Hydrogeology

Engineering Geology

Introduction
Hydrogeology deals with the movement of groundwater The term geohydrology, is often used interchangeably

Hydrogeology, is an interdisciplinary subject,

accounting for the complex interaction between

groundwater movement and geology

Subsurface water
Subsurface water is distinguished into: o Vadose water occurs from the surface, downwards to a variable depth, infiltrating downwards, under gravity

o Groundwater all subsurface water below

which all the pores and cavities of rocks and soil are saturated with water

Water table is the upper surface of the

zone of saturation
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Advantages of using Groundwater

o Free from turbidity, objectionable colors and pathogens o Locally available, can be tapped economically o Safe from chemical, biological and radiogenic pollution o Dependable source of supply

o Negligible loss due to evaporation

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Sources of Groundwater
Groundwater is derived from three sources: o Meteoric water o Connate water o Juvenile water

(a) Meteoric water

Refers to the water derived from precipitation A part of the precipitation infiltrates downward, till it reaches the zone of saturation, to become a part of the groundwater Almost entire supply of the groundwater is derived from meteoric sources

Water may also be contributed to the ground by

surface water bodies, such as rivers and lakes
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Influent (losing) and Effluent (gaining) streams

Influent stream

Effluent stream

Thompson and Turk

(b) Connate Water

o Connate water is present in the rocks, right from the time of their deposition in an aqueous environment o Incomplete compaction of sedimentary rocks,

may cause them to retain some of the water

o This (connate) water is saline, of no importance as a groundwater source o Connate water maybe encountered in limestone, sandstones and gravel
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(c) Juvenile water

o Also called magmatic water o Formed in the cracks/crevices or pores, due to condensation of steam from magma, below the surface of the earth o Juvenile waters serves as the source for some hot springs and geysers

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Zonal distribution of subsurface water

Vadose water zone

Soil water
Intermediate vadose water Capillary water Phreatic water zone

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1. Vadose water zone

o Soil water forms a thin layer, near the surface, is held up by root zone of vegetable cover o Intermediate vadose zone unsaturated, occurs below the soil water zone, water is moving

downwards under the influence of gravity

o Capillary fringe in the fine sized particle zone, groundwater is drawn upwards, by capillary action, to even 2-3m heights, above the saturated zone Capillarity - YouTube.flv
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2. Phreatic water zone

Zone of saturation, lies beneath the capillary fringe

The upper surface of water in this zone,

marks the water table in the area In this zone, all pores, cavities etc in the rocks, are completely filled with groundwater There is little downward movement of water, the lateral flow is controlled by the head of water
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Zonal Distribution of Subsurface water

dhn.iihr.uiowa.edu

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Water bearing qualities of rocks

Aquifer

Aquiclude
Aquifuge Aquitard

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1. Aquifer
A rock mass saturated with water, capable of yielding it, at economical costs, when tapped Gravels, limestone and sandstone are examples Quality of an aquifer is determined by: The quantity of water it can hold

The rate at which it can yield water, when

tapped
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2. Aquiclude a rock body porous enough to hold large quantities of water, but does not allow easy extraction e.g. compacted clay formations 3. Aquifuge an absolutely impermeable rock

formation, through which there is no possibility

of storage or movement of water e.g. granites

4. Aquitard an aquiclude or aquifuge, that has

become locally leaky
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Types of aquifers
Based on the physical conditions under which water can exist in them, aquifers are of two types: o Unconfined aquifer o Confined aquifer

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(a) Unconfined aquifer

Also known as water table aquifer The upper surface of the water is under atmospheric pressure Water occurring in an unconfined aquifer, is known as free groundwater Perched water table refers to the isolated

water table in an aquifer held by a small

extension of impervious rock
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(b) Confined aquifer

A rock formation, saturated with and capable

of yielding water, separated from the

influence of atmospheric pressure, by a confining layer The upper surface of water, in a confined aquifer, is called piezometric surface

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Confined and unconfined aquifers

21 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aquifer_en.svg

Perched water table

22 http://hays.outcrop.org

Artesian Aquifer
o A confined aquifer, where the contained water is under such a hydrostatic head, that, when tapped, water rushes to the surface o Types:

o Flowing natural pressure is high enough to

bring water to the surface o Non-flowing natural pressure is low and the water has to be mechanically extracted
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Flowing and non-flowing Artesian wells

http://hays.outcrop.org

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Artesian well at Messel Pit, Germany

Artesian Well YouTube.flv

25 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artesian_aquifer

Geological considerations for artesian water extraction

o Existence of a suitable type of aquifer o Recharge conditions o Absence of leakage
Water hose analogy

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Cone of Depression/Exhaustion
In any gravity well, the static level of water
coincides with the water table level of the surrounding aquifer Water pumped out in a considerable measure, from such a well depresses the water table around it in the form of an inverted cone cone of depression/exhaustion

This is a temporary phenomenon, the original

water table is restored due to seepage from the sides of the well, in a short period
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Cone of Depression

28 http://hays.outcrop.org

Different rocks as aquifers

Sedimentary rocks Gravels Sands Sandstones Limestones Glacial deposits

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Different rocks as aquifers (contd)

Igneous rocks Intrusive rocks Extrusive rocks Acid volcanic rocks (rhyolites etc) Basic volcanic rocks (basalts etc) Metamorphic rocks

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Reference
Parbin Singh, Engineering and General Geology, S K

Kataria & Sons

Chenna Kesavulu, N, Textbook of Engineering Geology, MacMillan India Thompson, G R and J Turk, Introduction to Physical

Geology, Thomson Brooks/Cole

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