VOL. 12, NO.

3 WATER RESOURCES
RESEARCH JUNE 1976

A SlugTestforDetermining
Hydraulic
Conductivity
ofUnconfined
Aquifers
With Completely
or PartiallyPenetrating
Wells
HERMAN BOUWER AND R. C. RICE

U.S.Water
Conservation
Laboratory,
Agricultural
Research
Service,
U.S.Department
ofAgriculture,
Phoenix,
Arizona85040

A procedure
ispresented
forcalculating
thehydraulic
conductivity
ofanaquifer
nearawellfromthe
rateof riseof thewaterlevelin the wellaftera certainvolumeof wateris suddenlyremoved.
The
calculation
is basedontheThiemequation of steady
stateflowto a well.Theeffective
radius
Reover
which
theheaddifference
between
theequilibrium
watertableintheaquifer
andthewaterlevelinthewell
isdissipated
wasevaluated
witha resistance
networkanalog
fora widerange
ofsystemgeometries.
An
empirical
equation
relating
Retothegeometryof thewellandaquiferwasderived.
Thetechnique
is
applicable
tocompletely
orpartiallypenetrating
wellsinunconfined
aquifers.
It canalsobeused
for
confined
aquifers
thatreceive
waterfromtheupper
confining
layer.
Themethod'sresults
arecompatible
withthoseobtained
by othertechniques
for overlapping
geometries.

With the slug test the hydraulicconductivityor trans- completely

penetrating
well,andthesolutionwasexpressed
as
missibility fromtherateof riseof a seriesof 'typecurves'againstwhichobserved
of anaquiferisdetermined ratesof water
the water level in a well after a certain volume or 'slug' of level rises were matched. Values for the transmissibilityand
water is suddenlyremovedfrom the well. The slugtest is storagecoefficientwerethenevaluated fromthecurveparame-
simplerand quickerthan the Theispumpingtestbecauseter andhorizontal-scale positionof thetypecurveshowingthe
observationwellsandpumpingthewellarenot needed.With bestfit with theexperimental data.Skibitzke[1958]developed
theslugtesttheportionof theaquifer'sampled'forhydraulic an equationfor calculating transmissibility
fromthe recovery
conductivityis smallerthan that for the pumpingtesteven of the water level in a well that was repeatedlybailed. The
though within technique
withthelatter,mostoftheheadlossalsooccurs is limitedto wellsin confinedaquiferswith suf-
a relatively
smalldistanceof thepumpedwellandtheresulting ficientlyshallowwaterlevelsto permitshorttime intervals
transmissibilityprimarilyreflectsthe aquiferconditions near betweenbailingcycles[Lohman,1972].
the pumpedwell. To usethe slugtest for partiallypenetratingor partially
Essentiallyinstantaneous loweringof the waterlevelin a perforated wellsin confined or unconfinedaquifers,
somesolu-
wellcanbeachieved by quicklyremoving waterwitha bailer tionsdeveloped for the augerholeand piezometer techniques
or by partiallyor completely submerging an objectin the to measure soil hydraulic conductivity[Bouwer and Jackson,
water,lettingthe waterlevelreachequilibrium,and then 1974]may be employed.However,the geometryof most
quicklyremoving theobject.If theaquiferi'sverypermeable,groundwater wellsis outsidetherangein geometry coveredby
the waterlevelin the well may riseveryrapidly.Suchrapid theexistingequations or tablesfor theaugerholeor piezome-
risescan be measuredwith sensitive pressuretransducersand ter methods. For this reason, theory and equationsare pre-
fast-responsestripchartrecorders Alsoit may sentedin this paperfor slugtestson partiallyor completely
or x-y plotters.
bepossible to isolateportions of theperforated or screenedpenetrating wellsin unconfined aquifersfor a widerangeof
sectionof the well with specialpackersfor the slugtest.This geometry conditions. Thewellsmaybepartiallyor completely
notonlyreduces theinflowandhencetherateof riseof the perforated, screened, or otherwiseopenalongtheirperiphery.
water levelin the well, but it alsomakesit possibleto deter- While the solutionsare developedfor unconfinedaquifers,
mine the verticaldistributionof the hydraulicconductivity. they may alsobe usedfor slugtestson wellsin confined
Special packer techniques mayhaveto bedeveloped to obtain aquifersif waterentersthe aquiferfromthe upperconfining
a goodseal,especiallyforroughcasings orperforations.Effec- layerthroughcompression or leakage.
tivesealingmaybeachieved withrelatively
longsections
of THEORY
inflatable
stoppers
or tubing.Theuseof longsections
of these
materialswouldalsoreduceleakageflow from the restof the Geometryand symbols of a wellin an unconfined aquifer
well to the isolatedsectionbetweenpackers.This flow can are shownin Figure1. For the slugtestthe waterlevelin the
occurthroughgravelenvelopes or otherpermeablezonessur- wellis suddenlylowered,andtherateof riseof thewaterlevel
rounding thecasing.Sections tubingmayhaveto is measured.The flow intø the well at a particularvalue of y
of inflatable
belongenough to.blockofftheentirepartof thewellnotused can be calculatedby modifyingthe Thiem equationto
for the slugtest.High inflationpressures
shouldbe usedto
minimizevolumechanges
in the tubingdueto changingwater y (1)
pressures in theisolated sectionwhentheheadis lowered.
Q = 2•'KLIn(Re/r•o)
So far, solutions for the slugtesthavebeendeveloped only whereQ is the flow into the well (lengthS/time),K is the
for completely penetrating wellsin confined aquifers. Cooper hydraulicconductivity
of the aquifer(length/time),L is the
etal. [1967]derivedanequation for theriseor fallof thewater heightof the portion of well throughwhich water enters
level in a well after suddenloweringor raising,respectively. (heightof screen or perforatedzoneor of uncased portionof
Their equationwasbasedon nonsteady flow to a pumped, well),y istheverticaldistancebetween waterlevelin welland
equilibriumwatertablein aquifer,Re is the effectiveradius
Copyright
¸ 1976bytheAmerican
Geophysical
Union. over whichy is dissipated,
and'r•ois the horizontaldistance
423
424 BOUWERAND RICE: GROUNDWATER
HYDRAULICS

surroundedby a 10-cm permeablegravel envelopewith a

porosity of 30%, r• should be taken as [202 + 0.30(302 -
TABLE 20•)]•/2 = 23.5 cm to obtain the cross-sectionalarea of the well
that relatesQ to dy/dt. The value of r•ofor this well sectionis
30 cm.
Combining(1) and (2) yields
1 2KL
-dy = -- •. --dt (3)
y r• In
H .
. D which can be integrated to
2KLt

Iny = --r•2
In(Re/r,o)
+ constant (4)
Applying this equation betweenlimits yo at t = 0 and Yt at t
and solvingfor K yield

K = rc ln(R,/r,o)
2L
1lnYø
t yt
(5)
This equation enablesK to be calculatedfrom the rise of the
waterlevelin the well after suddenlyremovinga slugof water
// / / ///////// / / / ///•
from the well. SinceK, r•, rw, Re, and L in (5) are constants,
IMPERMEABLE
(l/t) In Yo/yt must also be constant.Thus field data should
Fig. 1. Geometry and symbolsof a partially penetrating,partially yielda straightlinewhentheyareplottedasIn yt versust. The
perforated well in unconfinedaquifer with gravel pack or developed term(l/t) In Yo/Ytin (5) is thenobtainedfromthebest-fitting
zone around perforated section. straightline in a plot of In y versust (seethe example).The
valueof In Re/rw is dependenton H, D, L, and rwand canbe
from well centerto originalaquifer(well radiusor radiusof evaluatedfrom the analogresultspresentedin the next section.
casingplusthicknessof gravelenvelopeor developedzone). The transmissibilityT of the aquifer is calculatedby multi-
The termsL, y, Re, and r•oare all expressed in unitsof plying(5) by the thicknessD of the aquifer or
length.The effectiveradiusReis theequivalentradialdistance
overwhichthe headlossy is dissipatedin the flow system.The T = Drc:
In(R.,/r,o)
2L
1In?-9-ø
t yt
(6)
valueof Redepends on thegeometryof theflowsystem,andit
was determined for different values of H, L, D, and r•o(Figure This equationis basedon the assumption that the aquiferis
1) with a resistance
networkanalog,aswill bediscussed in the uniform with depth.
nextsection.Equation(1) is basedon the assumptions that (1) Equations(5) and (6) are dimensionallycorrect.ThusK and
drawdown of the water table around the well is negligible,(2) T are expressedin the same units as the length and time
flow above the water table (in the capillary fringe) can be parametersin the equations.
ignored,(3) headlossesas waterentersthe well (well losses)
are negligible,and (4) the aquiferis homogeneous and iso- EVALUATIONOF Re
tropic.Theseare the usualassumptions in the development of Values of Re, expressedas In Re/rw, were determinedwith
equationsfor pumpedhole techniques[BouwerandJackson, an electricalresistancenetwork analogfor differentvaluesof
1974, and referencestherein]. r•, L, H, and D (Figure 1), usingthe sameassumptionsas
The valueof r•oin (1) representstheradialdistancebetween thosefor (l). An axisymmetricsectorof I tad was simulated
the undisturbedaquiferand the well center.Thusr•oshould by a network of electrical resistors.The vertical distance be-
includegravelenvelopesor 'developed'zonesif theyaremuch tween the nodeswas constant, but the radial distancebetween
morepermeablethan the aquiferitself(Figure 1). nodesincreasedwith increasingdistancefrom the centerline
The rate of rise,dy/dt, of the waterlevelin the well after (Figure 2). This yielded a network with the highestnode
suddenly removing a slugof watercanberelatedto theinflow densitynearthe well, wherethe headlosswasgreatest,and a
Q by the equation decreasingnode densitytoward the outer reachesof the sys-
tem. For a more detailed discussionof graded networksfor
dy/dt = - Q/;rro2 (2)
representingaxisymmetricflow systems,seeLiebmann[1950]
where;rrc2 is the cross-sectional area of the well wherethe and Bouwer[1960].
water levelis rising.The minussignin (2) is introducedbe- The radial extentof the mediumrepresented on the analog
causey decreases as t increases. was more than 60,000 times the largestr• value used in the
The termrcistheinsideradiusof thecasingif thewaterlevel analyses.Thus the radial extent of the analog systemwas
is abovetheperforatedor otherwise openportionof thewell. essentiallyinfinite,as evidencedby the fact that a reductionin
If thewaterlevelis risingin theperforatedsectionof thewell, radial extentby severalnodesdid not havea measurableeffect
allowanceshouldbe made for the porosityoutsidethe well on the observedvalue of
casingif the hydraulicconductivity of thegravelenvelope or The value of Re for an infinitelydeepaquifer(D = co)was
developed zoneis muchhigherthanthatof theaquifer.In that determinedby simulating an impermeableand then an in-
casethe (open)porosityin the permeable zone mustbe in- finitely permeablelayer at a certainvalue of D. If this value of
cludedin the cross-sectional area of the well. For example,if D is takento be sufficientlylarge,the flow in the systemwhen
the radiusof the perforatedcasingis 20 cm and the casingis the layerat D is taken as beingimpermeable is only slightly
 BOUWER
ANDRICE:GROUNDWATER
HYDRAULICS 425

I0 I00 200 :300 400 800 900

ioo
ß

IOO
ß

200
ß

R
ß

300
ß

4OO
ß
•e ß ß ß ß
ß

I
ß
ß ß ß ß ß ß
5OO
ß
ß ß ß ß ß ß
ß
ß ß ß ß

6OO

--•/.////////////////////// IMPERMEABLE

Fig.2. Nodearrangement
(dots)
forresistance
network
analog
andpotential
distribution
(indicated
aspercentages
on
equipotentials)
forsystem
withL/rw= 625,
H/rw= 1000,
andD/r• = 1500.
Thenumbers
ontheleftandatthetopofthe
figurearearbitrarylengthunits(notebreaksin horizontal
scale).

lessthan the flow whenthe layer is taken as beinginfinitely resultsindicatedthat theeffectiveupperlimit of In [(D - H)/
permeable.
Theaverage of thetwoflowscanthenbetakenasa r•] is 6. Thusif D is considered infinityor (D - H)/rw is so
of theflowthatwouldoccurif theaquiferwere largethat In [(D - H)/r•] is greaterthan 6, a valueof 6
goodestimate
on the analogas beinguniformto infinitedepth should still be used for the term In [(D - H)/r•] in (8).
represented
[Bouwer,
1967].Thisaverage flowwasusedto calculateRefor If D = H, thetermIn [(D - H)/r•] in (8) cannotbe used.
Theanalog
results
indicated
thatfor thiscondition,
whichis
wereperformedby simulatinga system thecaseof a fullypenetrating
The analoganalyses well,(8) shouldbemodified
to
with certain values of rw' H, and D. The electrical current
entering
the'well'wasthenmeasured for different
valuesof L,
rangingfrom nearH to near0. This wasrepeatedfor other lnRe/r,,,
= •n-•/-•)
1.1+L•r•)-' (9)
valuesof rw,H, and D. The conditionWhereL = H couldnot
on the analogbecauseit Wouldmeana short whereC is a dimensionless
be simulated parameterthat is a function'of
betweenthe water tableas thesourceand thewell asthe sink. L/r• as shown in Figure 3.
The electricalcurrent flow in the analogwas convertedto Equations
(8) and(9)yieldvalues
ofInRe/rwthatarewithin
volume with(1) foreach 10%of theactualvalueasevaluated
perday'andIn Re/rwwasevaluated byanalogif L > 0.4Hand
combination of rw,H, L, andD Usedin the analog. within 25% if L << H (for example,L = 0.1H).
For a givengeometrydescribed by r•o,H, andD, thecurrent The analoganalyses wereperformedfor wellsthat were
flowQt intothesimulated linearlywith closed
Wellvariedessentially at thebottom.Occasionally,
however, wellswithopen
L and could be describedby the equation bottoms were also simulated.The flow through the bottom
appeared
tobenegligible
forallvalues
ofrwandL used
inthe
Q, = mL + n (7) analyses.
If L isnotmuchgreater
thanr• (forexample,
L/r•
Because
ofthelinearity
between ofthe << 4), thesystemgeometry
Q,andL theresults approaches
that of a piezometer
analyses
could
beextrapolated L = H. The cavity[Bouwer
tothecondition andJackson,
1974],in whichcasethebottom
values
ofrn
in(7)appeared.to
vary
inversely
with InH/r•.The flow
canbesignificant.Equations
(8)and(9)can alsobeused
values
ofnvariedapproximately
linearly
withIn[(D- H)/ to evaluate
InRe/r•if aportion
openpartofthewellisisolated
oftheperforated
withpackers
orotherwise
fortheslugtest.
r•], theslope
A andintercept
B in theserelations
beinga func'
tion of L/rw, This enabledthe derivationof the followingEquipotentialsfor theflowsystem arounda partiallypene-
empirical
equationrelatingIn Re/r• to the geometry
of the trating,
partially
perforated well
in anunconfined aquifer
after
system:
lowering thewaterlevelin thewellareshown in Figure2. The
numbers alongthesymmetry axisandthewatertablerep/'e-
sentarbitrarylengthunits,Thenumbers ontheequipotentials
InR. 1'1 A+BIn
[(O
--H)/r,o
r•'= _ln(H/r,o)]1-'
q- L/r,o (8) indicatethepotentialasa percentage of thetotalheaddiffer-
encebetweenthe watertable(100%)and the openportionof
In this equation,A and B are dimensionless
coefficients
that the well (0%) shownas a dashedline.
are functionsof L/r•, as shown in Figure 3. If D >> H, an The value of Re for the casein Figure 2 is 96.7 lengthunits.
increasein D has no measurableeffecton In Re/rw. The analog As shownin the figure,thiscorresponds approximately to the
426 BOUWER AND RICE: GROUNDWATER HYDRAULICS

14'
' [ '['['l ][][I ' [ ' [']'l [[Ill , I , I,[,[ I[[] I ' ] ' [']'l

12-
A
and
½
I0 - / _'
/

8-
-.
B

6- ß

4- _

I . I.l.I • IIII , I . I.l,I I I II] , I . I .I.J I III1 i I i

5 I0 50 I00 500 I000 5000
L/r w
Fig. 3. Curvesrelatingcoefficients
A, B, and C to L/rw.

85% equipotentialwhen Re is laterally extendedfrom the cen- rapid infiltrationbasinsfor groundwaterrechargewith sewage
ter of the open portion of the well. Thus most of the head loss effluent[Bouwer,1970].The staticwater table was at a depth
in the flow systemoccursin a cylinderwith radiusRe, whichis of3m, D = 80 m, H = 5.5 m, L = 4.56m, rc = 0.076m, and rw
indicativeof the horizontal extentof the portion of the aquifer was taken as 0.12 m to allow for developmentof the aquifer
sampled for K or T. The vertical extent is somewhat greater around the perforated portion of the casing. A Statham
than L, as indicatedby, for example,the 80%equipotentialin PM131TC pressuretransducerwas suspendedabout I m be-
Figure 2. low the static water level in the well (when trade namesand
To estimate the rate of rise of the water level in a well after it companynamesare included,they are for the convenienceof
is suddenlylowered,(5) can be written as the reader and do not imply preferentialendorsementof a
particular product or company over othersby the U.S. De-
2 Re Yo
r, In- In- (10) partment of Agriculture). A solid cylinder with a volume
t - 2KL r•o Yt equivalentto a 0.32-m changein water level in the well was
By takingYt = 0.9y0,(10) reducesto also placed below the water level. When the water level had
returned to equilibrium, the cylinder was quickly removed.
r, 2 Re The transduceroutput, recorded on a Sargent millivolt re-
t.•o%
ß = 0.0527 -• Inrw -- (11) corder, yieldedthe y-t relationshipshownin Figure 4 with y
wheret90% is the timethat it takesfor the waterlevelto rise plottedon a logarithmicscale.The straight-lineportion is the
90%of the distance to theequilibrium level.By assuming a per- valid part of the readings.The actual Y0 value of 0.29 m
meableaquiferwithK = 30m/day,a wellwithre= 0.2m and indicatedby the straightline is closeto the theoreticalvalue of
L = 10m, andIn (Re/rw)= 3, (11) yieldst90%= 1.82s.Thusif 0.32 m calculatedfrom the displacementof the submerged
Y0is taken as 30 cm, it takes 1.8 s for the water level to rise 27 cylinder.
cm, another 1.8 s for the next 2.7 cm (90% of the remaining3 Extendingthe straight line in Figure 4 showsthat for the
cm), and another 1.8 s for the next 0.27 cm, or a total of 5.4 s arbitrarily selected
t valueof 20s,y = 0.0025m.Thus(l/t) in
for a rise of 29.97 cm. Measurementof this fast rise requiresa Yo/Yt= 0.238 s-•. The valueof L/rw = 38, for whichFigure3
sensitiveand accuratetransducerand a fast-responserecorder. yieldsA = 2.6 and B = 0.42. Substitutingthesevaluesinto (8)
The rate of rise can be reduced by allowing groundwater to and usingthe maximumvalue of 6 for In [(D - H)/rw] (since
enter through only a portion of the open sectionof the well, as In [(D - H)/rw] for thewell exceeds 6) yieldIn (Re/rw)= 2.37.
can be accomplishedwith packers. Equation (5) then givesK = 0.00036 m/s = 31 m/day. This
For a moderatelypermeableaquifer with, for example,K = value agreeswith K values of 10 and 53 m/day obtained
I m/day, a well with rc = 0.1 m and L = 20 m, and In (Re/r•o) previouslywith the tube method on two nearby observation
= 5, (11) yieldst = 11.4 s. In this case,it would take the water wells [Bouwer, 1970]. These K valueswere essentiallypoint
level 22.8 s to rise from 30 cm to 0.3 cm below static level. measurementson the aquifer immediately around the well
bottoms,whichwereat depthsof 9.1 and 6.1 m, respectively.
EXAMPLE
COMPARISONS
A slug test was performed on a casedwell in the alluvial
depositsof the Salt River bed west of Phoenix, Arizona. The œiezometer method. The geometryto which(8) and (9) and
well, known as the east well, is located about 20 m east of six the coefficients
in Figure 3 apply overlapsthe geometryof the
 BOUWER
ANDRICE:GROUNDWATER
HYDRAULICS 427

piezometermethod at the lower valuesof L/rw. With the ! I

piezometermethoda cavityis augeredout in the soil belowa

piezometcrtube. The water level in the tube is abruptly
lowered,and K of the soil aroundthe cavityis calculatedfrom
the rate of rise of the water level in the tube [Bouwerand
clackson,1974]. The equation for K is

K - •rr,o'"
Art
1Iny__•o
Yt
(12)
whereAr is a geometryfactor with dimensionof length. Val-
uesof A r were evaluatedwith an electrolytictank analogby
Youngs[1968], whoseresultswere expressedin tabular form as
A•,/r•, for differentvaluesof L/r•, (rangingbetween0 and 8),
(H - L)/r,,,, and (D - H)/r,,,.
Taking a hypotheticalcasewhereLira, = 8, Hire, = 12, and
D/r,,, = 16, K calculatedwith (5) is 18% below K calculated
with (12). This is more than the 10%error normallyexpected
with (8) and (9) for the L/H value of 0.67 in this case.The
larger discrepancymay be due to the differencein method-
ology, or to the fact that the L/r,,, value is closeto the lower
limit of the rangecoveredon the resistancenetwork analog.
An approximateequation for calculatingK with the pie- 0.01

zometermethod was presentedby Hvorslev [1951]. The equa-

tion, whichis basedon the assumptions of an ellipsoidalcavity
or well screenand infinite vertical extent (upward and down-
ward) of the flow system,containsa term [1 + (L/2r•,)•']•/•'.
For most well-slug-testgeometries,L/2r,,, will be sufficiently
largeto permit replacementof thisterm by L/2r•,. In that case,
however,Hvorslev'sequationfor Q yieldsRe = L, whichis not
true.In reality,Reis considerably
lessthanL. For example,if ß

L = 40 m, r•o= 0.4 m, H = 80 m, and D = •o, (8) showsthat

Re = 1!.9 m, which is much less than the value of 40 m
indicated by Hvorslev's equation. However, since the calcu-
lation of K is basedon In (Re/r•,) as shownby (5), the error in 0.001 , I I
o io 30 40
K is lessthan the error in Re (i.e., 36 and 236%,respectively,
in
this case). t -SECONDS
If, for the aboveexample,the top of the well screenor cavity
Fig. 4. Plot of y versust for slug test on east well.
had beentakenat the samelevelasthe watertable(H = 40 m),
Rewouldhavebeen8.6 m and Hvorslev'sequationwould have
yieldeda K value that is 50% higherthan K givenby (5). The the removal of a slug of water decreases with decreasingy,
larger error is probably due to Hvorslev'sassumptionof in- Ay/At is not a constantand the valueof K obtainedwith this
finite vertical(upward) extentof the flow system,which is not proceduredependson the magnitudeof Ay usedin the field
met when the cavity is immediately below the water table. measurements. The generalrule is that Ay shouldbe relatively
small.
Using Hvorslev'sequationfor cavitiesimmediatelybelow a
confininglayer would increasethe error to 73%, but this, of Taking a hypotheticalcasewherey0 = 2.5 m, yt = 2.4 m, At
course,is due to the fact that a water table is not a solid = 10s, L=H=5m, D=6m, andr•o=0.1m,(5)yieldsaK
boundary.Hvorslev'sequationfor the confininglayercasecan value that is 36% lower than K calculated with (13). However,
be shownto yield Re = 2L. if Yt is takenas0.5 m, whichshouldgiveAt = 394s according
Augerholemethod. The analoganalysesfor (8) and (9) and to the theorythat (l/t) In yo/yt is constant,theK valueyielded
Figure3 wereperformed for L < H, because shortcircuiting by (5) is 26%higherthanK obtainedwith (13). If Yt is takenas
betweenthe watertable and the well preventedsimulationof 0.9 m, (5) and (13) give identicalresults.
the casewhereL = H. If the analogresultsare extrapolatedto Slug teston wellsin confinedaquifers. The confinedaquifer
L = H, however, the geometry of the systemin Figure 1 for Whichtheslugtestby Cooperet al. [1967]wasdeveloped is
becomessimilar to that of the augerhole technique,for which an aquiferwith an internalwatersource,for example,recharge
a number of equations andgraphshavebeendeveloped •to throughaquitardsor compressionof confininglayersor other
calculateK from the riseof the water level in the well [Bouwer material. This situation is similar to that of the unconfined
and Jackson,1974]. Boast and Kirkham [1971], for example, aquifer presentedin this paper becausethe water table is
developedthe equation consideredhorizontal,like the upperboundaryof a confined
aquifer, and the water table is a plane source.Thus K or T
K = C•: •' Ay (13) calculatedwith (5) or (6) should be of the sameorder as K
calculatedwith the procedureof Cooperet al. [1967], which
where C•K was determined mathematically and expressedin involvesplotting the rise of the water level in the well and
tabular form for various values of L/r•, (D - H)/r•, and finding the best fit on a family of type curves.Cooperet al.
yo/H. Since the rate of rise of the water level in the hole after [1967]presentedan exampleof the calculationof T for a well
428 BOUWERANDRICE:GROUNDWATER
HYDRAULICS

with rc- rw = 0.076 m and L = 98 m. The resultingvalue of T Hydraulicconductivity

valuesobtainedwiththeproposed
was 45.8 m•'/day. Values of D and H for this well were not slugtestarecompatible
withthoseyielded
bytheaugerhole
given.However,sincethe well was 122m deepand completely andpiezometer techniques
wherethegeometries
ofthesystems
penetrating(at least theoretically),D and H must have been overlap,
andbya slugtestforcompletely
penetrating
wellsin
between98 and 122 m. Assumingthat both D and H were 100 confinedaquifers.
m, (6) yields T = 62.8 m•'/day, which is compatiblewith T
REFERENCES
obtained by Cooper et al.
CONCLUSIONS
Boast,C. W., and D. Kirkham, Auger hole seepagetheory,Soil Sci.
Soc. Amer. Proc., 35(3), 365-374, 1971.
The hydraulicconductivityof an aquifernear a well can be Bouwer,H., A studyof final infiltrationratesfrom ring infiltrometers
calculated from the rise of the water level in the well after a and irrigation furrows with a resistancenetwork analog, in 7th
InternationalCongressof Soil Science,vol. 1, pp. 448-456, Inter-
slugof wateris suddenlyremoved.The calculationis basedon national Society of Soil Science,Madison, Wis., 1960.
the Thiem equation,usingan effectiveradiusRe for the dis- Bouwer,H., Analyzingsubsurface flowsystems with electricanalogs,
tance over which the head differencebetweenthe equilibrium Water Resour.Res., 3(3), 897-907, 1967.
water table in the aquifer and the water level in the well is Bouwer, H., Ground water rechargedesignfor renovatingwastewa-
ter, J. Sanit. Eng. Div. Amer. Soc. Civil Eng.,96(SA1), 59-74, 1970.
dissipated.Valuesof Re wereevaluatedby electricalresistance Bouwer,H., and R. D. Jackson,Determiningsoilproperties,in Drain-
network analog.An empiricalequationwas then developedto agefor Agriculture,ASA Monogr.17, chap.23, sect.10,editedby J.
relate Re to the geometry of the system.This equation is van Schilfgaarde,pp. 611-672, American Societyof Agronomy,
accurateto within 10-25%, dependingon how much of the Madison, Wis., 1974.
well below the water table is perforatedor otherwiseopen.The Cooper, H. H., Jr., J. D. Bredehoeft,
and I. S. Papadopulos,
of a finite diameterwell to an instantaneous
Response
chargeof water, Water
techniqueis applicableto partially or completelypenetrating Resour. Res., 3, 263-269, 1967.
wellsin unconfinedaquifers.It can alsobe usedto estimatethe Hvorslev, J. M., Time lag and soil permeabilityin ground-water
hydraulicconductivityof confinedaquifersthat receivewater observations,Bull. 36, 50 pp., U.S. Corps of Eng., WaterwaysExp.
from the upper confininglayer through rechargeor compres- Sta., Vicksburg, Miss., 1951.
sion.
Liebmann,G., Solution of partial differentialequationswith a resis-
tancenetworkanalogue,Brit. J. Appl. Phys.,1, 92-103, 1950.
The vertical distancebetween the rising water level in the Lohman,S. W., Groundwaterhydraulics,U.S. Geol.Surv.Prof Pap.
well andthe equilibriumwatertablein the aquifermustyielda 708, 70 pp., 1972.
straightline when it is plotted on a logarithmicscaleagainst Skibitzke,H. E., An equationfor potentialdistributionabout a well
time. This can be usedto check the validity of field measure- beingbailed,openfile report,U.S. Geol. Surv.,Washington,D.C.,
1958.
ments and to obtain the best-fittingline for calculatingthe Youngs,E.G., Shapefactorsfor Kirkham'spiezometer methodfor
hydraulic conductivity.Permeableaquifers produce rapidly determiningthe hydraulicconductivityof soil in situ for soilsover-
rising water levels that can be measuredwith fast-response lying an impermeablefloor or infinitelypermeablestratum,Soil
pressuretransducersand strip chart recordersor x-y plotters. Sci., 106(3), 235-237, 1968.
The portion of the aquifer sampledfor hydraulicconductivity
with the slug test is approximatelya cylinderwith radiusRe (ReceivedJune2, 1975;
and a heightsomewhatlargerthan the perforatedor otherwise revisedJanuary 19, 1976;
open sectionof the well. acceptedJanuary23, 1976.)