Introduction to

Hydrogeology
ENE – 442
Water Pollution
Control
 What is Hydrogeology
Hydrogeology (hydro- meaning water,
and - geology meaning the study of the
Earth) is the area of geology that deals
with the distribution and movement of
groundwater in the soil and rocks of the
Earth's crust (commonly in aquifers).

The terms groundwater hydrology,

geohydrology, and hydrogeology are
often used interchangeably.
2
 Introduction
 Groundwater is one of the most precious natural
resource.

 It is the most important source of drinking

water and supplies water for irrigation,
agricultural and domestic usage.

 Of the total water available on earth, less than

2.5 % is fresh water of which 68.7% is found in
the ice caps and glaciers (frozen state).
 Approximately 30% is groundwater and less
than 1.2% is surface water (lakes, streams,
permafrost, soil moisture etc.)
3
Distribution of Water on Earth

4
5
 The Hydrologic Cycle
 The hydrologic cycle explains the exchange of water between
the atmosphere,
lithosphere and the hydrosphere.

 It depicts how part of the ocean water evaporates, the water

vapour turns into fresh water precipitation (rain, hail, snow) on
the earth’s surface (seas, land), then flows over the land surface
(glaciers, runoff, streams) and partly infiltrates into the soil (soil
water) to be used by the vegetation (evapotranspiration), or to
recharge the groundwater bodies.

 The water on the Earth's surface--surface water--occurs as

streams, lakes, and
wetlands, as well as bays and oceans.

 Surface water also includes the solid forms of water-- snow and
ice.

 The water below the surface of the Earth primarily is ground

water, but it also 6
 Components of the Hydrologic Cycle
 Evapotranspiration (Evaporation +
Transpiration) is water
evaporating from the ground and transpiration by plants.

 Evapotranspiration is also the way that water

vapor re-enters the
atmosphere.

 Condensation - is the process of water changing from a

vapor to a liquid.

 Water vapor in the air rises mostly by convection.

 This means that warm, humid air will rise, while cooler air
will flow downward.
7
 Components of the Hydrologic Cycle
 Precipitation - is water being released from clouds as
rain, sleet, snow or hail.

 Precipitation begins after water vapor, which has

condensed in the atmosphere, becomes too heavy to
remain in atmospheric air currents and falls.

 Infiltration - when a portion of the precipitation that

reaches the Earth's
surface seeps into the ground.

 Percolation - is the downward movement of water

through soil and rock.

 Percolation occurs beneath the root zone.

 Runoff - is precipitation that reaches the surface of the 8

Earth but does not infiltrate the soil. Runoff can also come
 Division of sub surface water
A portion of the water infiltrates the soil and is know as
the subsurface water but not all the water percolates
down the water table to be termed as groundwater.

 Three things can basically happened when water enters

the ground.

 1)water may be pulled back to the surface by the

capillary forces and evaporate to the atmosphere.

 2)
it can be absorbed by the plant roots present in the soil
and then re- enter the atmosphere by transpiration and

 3)some water which may have percolated deep enough

can be pulled downwards by the forces of gravity until it
reaches the zone of saturation and becomes a part of the
9
groundwater reservoir that supplies water to wells.
 Division of sub surface water
In terms of hydrogeology, the
underground soil water is classified in
to two basic zones:-

a) Zone of Aeration

b) Zone of Saturation

10
 Zone of Aeration - Vadose
 Zone
Zone
of Aeration, also termed as Vadose zone or
unsaturated zone, is that portion of sub-soil in which
pores are filled partially with air and partially with water.

 The word Vadose is derived from Latin meaning Shallow.

 Vadose zones extends from the Earth’s surface to the top

of the
saturated zone.

 The soil and rock in the vadose zone are not fully
saturated with water; that is, the pores within them
contain air as well as water.

 Insome places the vadose zone is absent, as is common

where there are lakes and marshes, and in some places
11
 Zone of Aeration - Vadose
 The
Zone
water present in vadose zone is at or below
atmospheric pressure. The unsaturated, vadose or
aeration zone is further classified into three sub
zones:-
 A) Soil – water Zone: This begins at the ground surface
and extends downward through the major root zone. Its
total depth is variable and dependent upon soil type and
vegetation.
 B) Intermediate Zone: This zone extends from the bottom
of the soil-water zone to the top of the capillary fringe and
may vary from nonexistence to several hundred feet in
thickness. The zone is essentially a connecting link
between the near-ground-surface region and the near-
water-table region, through which infiltrating waters must
pass.
 C) Capillary Zone: This zone extends from the water table
12
to a height determined by the capillary rise that can be
 Zone of Saturation - Pheratic Zone
 Zone of Saturation, also termed as Pheratic zone, is the
one in which all the pore spaces in the soil/rocks are
completely saturated and filled with water under
hydrostatic pressure.

 The upper limit of this zone of saturation is termed as the

water table.

 The water table, is a very significant feature of the

groundwater system.

 The water-table level is important in predicting the

productivity of wells, explaining the changes in the flow of
springs and streams, and accounting for fluctuations in
the levels of lakes.

13
Non Saturated and Saturated zones

14
 Variations in the Water Table
 Thedepth of the water table is highly variable and can
range from zero, when it is at the surface, to hundreds of
meters in some places.

 An important characteristic of the water table is that its

configuration varies seasonally and from year to year
because the addition of water to the groundwater system
is closely related to the quantity, distribution, and timing
of precipitation.

 Exceptwhere the water table is at the surface, we cannot

observe it directly.

 Nevertheless,
its elevation can be mapped and studied in
detail where wells are numerous, because the water level
15
Interaction between Groundwater and Streams
 The interaction between the groundwater system and streams is a
basic link in the
hydrologic cycle.

 It can take place in one of three ways.

 1) Streams may gain water from the inflow of groundwater

through the streambed.
Such streams are called gaining streams.

 For this to occur, the elevation of the water table must be higher
than the level of the surface of the stream.

 2)Streams may lose water to the groundwater system by outflow

through the streambed.The term losing stream is applied to this
situation

 When this happens, the elevation of the water table is lower than
16
the surface of
Interaction between Groundwater
and Streams

17
 Origin and age of groundwater
 Almost all groundwater is a part of the
hydrologic cylce,
including surface and atmospheric waters.

 However minoramount of groundwater may

be derived from
other origins.

 Waterthat has been out of contact with atmosphere for an

appreciable part of geologic period is termed as connate
water. This water may have been derived from ocean or
fresh water sources and is highly mineralized.

 Magmatic water is derived from magma. Where the

separation is deep, it is known as plutonic water, while
18
volcanic water indicates water from relatively shallow
 Origin and age of groundwater
 New water of magmatic or cosmic origin that has not
previously been
a part of the hydrosphere is referred to as juvenile water.

 Metamorphic water is the water that has been

associated with the rocks during their metamorphism.

 Radioactiveisotopes are helpful in determining the age of

groundwater.

 Two most useful radioactive isotopes for determining the

age of water
are Hydrogen-3 (Tritium) and Carbon-14.

 Tritium
(half life-12.33 years) is used for estimating
groundwater ages upto 50 years. 19
 Water Bearing Formations
 An aquifer is often described as a sub-surface
geologic formation(s) that is porous (store water)
as well as permeable (transmit water) and can
yield sufficient quantities of water to wells and
springs.

 Theyhave the ability to store as well as transmit

water. E.g.: unconsolidated sand and gravel

 Theword aquifer comes from the Latin words,

"Aqua" (water), and "fer" (to carry).

 Insome cases, aquifers are vertically separated

from each other by geologic formations that 20
 Water Bearing Formations
 Aquitard is a saturated but poorly
permeable geologic formation that restricts
groundwater movement and does not yield
water freely to wells. Example is SANDY
CLAY

 If the water barrier is almost impermeable

(Example is CLAY ) and forms a formidable
flow barrier between aquifers, it is known as
a aquiclude

 An aquifuge is geologic formation which has

no interconnected openings (impermeable)
and hence cannot absorb or transmit water.21
 Types of Aquifer
 Aquifers
can be of two major types: unconfined or
confined.

 An unconfined aquifer has no overlying aquitard or

aquiclude .

 Where there are multiple levels of aquifers, the uppermost

aquifer typically is unconfined.

 Vertical recharge of an unconfined aquifer by rainwater or

irrigation
water that filters downward through the soil is not
restricted.

 The water table at the top of the unconfined aquifer can

migrate freely up and down within the sediment 22
formation, depending on how much water is stored there.
Types of Aquifer

23
24
 Types of Aquifer
 A confined aquifer, on the other hand, is sandwiched
between an
aquitard above and an aquiclude or aquitard below .

 Because the water table in the recharge area of the confined

aquifer is much higher than the top of the confined aquifer
itself, water in a confined aquifer is pressurized.

 This pressurization means that the water level in a borehole

drilled into a confined aquifer will rise significantly above the
top of the aquifer.

 This level to which the water will rise if a well is drilled in a

confined aquifer is known as the potentiometric surface.

 A flowing artesian well occurs where the pressure is so high

25
that the water level in a well drilled into the confined aquifer
 Types of Aquifer
 Sometimes the term semi-confined aquifer is used if
an aquifer acts partly like a confined aquifer and partly
like an unconfined aquifer.

 Springsform where the water table intersects with the

land surface: for example, in a small depression.

 Sometimes ground water is forced into a spring

because a low permeable layer of rock or fine
sediments (clay) keeps the water from percolating
deeper.

A spring may also occur where subsurface pressure

forces water to the surface through a fracture or fault
zone that acts as a conduit for water movement from 26a
 Types of Aquifer
Anisotropy and heterogeneity

 Most well hydraulics equations are

based on the assumption that aquifers
and aquitards are homogeneous and
isotropic.

 A homogeneous isotropic aquifers

has the same hydraulic conductivity
throughout the geological formation
and is the same in all directions.

 The individual particles of a geological

formation, however, are seldom
spherical so that, when deposited under
water, they tend to settle on their flat
sides.
27
 Types of Aquifer
Anisotropy and
heterogeneity

 The lithology of most

geological formations tends to
vary significantly, both
horizontally and vertically. This
phenomenon is known as
heterogeneity.

 Anisotropy is a common
property of fractured rocks
.The hydraulic conductivity in
the direction of the main
fractures is usually significantly
2
 Aquifer Properties
 Water in saturated zones and aquifers
does not stay still. It can move further
downward or it can flow horizontally
through the saturated zone.

 There are many factors that influence

this water movement underground and
the quantity of water stored in these
various zones.

 The main factor is the amount of space

available between particles, sediments,
and rocks in the soil layers and spaces
between particles in rocks and rock
layers.
29
 Aquifer Properties
 The empty spaces in between the crystals or fragments
that make up a rock represent porosity that can hold
water.

 Porosity is a measure of how much water a rock can

hold, but it is not necessarily a measure of how much
water an aquifer can yield or produce.

 Material with good porosity can be called “porous”.

 Mathematically, porosity can be expressed as the ratio

of the volume of pore space to the total volume of the
material as given by the following formula:

30
 Aquifer Properties
Porosity depends on the

 size,
 shape,
 packing,
 mixture of grains and particles,
 presence of cementing material,
 over burden stress and
 the presence of vugs
and fractures
present in soil or rocks
• For instance, small particles such as clays are able to compact more
closely together, reducing the amount of porosity.

• However, larger particles such as sand and gravel will have more
spaces available between
them.

• Round particles compacted together will have more spaces than

elongated grains that stack more tightly. 3
 Aquifer Properties
 Particle packing affects the porosity. In
general cubic packing of particles has a
porosity of around 47.6 % as compared to
Rhombohedral packing where the porosity is
about 26 %.

 Particles of uniform size (well sorted) will

also have more pore space available than
grains of varying sizes (poorly sorted)
because small particles can fill in the spaces
between the larger grains.

Porosity can change between various layers

of soil and types of solid rock as you go
deeper into the ground because of the
 Vugs and fractures will contribute to
overlying burden.
porosity
3
 Aquifer Properties
 Some void spaces become isolated due to
excessive cementation, thus many void spaces
are interconnected and others are isolated.This
leads to the following classification:

 Absolute (total) porosity: It is the ratio

between the total pore volume (interconnected
pores and isolated ones) and the bulk volume

 Effective porosity: It is the ratio

between the interconnected pore volume
and the bulk volume
33
 Aquifer Properties
Types of Porosity

Primary Porosity - porosity between grains preserved during the lithification

process
Secondary porosity - Porosity created through alteration of rock, commonly by
processes such as dissolution, weathering and fracturing.
• Secondary pores (fractures) can be enlarged through dissolution by the
ground water flow.

• Sedimentary rocks may haveprimary porosity from

deposition and secondary porosity from fractures along bedding
planes
 Aquifer Properties
Porosity of Plutonic and Metamorphic Rocks

 Primary porosity extremely low, but often not zero.

 Porosity increases over time by weathering and fracturing.

 Fracturing increases porosity of crystalline rocks 2 to 5%

 Chemical and physical weathering increases with porosity.

 Highly weathered plutonic and

metamorphic rocks can have porosities
between 30 to 60%

 Sheet-like structures of weathering

minerals such as micas can have very
high porosities
 Aquifer Properties
Porosity of Volcanic Rocks
 Vesicules which are formed during the cooling of the lava
when the dissolved gases escape .These vesicules may or
may not be interconnected.
 Cracks form during cooling
 Volcanic rocks vary in porosity but can be very high basalt
has lower gas content with porosity between 1 and 12%
 Pumice (very high gas content) can have porosity
approaching
90% (but effective porosity is
not this high).
 Weathering of volcanic deposits will also increase porosity

36
Aquifer Properties

37
 Aquifer Properties
 In the zone of saturation groundwater fills all the pore space
available between the sediments however only a portion of
this water can be removed by drainage or pumping.

 The remaining water is held in place due to molecular and

surface
tension forces.

 The specific retention (Sr) of a soil or rock is the ratio of the

volume of water it will retain after saturation against the
forces of gravity to its own volume.

Sr = Wr/Vt
 Where Wr is the volume occupied by retained water and Vt is
the bulk volume of the soil or rock.
38
 Aquifer Properties
 The specific yield Sy of a soil or rock is the ratio of the volume of
water that
• can be drained by gravity after saturation to its own volume.

• Sy = Wy/Vt

 Where Wy is the volume of drained water

 Total porosity (if all pores are connected) is equal to the specific
retention + specific yield

 Value of specific yield depends on the grain size, shape and distribution
of pores, compaction of the stratum and time of drainage.

 Therefore the total volume of the voids (Vv) =Wr +Wy

 The porosity of the aquifer α when all the pores
= Sr +Sy are 39

interconnected.
 Aquifer Properties
Storage Coefficient (Storativity)

 Water recharged or discharged from an aquifer represents a

change in the storage volume within the aquifer.

 For unconfined aquifer it is the product of the volume of

aquifer lying between the water table at the beginning and
the end of a given period of time and the specific yield of the
formation.

 In confined aquifers the change in pressure brings about a

small change in storage
volume.

 The hydrostatic pressure in the confined aquifer partially

supports the weight of the overlying burden while the solid
structure of the aquifer provides the remaining support.A
compression of the aquifer results in forcing out some water
from it.
4
 Aquifer Properties
Storage
Coefficient

 In case of unconfined aquifers storage coefficient is

referred to as the specific yield which is the amount
of water released from a column of unit cross-sectional
area of an unconfined aquifer for a unit decline of the
water table (phreatic surface)
41
Aquifer Properties
Specific Yield (Unconfined Aquifer)
versus
Storage Coefficient (Confined
Aquifer)

42
 Aquifer Properties
 In addition to porosity (the amount of pore space),
permeability is another important factor needed for
groundwater movement to occur.

 Permeability is the measure of how easily water flows

through soil or rocks, so it depends on the size of the
pore space and how well connected they are to one
another.

 Itis often defined as pore interconnectedness and the

unit of measurement is usually distance (cm, m, or ft.)
per time (second, minute, day).

 Permeabilitycan also be referred to as hydraulic

conductivity. Like porosity, permeability can also
change between various soil layers and types of solid 43
 Aquifer Properties
 Permeability depends on several factors – grains size of particles and
the amount of cracks and fractures.

 If the sediments or rock particles are composed of very small grains, such
as in clays and silts, the space through which water can flow is limited.

 In addition, clay particles have a lot of surface area to which hygroscopic

water attaches, creating a further resistance to fluid movement.

 If sediments are comprised of coarser grains like sand and gravel, more
pore space is available.

 These coarser grains also have less surface area, so less water can attach
to them, allowing better fluid movement.

 With grains of many sizes, the permeability will be at medium rates. Fine
sediments fill in spaces between larger particles, reducing poor space and
increasing surface areas to which water can adhere.
44