GROUND WATER AND HYDRAULICS - 15CV742

Module 5
GROUND WATER DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION TO WATER WELLS

WELL
Water well is a hole or shaft, usually vertical, excavated into the earth for
bringing groundwater to the surface. Wells also serve other purposes such as for
observation/exploration, artificial recharge and disposal of wastewaters (very
restricted these days due to environmental concern).

FUNCTIONS OF WELLS

Wells are used for a variety of purposes, which are as follows,

1. To supply water to meet domestic, municipal, industrial and agricultural

requirements.
2. To control seawater intrusion.
3. To remove contaminated water from a polluted aquifer.
4. To lower water table for construction projects.
5. To relieve pressure under dams.
6. To drain agricultural land or urban land.
7. To inject surface water or once used groundwater into the ground for
augmenting groundwater resources. That is, to artificially recharge aquifers at
rates greater than the natural recharge.
8. To dispose of wastewater or hazardous wastes into isolated aquifers. This
function of wells is highly restricted these days due to its detrimental effects
on environment.
The following factor have to be considered in choosing the different type of
well,
1. Availabitility of space.
2. Hydrogeological characteristics of the subsurface strata.
3. Seasonal fluctuation of water levels.
4. Cost of well construction including provision of water lifting appliances
5. Economics and ease of water lifting operations.

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OBJECTIVES OF WELLS
1.To provide water with a good quality.
2. To provide a sufficient quantity of water.
3. To provide water for a long time.
4. To provide water at low cost.

TYPES OF WELLS

OPEN WELL
 Open wells, also known as dug wells, are popular since ancient times and
are the most convenient and cost-effective way of harnessing groundwater
present in shallow and low-yielding unconfined aquifers for small-scale
water supply.
 They can be constructed both in consolidated formations (e.g., alluvial
plains and river deltas) and in unconsolidated formations (e.g., weathered
and fractured hard-rock formations).

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  Open wells may be either circular or rectangular in shape. Generally, the
circular shape is adopted for open wells in alluvial and other such
formations because of its greater structural strength.
 Open wells are of large size with the diameter usually ranging from 2 to 5 m.

Depending upon the nature of the ground water formation, open/dug well can
be classified as,

1. Open well in unconsolidated formation.

2. Open well in hard rock formation.
1. OPEN WELL IN UNCONSOLIDATED FORMATION.

These types of wells further classified as,

(a) Unlined open wells,
(b) Open wells with pervious lining,
(c) Open wells with impervious lining
(d) Dug-cum-bore wells.

(a) Unlined open wells,

 Open wells dug for purely temporary purposes are normally not protected by
lining of their walls. As the sides of the well are not protected, it is essential
that the sub-soil is compact enough to stand vertically under natural
condition.
 The depth of unlined open wells is limited to about 6.5 m in order to ensure
stability.

(b) Open wells with pervious lining

 These wells are usually lined with dry bricks or stone masonry.
 Pervious lining is suitable when the water-bearing formation consists of
coarse sand and/or gravel.

(c) Open wells with impervious lining

 Impervious lining such as permanent masonry lining (laid in cement mortar)
are normally used
 These wells are commonly used in alluvial formations
 Water flow to the well from the bottom.
 Open wells with reinforced cement concrete (RCC) lining are also
sometimes used, especially for greater depths.

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 The depth of open wells with impervious linings is generally larger than the
two types described above, but the depth usually does not exceed 30 m
because of excessive construction cost beyond the 30-m depth.
(d) Dug-cum-bore wells
 Sometimes dug wells are provided with a vertical borehole to augment their
yields; such open wells are called Dug-cum-bore wells.
 The small borehole of size ranging from 4 to 15 cm in diameter is drilled
through the bottom of the dug well up to the water-bearing formation lying
below the well-bottom.

2. OPEN WELL IN HARD ROCK FORMATION.

Open well in hard rock areas often called hard rock wells, they are characterized by
limited permeability. Hence they are capable of yielding only limited quantity of
ground water.
(a) Dug well in hard rock formation
(b)Dug cum bore well in hard rock formation

(a) Dug well in hard rock formation

These wells are usually open, excavated pits through the rocks (Fig:1.4)

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(b)Dug cum bore well in hard rock formation
Dug wells in hard rock areas to augment their discharge, may also be provided
with holes, bored at their bottom, to tap embedded water bearing material.

(REFERENCE SKETCH)

TUBEWELLS
Tube wells are constructed by installing a pipe below the ground surface
passing through different geological formations comprising water-bearing and
non-water-bearing strata.
Tube wells are wells consisting of pipes ranging in size from 6 to 45 cm in
diameter and sunk into an aquifer
Tube wells are also classified based on the,
1 .Depth
2. Method of construction
3. Entry of water into the wells
4. The type/nature of the aquifer

As mentioned above, based on the depth of the well, tube wells are classified
as shallow tube wells or deep tube wells.
1. Shallow tube wells are of low capacity and their average depth is normally
less than 35 m.

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2. Deep tube wells are of high capacity and their depth usually ranges from 60
to 300 m.
2. Based on entry of water
a). SCREEN WELLS

 It permits the entry of water from the surrounding aquifer.

 Screens are lowered into the bore hole.
 Usually limited to shallow depths.
b). CAVITY WELLS

 Cavity well is a shallow tube well drilled in an alluvial formation.

 Water enters the cavity well through the bottom only and screens are not
used in such wells.
 Cavity wells are very economical and can be adopted where the ground strata
permits its construction.

METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION

For the construction point of view, water wells can be grouped under two
categories:
(a) Shallow wells,
(b) Deep wells.

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 Shallow water wells can be either open wells or tube wells and are generally
less than 15 m in depth. Deep water wells are usually tube wells and they are
greater than 15 m in depth.
Selection of a suitable method for well construction depends on the factors such as,

1. Geologic conditions
2. Purpose of the well
3. Diameter and depth of the well
4. Production capacity of the well
5. Volume of work
6. Maintenance and availability of funds

Shallow groundwater wells (<15 m deep) are constructed by,

(i) Digging
(ii) Boring
(iii) Driving
(iv) Jetting.

1. DIGGING (DUG WELL)

 Wells in shallow and unconsolidated glacial and alluvial aquifers can be

dug by hand using a pick and shovel.
 Loose material is brought to the surface in a container by means of rope and
pulleys.
 Large dug wells can be constructed rapidly with portable excavating
equipment such as clamshell and orange-peel buckets.
 For safety and to prevent caving, lining of wood or sheet piling should be
placed in the hole to brace the walls.
 The depth of a dug well may be up to 20 m or more depending on the
position of the water table.
 The well diameter usually ranging from 1 to 10 m.
 The curb or casing is perforated for entry of water.
 A properly constructed dug well penetrating a permeable aquifer can yield
2500 to 7500 m3/day, although most domestic dug wells yield less than 500
m3/day
 Dug wells are generally used for individual water supplies in areas
containing unconsolidated glacial and alluvial deposits.

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2. Bored wells

 Where a water table exists at a shallow depth in an unconsolidated

aquifer, bored wells can furnish small quantities of water at minimum
cost.
 Bored wells are constructed with Hand-operated auger or Power-
driven augers.
 Hand-operated augers have cutting blades at the bottom that bore into the
ground with a circular motion. When the blades are full of loose earth,
the auger is removed from the hole and emptied (empty).
 This procedure is repeated until the desired hole depth is reached.
 Hand-bored wells can be up to 20 cm in diameter and 15 m in depth.
 Power-driven augers can bore holes up to about one metre in diameter
and 30 m in depth.
 A simple auger has a cutting edge at the bottom of a cylindrical container
(or bucket). The auger bores into the ground with rotary motion.
 When the container is full of excavated material, it is raised and
emptied.
 Reamers, attached to the top of the bucket, help in enlarging holes to
diameters exceeding the auger size.

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3. DRIVING (Driven wells)
 In this method, a series of connected lengths of pipe is 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 unconsolidated formation which is
relatively free of cobbles or boulders.
 The diameters of driven wells are in the range of about 3 to 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.

Fig: Driven well

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 4. JETTING (Jetted wells)

 Jetted wells are constructed by the cutting action of a downward directed stream
of water.
 The force of high velocity stream or jet of fluid loosens the subsurface
materials and transports them upward and out of the hole.
 Jetting method is suitable for unconsolidated formations and can produce small-
diameter holes of 3 to 10 cm to depths greater than 15 m.
 Jetted wells have only small yields, and are useful for exploratory test holes,
observation wells and well-point systems.
 Jetting (Jet drilling) is achieved by a chisel-shaped bit attached to the lower
end of a pipe string. Holes on each side of the bit serve as nozzles and water jets
through these nozzles keep the bit clean and help loosen the material being
drilled.
 During the jetting operation, the drill pipe is turned slowly to ensure a straight
hole.

Fig: Jetted well with self-jetting well point

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METHODS FOR DRILLING DEEP WELLS

1. Drilled wells

Construction of ‘deep wells’ (wells with depths more than 15 m) having high
capacity as well as large diameter and depth is generally accomplished by using
drilling methods.
Various drilling methods used for constructing deep wells can be classified as:
(i) Percussion drilling (also known as ‘Cable tool drilling’).
(ii) Rotary drilling.
(i) Percussion drilling method (commonly referred to as the cable-tool
method)

Cable tool drilled wells are constructed by lifting and dropping a heavy cutting
tool will chip and excavate material from a hole. The tools can be fixed to rigid
drill rods, or to a rope or cable.
The resulting loose material, mixed with water, is removed using a bailer or
sand pump. The cable tool method is capable of drilling holes of 8 to 60 cm in
diameter through consolidated rock materials to depths of 600 m. It is least
effective in unconsolidated sand and gravel formations, especially quicksand,
because the loose material slumps and caves around the drill bit.
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.

Advantages of the percussion drilling method,

1. It is highly versatile in its ability to drill satisfactorily over a wide range of
geologic conditions.
2. Minimum water is required for drilling, a matter of concern in arid and semi-
arid regions.
3. Reasonably accurate sampling and logging of the formation material can be
readily achieved.

Disadvantages of the percussion drilling method,

(a) Slower drilling rate.
(b) Limitation of the drilling depth.
(c) Necessity of driving casing coincidentally with drilling in unconsolidated
geologic formations.
(d) Difficulty in pulling casing from deep boreholes.

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(b) Rotary drilled
Rotary drilling method is a rapid method for drilling in unconsolidated formations.
Rotary drilled wells are constructed using a drill bit on the end of a rotating drill stem.
Drilling fluid or air is circulated down through the drill stem in the hole and back to
the surface to remove cuttings.
The mud forms a clay lining on the wall of the borehole, which provides an adequate
support for the wall of the hole, and hence casing is not normally required during
drilling. The rotary drilling rig consists of a mast (derrick), a hoist, a power-operated
revolving table that rotates the drill stem and bit, a pump for drilling mud, and an
engine.
Rotary drilling rigs operate quickly and can reach depths of over 300 m (1000 ft.),
with casing diameters of 10-45 cm (4-18 in.).

Advantages of the rotary drilling method are

(a) Fast drilling rate
(b) No requirement of casing during drilling
(c) The convenience for electric logging.

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 Disadvantages of rotary drilling method are
(a) High equipment cost
(b) More complex operation
(c) Necessity to remove mud cake (clay lining) during well development
(d) The problem of lost circulation in highly permeable or cavernous geologic
formations.

ADVANTAGES OF OPEN WELLS

1. Storage capacity of water is available in the well itself.

2. They do not require sophisticated equipment and skilled persons for
constructions.
3. They can be easily operated by installing an ordinary centrifugal pump or by
using a manual water-lifting device.
4. They can be revitalized by deepening by vertical boring or by blasting at the
bottom, or by creating horizontal or inclined bores on the sides of the well to
intercept water-bearing formations.

DISADVANTAGES OF OPEN WELLS

1. Large land space is needed for open wells and for the excavated material.
2. Construction of open wells is slow and laborious.
3. They are subject to high seasonal fluctuations of water table.
4. They are very susceptible to drying up in the years of drought or even during
the later part of the dry season.
5. They involve high cost of construction as their depth increases, especially in
hard-rock regions.
6. Deeper aquifers cannot be economically tapped by open wells.
7. There is an uncertainty of getting good-quality groundwater.
8. They are vulnerable to contamination unless they are provided with suitable
sanitary protection and are sealed from surface water ingress.

TUBE WELL

Tube wells are constructed by installing a pipe below the ground surface passing
through different geological formations comprising water-bearing and non-water-
bearing strata.
ADVANTAGES OF TUBE WELLS

1. They do not require much land space and can be constructed even in a limited
open area.

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2. They can be constructed quickly due to the use of mechanized equipment.
3. They can provide sustained supply of water even during drought years. In other
words, tube wells provide the only source of water supply during emergencies
(i.e., natural and anthropogenic calamities).
4. They are economical and more reliable, especially when deep and extensive
aquifers are encountered.
5. They can also serve as flowing wells under special hydro geologic conditions.
In this situation, no water-lifting device and energy are required.
6. They usually provide good-quality groundwater.
7. They are relatively less vulnerable to contamination.

DISADVANTAGES OF TUBE WELLS

1. They often require costly and sophisticated drilling equipment.
2. They need skilled personnel and great care for drilling, completion, and
maintenance.
3. Costly pumps are required for lifting groundwater from bore wells.
4. There is a possibility of missing fractures, fissures and joints in hard-rock
regions, thereby resulting in many dry bore wells.
5. Rehabilitation of tube wells/bore wells is generally very expensive and
requires skilled manpower.
6. Cost of pumping is normally higher than the open wells.

DESIGN OF WATER WELL (TUBE WELL)

Water well has to be designed to get the optimum quantity of water economically
from a given geological formation. The water required for particular scheme –rural
water supply, agricultural or industrial needs to be carefully determined.

Wells may be dug, bored, driven, jetted or drilled. The drilled types are commonly
referred to as boreholes. A well design involves selection of dimensions
(depth/length, diameter) and type of the well (mode of construction), casing,
screens (material) and of completion methods.
The choice of water well and method of design depends upon topography,
availability of space, hydrogeology, depth of groundwater table, rainfall, climate,
quantity of water required and available funds.

Well diameter

 The size of the well should be properly chosen since it significantly affects
cost of well construction.
 It must be large enough to accommodate the proposed pump.

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 Well yield is not proportional to well diameter as can be seen from Theim’s
equation. The diameter has a relatively insignificant effect on the yield.
 The primary effect of well diameter on yield is related to the size of the
pump that can be installed, which, in turn, determines the pumping rate. Data
on pumping rate pump size, and well diameter. In some designs, the upper
part of the well is made larger than the remainder of the well in order to
accommodate the pump.

Well Depth

 The well is usually drilled up to the bottom of the aquifer so that the full
aquifer thickness is available, permitting greater well yield.
 The Poor quality aquifers are backfilled or sealed so that this water will not
migrate upward when the well is pumped.
Design of Well Screen
The design of a well screen (also known as ‘strainer’) involves the determination
of
1. Screen length
2. Location of the screen
3. Percentage opens area, size and shape of openings (slots)
4. Screen diameter
5. Selection of screen material.

1. Location and Length of the Screen

The length of a well screen is selected in relation to the aquifer thickness,
available drawdown and stratification of the aquifer. In homogeneous confined
aquifers, about 70 to 80% of the aquifer thickness is screened.

2. Size and Shape of Slots

Slot size is taken as 40 – 70% of the size of aquifer material
The size and shape of the openings (slots) in the screen depend on the gradation,
and the size and shape of the aquifer material so as to avoid entering of fine
particles into the screen openings and to ensure that all the fine particles around
the screen are washed out to improve the permeability of the aquifer material.
3. Screen Diameter
Suitable screen diameter is selected based on the desired yield of the well and the
thickness of the aquifer.
To express the screen entrance velocities given in terms of screen size, the
following equation can be used.

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Ve = optimum screen entrance velocity
Q = discharge of the pumping well
C = clogging coefficient (usually estimated at 0.5 on the basis that approximately
50% of the open area of a screen will be clogged by the aquifer material)
ds = diameter of the screen
Ls = length of the screen
P = percentage of open area in the screen

4. Screen Material
The selection of screen material depends on the diameter and depth of the well,
the type of aquifer layer, and the chemical composition of aquifer materials
which dictates the quality of groundwater.
The screen material should be resistant to incrustation and corrosion and should
have strength to withstand the column load and collapse pressure.

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PUMPS

Pump can be broadly defined as ‘a mechanical device to increase the pressure

energy of a fluid’. Pumps are mostly used for lifting fluids (liquids or gases)
from a lower level to a higher level.
This is achieved by creating a low pressure at the inlet or suction end and a high
pressure at the outlet or delivery end of the pump. Because of the low inlet
pressure, the fluid rises from a depth where it is available and the high outlet
pressure forces the fluid to a desired height.

FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR SELECTION OF PUMPSETS

1. Pumping capacity.
2. Well diameter and depth.
3. Depth and variability of pumping level
4. Straightness of the well.
5. Sand pumping.
6. Total pumping head.
7. Duration of pumping.
8. Type of power available
9. Costs

PUMPS FOR SHALLOW WELLS

For shallow wells where only small discharges are needed ,hand operated
pitcher pumps,turbine pumps and gear pumps may be installed.

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Discharge ranges upto 500m3/day.Suction lift should not exceed about 7m for
efficient and continuous service.Where a large discarge is required from a
shallow well ,a centrifugal pump is commonly employed.
CENTRIFUGAL PUMP

 The most common type of irrigation pump is the volute centrifugal

pump.
 It can be used to a tube well if a pit is made to house the pump,so that the
pumping water level is within the suction lift of the pump,thereby saving
in the initial cost of a deep well pump.
 It is not also very efficient under low heads,the propeller pump is ideally
suited for low head high discharge pumping.
 For pumping from river,canals and large tanks the propeller pump is often
the most efficient.
 It has the advantage of low initial and maintenance costs and high
efficiency.
 It has the limitation that the available drawdown in the well is limited to
about 6.5 m.

PUMPS FOR DEEP WELLS

In deep wells requiring high lifts,large capacity pumps serving

irrigation,muncipal,or industrial water requirement are installed.

Several types of pumps are suitable for deep well operation:

1.Plunger
2. Displacement pumps
3. Airlift pumps
4. Jet and most importantly
5. Deep well turbine
6. Submersible.

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1.SUBMERSIBLE PUMPS
 Submersible pumps have the motor and the bowl assembly as a unit submerged
below the lowest pumping water level.
 A water-proof cable supplies power to the motor. Submersible pumps to fit inside
10, 15, 20 and 25 cm bore wells are available in India.
 They can be used for discharges varying from 40 to 3000 L/min and heads varying
from 15 to 150 m.
 They can be installed in crooked wells but the repair to motor or pump requires its
removal from the well, and hence the motor or pump is subject to abrasion by
sand.
 Submersible pumps have the advantage that they can be installed in the localities
where there is little or no floor space to install a pump unit as well as in the
localities where noise or theft is a serious issue.
 They can be either water or oil lubricated, although the initial costs of submersible
pumps are lower than those of vertical turbine pumps, their repair and maintenance
costs are higher.

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2. JET PUMPS

 Jet pumps are often viable for pumping fairly small discharges (40-90 L/min)
under low heads (15 to 45 m) when the water level is more than 7.6 m from
the ground surface.
 A jet pump consist of a pium and a jet,water is recirculated from the delivery
side of the pump to the bottom of the suction pipe and is injected through a
nozzle to impart additional kinetic energy.
 This gives additional suction lift by creating a partial vaccum at this point.
 This pumps are usually used for residential buildings and hotels.

Advantages
 Pump and motar may be set away from the well .

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3.AIR LIFT PUMPS

 Air lift pumps have efficiency ranging from 20 to 35%.

 The efficiency greatly depends upon the percentage submergence and is
reasonable when the percentage submerance is 50 to 60%.
 Capacity foer well pumping ranges from 90 to 9000lpm.
 Air lifts are adopted to crooked wells,to wells discharging large amounts of
sand and to installations wher reliability is of more importance than
efficiency.
Advantage
 These pumps have no parts below the ground level

Disadvantage

 Low efficiency
 Pumps inability to pump against high head requirements

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3.DEEP WELL TURBINE PUMP
 Vertical turbine pumps are most widely used for large deep tube wells.
 The bowl-assembly (containing impellers) is placed below the lowest pumping
water level, but the prime mover (electric motor or diesel engine) is placed on the
ground surface and is connected by a long shaft.
 Usually deep-well turbine pumps are used for fairly high flows under high heads.
 The overall efficiency of vertical turbine pumps ranges from 50 to 80%.

Advantages
1. High efficiency
2. High head pumping capability
3. Excellent serviceability
Disadvantages
1. They require sufficiently straight and plumb well for installation and proper
operation.
2. Pumps are subjected to abrasion by sand.
3. The maintenance problem becomes severe when they are pumping corrosive
water unless the pump, column pipe, line shaft and other components are made
of non-corrosive materials.

Vertical turbine pump

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 Power Requirement and Efficiency of Pumps
Power requirements for a pumping system can be calculated for a given pump
installation.
Power of a pumping system can be classified into four classes:
(i) Water Power (WP)
(ii) Shaft Power (SP)
(iii) Brake Power (BP)
(iv) Input Power (IP).

1. WATER POWER
Water power is the theoretical power required for pumping. It is the power
required by a pump in lifting a given quantity of water in a unit time assuming
no losses of power in the pump. The water power (WP) of a pump can be
calculated using the following equation:

Where,
WP = water power (W),
= specific weight of the water (N/m3)
Q = discharge of the pump (m3/s)
H = total head or total dynamic head (m).

SHAFT POWER

Shaft power is the power required at the pump shaft. It takes into account the
loss of power in the pump. Shaft power (SP) of a pump can be computed using
the following equation:

Where, are the overall efficiency of the pump (in fraction) and the
remaining symbols have the same meaning as defined earlier.
If the SI units of γ, Q and H are used, the unit of SP will be in watts (W).

BRAKE POWER

It is the actual power to be supplied by the prime mover (engine or electric

motor) for driving a pump. When there is direct drive from an engine or electric

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motor to the pump, the brake power is equal to the shaft power. In this case, the
drive efficiency is assumed to be 100%. However, if belt or other indirect drives
are used to run a pump, the brake power (BP) needs to be computed. Brake
power (BP) can be calculated as:

Where, is the efficiency of the drive (in fraction) and the remaining
symbols having the same meaning as defined earlier. Like the WP and SP, if the
SI units of, Q and H are used, the unit of BP will be in watts (W).

INPUT POWER

Input power (IP) of a pump is defined as the ratio of brake power to the
efficiency of the motor or engine used for driving the pump. Mathematically, it
is expressed as:

Where, is the efficiency of the motor or engine (in fraction). If the SI

unit of BP is used for calculating IP, the unit of IP will be in watts (W).

As mentioned above, if the SI units are used to compute WP, SP, BP and IP, the
units of power will be in watts (W), which can be converted into horsepower (a
popular unit of power) by dividing the power in watts with 746.

ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY A PUMP

The energy consumption by a pump can be calculated as follows:

Energy Consumption = Input Power × Hours of Pump Operation

CONJUNCTIVE USE OF SURFACE & GROUNDWATER

 Combined use of surface water resources & groundwater, in a unified way,

to optimize resource use & minimize adverse effects of using a single source.

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 Actively managing aquifer systems as an underground reservoir. During wet
years, when more surface water is available, surface water is stored
underground by recharging the aquifers with surplus surface water. During
dry years, the stored water is available in the aquifer system to supplement or
replace diminished surface water supplies.

NECESSITY OF CONJUNCTIVE USE

 Groundwater and surface water are closely linked

 Groundwater maintains the base flow of rivers, and water in rivers can
infiltrate into the ground.

 Abstraction of surface water and groundwater cannot be planned in isolation

— one will affect the other. E.g. abstraction of groundwater can reduce base
flow contribution to rivers by lowering water table.

 If carefully planned, however, the conjunctive use of rivers and groundwater

can even out the seasonal variations in river flow. In the summer when the
river flow is low, water moves from the aquifer into the river, so that more
water can be drawn from the river. Rainy season, water flows from River to
aquifer.

 Pumping from wells also intercepts some of the natural base flow to the
river.

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 GROUND WATER RECHARGE
ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE

Artificial recharge (or replenishment) is one method of modifying the

hydrological cycle and thereby providing ground water in excess of that available
by natural processes.
It is accomplished by augmenting the natural infiltration of precipitation or
surface water into underground formations by some method of construction, by
ponding or spreading of water, or by artificially changing the natural conditions.
The following are the favourable conditions for natural or artificial
recharge,

1. Formation of sand, gravel, or highly fractured rocks either underground or

exposed over a large area or in stream channels.
2. The presence of caverns fractured or faulted zones or numerous small cavities
in rock formations (limestone areas) either underground or exposed on the
land surface or stream channels.
3. Karsts or sinkhole topography.
4. The absence of barriers for horizontal or vertical movement of ground water.
5. Feasible locations for installation of recharge wells, dams, diversions or other
recharge structures.
6. Wide braided streams, broad alluvial fans and glaciofluvial deposits may
present excellent opportunities for water spreading.

ADVANTAGES OF ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE

 To enhance the ground water yield in depleted the aquifer due to

urbanization.
 Conservation and storage of excess surface water for future requirements.
 To improve the quality of existing ground water through dilution.
 To improve bacteriological and other impurities from sewage and waste
water by natural filtration ,so that water is suitable for reuse.

IDENTIFICATION OF AREAS FOR RECHARGE:

 Where ground water levels are declining due to over-exploitation.
 Where substantial part of the aquifer has already been desaturated i.e.
Regeneration of water in wells and hand pumps is slow after some water has
been drawn.
 Where availability of water from wells and hand pumps is inadequate during
the lean months.

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 Where ground water quality is poor and there is no alternative source of
water.

METHODS OF ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE

The artificial recharge can be classified as,

1. Direct method
2. Indirect method
Direct method can further classified as surface and sub surface methods,

SURFACE METHODS,

1.Flooding
 This method is suitable for relatively flat region where water can be spread as
a thin layer.
 Water is distributed over the region using a distribution system.
 This method can achieve higher rate of infiltration in a region having thin
vegetation cover or sand soil cover.

Fig shows a schematic diagram of recharge basin.

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2. Basin and Percolation tank

 In this method, series of earthen dams are constructed on suitable sites for
storing of adequate quantity of surface water.
 The tank area should be selected in such a way that significant amount of
water infiltrates through the bed of the tank and reaches the groundwater
table.
 This method is very effective in alluvial area as well as in areas with hard
rock.
 This method is very useful in providing continuous recharge after the
monsoon.
3. Stream Augmentation

 In this method, seepage from natural stream or river is artificially increased

by putting some series of check dams across the river or stream.
 The placing of check dams spread the water in a larger area which eventually
increases groundwater recharge.
 The sites for the check dams should be selected in such a way that sufficient
thickness of permeable bed or weathered bed is available for quick
recharging the stored water.

4.Ditch and furrow system

 This method is used for uneven terrain.

 In this technique, a system of closely spaced flat bottom ditch or furrow is
used to carry the water from the source.
 This system provides more opportunity to percolate the water into the ground.
 The spacing of the ditch depends on the permeability of the soil.
 For less permeable soil, more densely spaced ditch or furrow should be
provided.

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5. Contour bund

 Contour bund is a small embankment constructed along the contour in hilly

region to retain the surface runoff for longer time.
 This scheme is adopted for low rainfall area where internal subsurface
drainage is good.

Fig Typical c Contour bund

SUB SURFACE METHODS
1. Recharge well

 Recharge wells are used to recharge water directly to the aquifer.

 Recharge wells are similar to pumping wells.
 This method is suitable to recharge single wells or multiple wells.
 This method is costlier than the other method as wells are required to be
bored.
 However, sometimes abandoned tube wells can be used for recharging water
into aquifer.

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2. Dug well

 Dug wells can also be used to artificially recharge the groundwater.

 Generally, water level of dug wells depletes during the non monsoon period.
 Sometime the dug wells even dried up in the non-monsoon period.
 These dug wells can be used for recharging groundwater.
 The water from various sources can be collected through a distribution
system and can be discharged at the dug wells.

3. (a) Recharge pit

 Recharge pit of variable dimensions are used to recharge water to unconfined
aquifer.
 Most of the time, especially in case of agricultural field, a layer of less
permeable soil exist. The surface flooding methods of recharge do not show
satisfactory performance. For such type of cases, recharge pit can be
excavated which are sufficiently deep to penetrate the less permeable strata.

3. (b) Recharge Shaft

 Recharge shaft is similar to the recharge pits, but the cross sectional size of
the recharge shaft is much lesser than the recharge pits.
 Like the recharge pits, recharge shafts are also used to recharge water to
unconfined aquifer whose water table is deep below the land surface and a
poorly impermeable strata exist at the surface level.

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INDIRECT METHODS

1.Induced recharge
 It is an indirect method of artificial recharge.
 In this method water is pumped from the aquifer hydraulically connected to
the surface water sources like stream, river or lake.
 Due to pumping, a reverse gradient is formed and water from the surface
water source enters into the aquifer and thus the aquifer is recharged .
 This method is good, especially when quality of the surface water is poor.
 The filtration of surface water through soil strata removes the impurities of
the water. Thus the quality of the water receives in the wells is much better
than the surface water.

Fig:Induced recharge resulting from a well pumping near a river

2. Aquifer modification method

This is also an indirect method of artificial recharge. In this method, some

techniques are used to change the aquifer characteristic so that aquifer can store
more water and also can transmit more water. After application of these
techniques, more recharge takes place under natural condition as well as under
artificial condition. The most commonly used techniques are, bore blasting
method, hydro-fracturing method, jacket well techniques, fracture seal
cementation and pressure injection grouting, etc.
1. Bore blasting method

 This method is used to increase the fracture porosity of an aquifer.

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 Shallow bore wells are drilled in the area where fracture porosity of the
aquifer is planned to increase.
 These bore holes are blasted with the help of explosive which creates
fracture porosity in the aquifer.

2. Hydro-fracturing method
 Hydro-fracturing is used to improve the yield of a bore well.
 In this technique, water is injected at a very high pressure to widening the
existing fracture of the rock.
 The high pressure injection of water also helps in removing of clogging,
creates interconnection between the fractures, and extends the existing length
of the old fracture.
 The high pressure injection also creates new fracture in the rock strata.
 As a result of these, the water storing and transmitting capacity of the strata
increases.

3. Jacket well techniques

 Jacket well technique is used to increase the yield of a dug well.
 In this method, the effective diameter of the well is increased by drilling
small diameter bores around the well in a circular pattern.

4. Fracture seal cementation and pressure injection grouting

 This technique is used to control the outflow from an aquifer.

 Cement slurry is injected into the aquifer using mechanical means or
manually near to the aquifer outlet like spring, etc.
 The injection of cement slurry helps in reducing the fracture porosity of the
aquifer near the outlet which will eventually reduce the outflow from the
aquifer.

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