 Steady state Flow in a Confined Aquifer
The equation describing time-independent (steady state) groundwater flow toward a well
in a confined aquifer, also known as Theim equation (or Theim-Forchheimer equation), is
based on the following assumptions:
■ The well fully penetrates the confined aquifer and receives water from the entire
thickness of the aquifer.
■ The well is pumping water from the aquifer at a constant rate.
■ The flow toward the well is radial, horizontal and laminar, i.e., the flow lines are
parallel along each radial cross-section.
■ The aquifer is homogeneous and isotropic, and has uniform thickness and a
horizontal base.
■ After a certain period of pumping, the drawdown does not increase anymore (it is
stabilized), and the steady state flow conditions are established.

16
Although these conditions are hardly ever completely satisfied in reality, there are
several situations when a steady state approach to the well pumping test analysis is
justified. These include pumping near a strong equipotential boundary (such as at an
island in a lake/river), or at a locality partly surrounded by a large river (the meander in
our case). The boundary and the confined aquifer are in a direct hydraulic contact, the
radius of well influence reaches the boundary soon after the beginning of pumping (e.g.,
after several hours) and the drawdown remains constant afterwards.

Figure 6 Elements of groundwater flow toward a fully penetrating

well in a confined aquifer (Kresic, 1997)

17
Figure 7 Scheme for deriving the differential equation of groundwater flow toward a fully
penetrating well in a confined aquifer (Kresic, 1997).

The Figures show the elements for deriving the differential equation of
groundwater flow toward a fully penetrating well in a confined aquifer. As is the case
with most other equation in hydrogeology, the flow rate (Q) is given as the product of
the cross-sectional area of flow (A) and the flow velocity (v).

Q=A.V Eq. 14
The cross-sectional area flow at distance r from the pumping well is the side of the
cylinder with the radius r and the thickness b (which is the thickness of the confined
aquifer):

The velocity of the flow at distance r is given as the product of the aquifer's hydraulic
conductivity (k) and the hydraulic gradient which is an infinitesimally small drop in
hydraulic head (dh) over an infinitesimally small distance (dr):

Note that, unlike in the case a/planar flow, there is no minus sign in the equation above.
This is because the flow is toward the well, i.e., in the negative direction of the radial
coordinate system which cancels out the negative sign in front of the hydraulic gradient.

To solve this, differential equation, the variables h (hydraulic head) and r (radial distance
from the well) first need to be separated:

18
Integrating with the following boundary conditions:
■ at distance rw (which is the well radius) the hydraulic head is hw (head in the
well),
■ at distance r from the well the hydraulic head is hr:

The integrals on both sides of the equation are readily solved:

Finally, the hydraulic head at any distance from the pumping well is given as:

The equation above can be integrated with the following boundary conditions:
■ at distance rw (which is the well radius) the hydraulic head is hw (head in the
well),
■ at distance R from the well (which is the radius of well influence) the hydraulic
head is H (which is the undisturbed head, equal to the initial head before the
pumping started).
These boundary conditions enable introduction of the drawdown in the well (sw) into
the equation

The pumping rate of the well is:

2.7.3 Steady state Flow in a Unconfined Aquifer

Analysis of wells pumping from unconfined aquifers is more complex than that of
confined aquifers since the top of the aquifer corresponds to the water table and its
position changes due to pumping. In other words, the thickness of the aquifer (saturated
zone) changes within the radius of the well influence being the smallest at the well
perimeter (Figure 1.8). If the aquifer impermeable base is horizontal, and the reference
level is set at the base, the hydraulic head equals the water table which simplifies the
derivation of the flow equation.

19
Figure 8 Illustration of Dupuit's hypothesis (left) and the actual flow (right) toward a
fully penetrating well in an unconfined aquifer.
Note that the actual equipotential line is curvilinear, and that the velocity vector has
both horizontal and vertical components (Kresic, 1997). h1, h2 is hydraulic head in the
observation well 1and 2 respectively; hw = hydraulic head in the well; r1, r2 = the
distance from the well to the observation well 1 and 2; Q = the discharge amount (the
pumping rate).

Applying Dupuit's hypothesis allows the exact calculation of the flow rate, whereas
finding the accurate position of the water table is more complicated and is based on
various experimental/approximate equations. Figure 5.3.3 also illustrates the concept of
Dupuit's hypothesis together with the actual distribution of velocities around a pumping
welt Dupuit's hypothesis states that:
■ equipotential lines are vertical;
■ velocity is constant along any given vertical (i.e., equipotential line);
■ the velocity vector has only the horizontal component (i.e., the stream lines are
horizontal and parallel).
However, the velocity vector has a vertical component which increases closer to the well
and the water table. The actual position of the water table is above the calculated one
(Dupuit's parabola) and this difference at the well perimeter corresponds to the seepage
face. At a certain distance from the well (denoted r* in Figure 1.8) the difference between
the actual and the calculated water table becomes very small and can be ignored for

20
practical purposes.
The flow rate (Q) is given as the product of the cross-sectional area of flow (A) and the
flow velocity (v):
Q = A.v
The cross-sectional area of flow at distance r from the pumping well is the side of the
cylinder with radius r and thickness h (which is the thickness of the saturated zone; see
Figure 1.9):

A = 2 Π rh

Figure 9 Scheme for deriving the differential equation of groundwater flow toward a
fully penetrating well in an unconfined aquifer

The velocity of flow at distance r is given as the product of the aquifer's hydraulic
conductivity (K) and the hydraulic gradient (i) which is an infinite small drop in hydraulic

head (dh) over an infinitesimally small distance (dr):

Note that there is no minus sign in equation 1.28. This is because the decrease in
hydraulic head is in the negative direction of the r axis (toward the well) and the two
minus signs cancel each other out.
The flow rate is then:

To solve this differential equation the variables h (hydraulic head) and r (radial distance
from the well have to be separated):

21
The Equation is then integrated for known boundary conditions (see Figure above):
■ at distance rw (which is the well radius) the hydraulic head is hw (head in the well;
■ at distance r from the well the hydraulic head is h:

The integrals on both sides are elementary and are easily solved:

which gives the following common expression for the pumping rate of fully penetrating
well in an unconfined aquifer:

The Equation above can be integrated for any other pair of known hydraulic heads and the
corresponding distances from the well. For example:

■ at distance rw (which is the well radius) the hydraulic head is hw (head in the well);
■ at distance R from the well (which is the radius of well influence) the hydraulic head
is H (which is the initial, undisturbed head before the pumping);

The Equation can be rewritten as:

Knowing that the drawdown in the well (Sw) is the difference between the initial
hydraulic head (H) and the head registered in the well during pumping (hw),i.e.,:

and introducing the average aquifer thickness (thickness of the saturated zone) as:

The equation can be rewritten in the following form:

22
which is similar to the equation describing flow toward a fully penetrating well in a
confined aquifer:

where b is the thickness of the confined aquifer.

For the analysis of steady state groundwater flow toward wells in unconfined aquifers
one should always apply the latter equation since aquifer thickness
is represented more accurately.
As already mentioned above, the same theoretical considerations apply to wells that
either extract water or inject water. During well pumping (i.e. groundwater withdrawal),
drawdown of the head in the aquifer around the well occurs; during injection (i.e.
groundwater recharge) there is an increase in the head in the aquifer. From
mathematical point of standpoint, injection is handled by using a negative value for the
pumping rate (Fetter, 2001). If water is discharged into an injection well, a cone of
recharge will be formed which is similar in shape but the reverse of a cone of depression
surrounding a pumping well (See Figures below), The equation describing the cone for
various discharges can be derived by using the same assumptions applied to a pumping
well.

(a)

(b)

Figure 10 Radial flow from recharge wells penetrating (a) and confined (b)
unconfined aquifers
23
For a confined aquifer with water being recharged into a well completely open to the
aquifer at a rate Qr, the following equation is applicable:

For a recharging well penetrating an unconfined aquifer, the following equation is

applicable:

Where,
Q = rate of injection, in m3/day
K = Hydraulic conductivity, in m/day
H = head above the bottom of aquifer while recharging, in m.
Ho = Head above the bottom of aquifer when no pumping is taking place, in m.
ro = radius of influence, in m
rw = radius of injection well, in m.

2.8 Types of wells and their construction

Water well is a hole, shaft, or excavation used for the purpose of extracting ground
water from the subsurface. Water may flow to the surface naturally after excavation of
the hole or shaft. Such a well is known as a flowing artesian well. More commonly, water
must be pumped out of the well.
Most wells are vertical shafts, but they may also be horizontal or at an inclined angle.
Horizontal wells are commonly used in bank filtration, where surface water is extracted
via recharge through river bed sediments into horizontal wells located underneath or
next to a stream. The oldest known wells, Qanats, are hand-dug horizontal shafts
extending into the mountains of the Old Persian Empire in present-day Iran.
Some wells are used for purposes other than obtaining ground water. Oil and gas wells
are examples of this. Monitoring wells for groundwater levels and groundwater quality
are other examples. Still other purposes include the investigation of subsurface
conditions, shallow drainage, artificial recharge, and waste disposal.
2.8.1 Hand dug wells
Hand-dug wells are excavations with diameters (1 to 5m) large enough to accommodate
one or more men with shovels digging down to 4 to 6 m below the water table. The total
depth of a dug well may vary from about 3 to 15 m depending upon the position of the

24
water table. They are usually less than 15 m and can be lined with laid stones or brick;
extending this lining upwards above the ground surface into a wall around the well
serves to reduce both contamination and injuries by falling into the well. The yield of the
dug wells is generally small and is of the order of about 500 liters per minute.
Hand dug wells provide a cheap and low-tech solution to accessing groundwater in rural
locations in developing countries, and may be built with a high degree of community
participation, or by local entrepreneurs who specialize in hand-dug wells.
Hand dug well construction generally requires the use of a trained well construction
team, and capital investment for equipment such as concrete ring molds, heavy lifting
equipment, well shaft formwork, motorized de-watering pumps, and fuel. Construction of
hand dug wells can be dangerous due to collapse of the well bore and falling.

2.8.2 Bored wells

A bored well is constructed when low yielding groundwater sources are found relatively
close to the surface, usually less than 30 m. Bored wells are constructed using a rotary
bucket auger. They are usually completed by perforating the casing or using a sand
screen with continuous slot openings (Bored Well).One advantage of bored wells is the
large diameter of the casing, from 45-90 cm (18-36 inch). It provides a water storage
reservoir for use during peak demand periods. A disadvantage of utilizing a shallow
groundwater aquifer is that it relies on annual precipitation for recharge. Water
shortages may occur following long dry periods in summer and extended freeze up
during winter months.

2.8.3 Driven wells

In this method, a series of connected lengths of pipe are driven by repeated impacts into
the ground to below the water table. Water enters the well through a screened
cylindrical section which is protected during driving by a steel cone at the bottom. Driven
wells can be installed only in an unconsolidated formation relatively free of cobbles or
boulders. The diameters of driven wells are in the range of about 3-10 cm. Such wells
can be constructed up to about 10 m, if hand driven, and up to about 15 m when heavy
hammers of about 300 kg are used. The maximum yield of driven wells is usually around
200 liters per minute. The main advantage of a driven well is that it can be constructed
in a short time, at minimum cost, and by one man.

25
2.8.4 Drilled wells
There are two broad classes of drilled-well types, based on the type of aquifer the well is
in:
■ Shallow or unconfined wells are completed in the uppermost saturated aquifer at
that location (the upper unconfined aquifer).
■ Deep or confined wells are sunk through an impermeable stratum into an aquifer
that is sandwiched between two impermeable strata (aquitards or aquicludes).
The majority of deep aquifers are classified as artesian because the hydraulic
head in a confined well is higher than the level of the top of the aquifer. If the
hydraulic head in a confined well is higher than the land surface it is a "flowing"
artesian well (named after Artois in France).

Drilled wells are smaller in diameter, usually ranging from 10-20 cm (4-8 in.), and
completed greater depths than bored wells, up to several hundred metres. The
producing aquifer is generally less susceptible to pollution from surface sources because
of the depth. Also, the water supply tends to be more reliable since it is less affected by
seasonal weather patterns.
There are two primary methods of drilling:
■ Rotary
■ Cable tool (percussion rigs)
Drilled wells are typically created using either top-head rotary style, table rotary, or
cable tool drilling machines, all of which use drilling stems that are turned to create a
cutting action in the formation, hence the term 'drilling'. Drilling fluid or air is circulated
down through the drill stem in the hole and back to the surface to remove cuttings.
Rotary drilling rigs operate quickly and can reach depths of over 300 m, with casing
diameters of 10-45 cm (4-18 in.).
Most shallow well drilling machines are mounted on large trucks, trailers, or tracked
vehicle carriages. Water wells typically range from 20 to 600 feet (180 m), but in some
areas can go deeper than 3,000 feet (910 m).
Rotary drilling machines use a segmented steel drilling string, typically made up of 6 m
sections of steel tubing that are threaded together, with a bit or other drilling device at
the bottom end. Some rotary drilling machines are designed to install (by driving or
drilling) a steel casing into the well in conjunction with the drilling of the actual bore
hole. Air and/or water is used as a circulation fluid to displace cuttings and cool bits

26
during the drilling. Another form of rotary style drilling, termed 'mud rotary', makes use
of a specially made mud, or drilling fluid, which is constantly being altered during the
drill so that it can consistently create enough hydraulic pressure to hold the side walls of
the bore hole open, regardless of the presence of a casing in the well. Typically,
boreholes drilled into solid rock are not cased until after the drilling process is
completed, regardless of the machinery used.
Cable Tool is the oldest form of drilling machinery, which is still used today. Cable tool
drilled wells are constructed by lifting and dropping a heavy drill bit in the bore hole.
Specifically designed to raise and lower a bit into the bore hole, the 'spudding' of the drill
causes the bit to be raised and dropped onto the bottom of the hole, and the design of
the cable causes the bit to twist at approximately 1/4 revolution per drop, thereby
creating a drilling action. Unlike rotary drilling, cable tool drilling requires the drilling
action to be stopped so that the bore hole can be bailed or emptied of drilled cuttings.
The resulting loose material, mixed with water, is removed using a bailer or sand pump.
This method, also called percussion drilling, reaches depths up to 300 m.
Well diameters can range from 10-45 cm (4-18 in.). The drilling rate is typically much
slower than for a rotary rig, but when aquifers are low yielding, they may be more easily
identified using this method.
Drilled wells are usually cased with a factory-made pipe, typically steel (in air rotary or
cable tool drilling) or plastic/PVC (in mud rotary wells, also present in wells drilled into
solid rock). The sections of casing are usually 6m or more in length, and 6in-12in (15 to
30 cm) in diameter, depending on the intended use of the well and local groundwater
conditions.
At the bottom of wells, based on formation, a screening device, filter pack, slotted
casing, or open bore hole is left to allow the flow of water into the well. Constructed
screens are typically used in unconsolidated formations (sands, gravels, etc.), allowing
water and a percentage of the formation to pass through the screen. Allowing some
material to pass through creates a large area filter out of the rest of the formation, as
the amount of material present to pass into the well slowly decreases and is removed
from the well. Rock wells are typically cased with a PVC liner/casing and screen or
slotted casing at the bottom; this is mostly present just to keep rocks from entering the
pump assembly. Some wells utilize a 'filter pack' method, where an undersized screen or
slotted casing is placed inside the well and a filter medium is packed around the screen,
between the screen and the borehole or casing. This allows the water to be filtered of

27
unwanted materials before entering the well and pumping zone.
The different well construction methods and their application are summarised in the
following table.

2.9 Well Completion

After drilling a well, the well screen and filter pack (wherever necessary) are to be placed
and the casing removed. If the formations are sufficiently strong and stable, ground
water may directly enter the uncased well. In unconsolidated formations, however, a
casing with perforation (or a well screen) is needed to support the outside material and
also to admit water freely into the well. Once the well has been drilled and the
equipment is in place, there are several procedures the drilling contractor must complete
before the well is ready to use. The drilling contractor is responsible for:
■ Well development
■ Disinfecting the well
■ Conducting a yield test

2.9.1 Well Development

Well development is the process of removing fine sediment and drilling fluid from the
area immediately surrounding the perforations. This increases the well's ability to
produce water and maximize production from the aquifer. Jetting, surging, backwashing and
over pumping are methods used to develop a well. Water or air is surged back and
forth through the perforations. Any fine materials that are in the formation become
dislodged and are pumped or bailed from the well. This procedure is continued until no
28
fine particles remain and the water is clear. Coarser particles are left behind to form a
natural filter pack around the screen, slot openings or perforations.
If the aquifer formation does not naturally have any relatively coarse particles to form a
filter, it may be necessary to install an artificial filter pack. The pack is placed around
the screen or perforations so the well can be developed. For example, this procedure is
necessary when the aquifer is composed of fine sand and the individual grains are
uniform in size. It is important to match the grain size of the filter material with the size
of the slot openings of the screen to attain maximum yield from the well. Typically the
slot size of the screen is selected so that 85 percent of the artificial pack material
remains outside of the screen.

2.9.2 Disinfecting the Well

Provincial regulations require the drilling contractor to disinfect new wells with chlorine.
The concentration is calculated on the volume of water that is in the well. The
concentration must be at least 200 milligrams of chlorine per litre of water present
throughout the water in the well and must be left in the well for at least 12 hours to
ensure any bacteria present are destroyed. Chlorination is done after the pumping
equipment is installed and before the well is put into production.

2.9.3 Yield Test

A yield test, often called a pump test, is important because the information gathered
during the test assists the drilling contractor to determine the:
■ Rate at which to pump the well
■ Depth at which to place the pump
Provincial regulations outline the minimum yield test for all new wells. After drilling and
developing a well, the drilling contractor must remove water from the well for at least 2
hours. If a pump is used to remove the water, then water level measurements can be
recorded as the water level draws down. After 2 hours, water removal stops and the
recovery of the water level is monitored and recorded. Measurements must be taken at
specific time intervals for a 2 hour period or until the water level returns to 90 percent of
its original level.
Once the yield test is complete, the drilling contractor will decide at what rate the aquifer
can be pumped without lowering the water level below the top boundary of the aquifer,
the top of the perforations or below the pump intake.

29
The pump that is installed in the well should have a capacity equal to, or less than, the
rate at which the well can supply water for an extended period of time without lowering
the level below the pump intake. That rate is considered the safe pumping rate for the
well.
2.10 Surface and groundwater conjunctive use
Surface and groundwater conjunctive use is an important component of water
management. It is a coordinated management of surface and groundwater to sustainably
maximize the benefit from the overall resources. Conjunctive use utilizes different
techniques. Surplus surface water can be stored as groundwater for critical periods of
deficit to supplement surface water supplies, to cope with peak demands of municipal
and irrigation schemes.
Conjunctive use increases water supply reliability, reduced costs, and improved financial
positions. Conjunctive use of surface and groundwater consists of harmoniously
combining the use of surface and groundwater sources in order to minimize the
undesirable physical, environmental and economical effects and to optimize the water
demand/supply balance. Usually conjunctive use of surface and groundwater is
considered within a river basin management program. Conjunctive use has higher
reliability of meeting demands and reducing in the required storage capacity of surface
reservoirs since the underground aquifers can also be used as storage. An added
advantage of the aquifer storage is that there is no loss of water due to evaporation and
the quality of water is also better than surface storages. Usually conjunctive use of
surface and groundwater is considered within a river basin management program.
In conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, several problems need to be carefully
studied before selecting the different options and elaborating a program of conjunctive
use:
■ Storage capacity of the aquifer to be determined
■ Production capacity of the aquifer in terms of potential discharge
■ Natural recharge of the aquifer
■ Induced natural recharge of the aquifer
■ Potential for artificial recharge of the aquifer
■ Comparative economic and environmental benefits derived from the various
possible options.
2.11 Storage capacity and production capacity of the aquifer
In order to use the underground reservoir to store a significant volume of water it is

30
necessary to ascertain the potential storage capacity of the aquifer as well as its
suitability for being recharged by the surface water. The groundwater reservoir should
present sufficient free space between the ground surface and the water table to
accommodate and retain the water to be recharged, for the period during which water is
not needed. This condition requires reliable hydro-geological investigations including
geological mapping, geophysics and reconnaissance drilling, in order to determine the
configuration and the storage capacity of the underground reservoir.
The suitability of an aquifer for recharging may be estimated from the following
parameters:
■ Surface material has to be highly permeable so as to allow water to percolate easily;
■ The unsaturated zone should present a high vertical permeability, and vertical flow of
water should not be restrained by less permeable clayey layers;
■ Depth to water level should not be less than 5 to 10 m;
■ Aquifer transmissivity should be high enough to allow water to move rapidly from the
mound created under the recharging basin but should not be too high (as in karstic
channels) so that water cannot be recovered.
An adequate transmissivity for recharge is also a good indicator of the aquifer capacity to
produce high well discharge and therefore easily to withdraw the storedwater.

2.11.1 Natural and induced recharge of the aquifer

A significant natural recharge of the aquifer may occur from the surface runoff and the
deep percolation of infiltrated rainfall. Induced natural recharge occurs when intensive
exploitation of groundwater close to a river results in an important depression of the
groundwater level and in a water inflow from the river. This phenomenon is well known
in temperate climate where rivers flow all year long; but it may also occur in semi-arid
climates where a depression of the piezometric level of an aquifer underlying a
temporary river creates the empty space in the aquifer which facilitates its recharge
during floods.

2.11.2 Artificial recharge

Artificial recharge is useful in areas where groundwater supplies are being depleted while
runoff is flows out from the watershed. The need for recharge is apparent when springs
and shallow wells start to dry up. Artificial recharge of aquifers can be achieved using
three different methods, namely surface spreading, water harvesting, and recharge

31
wells.
Artificial recharge by surface spreading method consists of increasing the surface area of
infiltration by releasing water from the source to the surface of a basin, pond, pit or
channel. This is certainly the most efficient and most cost-effective method for aquifer
recharge. However, only phreatic (unconfined) aquifers can be recharged by the
spreading method, which also requires large surface areas to accommodate the recharge
scheme. Surface spreading usually needs two structures: the diversion structure and the
infiltration scheme.
Check dams are small structures built across streams with a view to slowing down the
velocity of water, allowing it to percolate into the alluvial aquifer. When the stream
usually flows into a narrow channel surrounded by plains located a few meters above the
bottom of the channel, check dams may be built in the channel, raised 1 to 2 meters
above the ground level of the plain and extended laterally by two wings crossing most of
the valley. The flood is then forced to expand over a large area, thus facilitating the
infiltration of water.
Underground dams apply in shallow depth alluvial deposits to obstruct groundwater
flowing away after it is stored in the aquifer. They consist of digging a 1 to 1.5 m wide
trench across the valley, down to the bedrock (which should be impervious) and then
filling the trench either with loose impervious material (clay) or by building a wall made
of local bricks. Underground dams may be complemented by sand storage dams
consisting of raising the dam above ground by 1 or 2 meters so that the solid transport
(usually sand and gravel) of the floods can accumulate behind the surface dam and thus
increase the storage capacity of the alluvium.
2.12 Water Harvesting
Watershed management offers an effective method to intercept dispersed runoff. Many
techniques of water conservation have been developed along hill slopes with the
intention of preventing soil erosion and reducing the velocity of surface runoff, then
increasing the infiltration into the ground, thus recharging the aquifers. Traditional
terraced agriculture is certainly one of the most common water harvesting methods in
arid and semi-arid areas. Where the terraces are well maintained, they effectively
control runoff and improve aquifer recharge.
2.13 Recharge wells
Artificial recharge by injection consists of using a conduit access, such as a tubewell,
shaft or connector well, to convey the water to the aquifer. It is the only method for

32
artificial recharge of confined aquifers or deep-seated aquifers with poorly permeable
overburden. The recharge is instantaneous and there are no transit or evaporation
losses. The method is very effective in the case of highly fractured hard rocks and
karsticlimestones. Recharge wells or "injection" wells are similar in construction to
pumped wells, using screened sections. The most economical way to operate artificial
recharge by injection consists of using dual purpose wells (injection and pumping) so
that cleaning of the aquifer may be achieved during the pumping period. However, a
pretreatment to eliminate the suspended matter is always necessary.
References
1. Driscoll, F.G. (1986). Groundwater and wells. Johnson Filtration Systems Inc.,
Minnesota, USA.
2. Fetter, C.W. 2001. Applied Hydrogeology. Fourth edition. Prentice-Hall, Inc. New
Jersey.
3. Kresic., N. 1997. Quantitative solutions in Hydrogeology and groundwater modeling.
Lewis publisher. New York.
4. Tenalem Ayenew &Tamiru Alemayehu. 2001. Principles of Hydrogeology. Addis
Ababa University Printing Press. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Assignment 1 th

1. A well that pumps at a constant rate of 78,000 ft3/day achieved equilibrium so

that there is no change in the drawdown with time. The well taps a confined
aquifer that is 18 ft thick. An observation well 125 ft away has a head of 277 ft
above sea level; another observation well 385 ft away has a head of 291 ft.
Compute the value of aquifer transmissivity using the Theim equation.
2. A fully penetrating well is pumping an unconfined aquifer. Drawdown registered in
the pumping well and two monitoring wells reflects steady state conditions and is
7.73, 2.74, and 1.63 meters, respectively. Find hydraulic conductivity of the
aquifer and the radius of the influence if the pumping rate is 17.5 l/s. Diameter of
the pumping well is 300 mm and the monitoring wells 1 and 2 are at 8 and 30 m
from the pumping well respectively. Also find the approximate position of the
water table in the vicinity of the well, as well as the distance from which Dupuit's
assumption is valid.

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