Introduction

to
Hydrogeology
By
Dr. Mishra
Course content:
• Introduction, Scope, Historical Background of Groundwater in the
Hydrologic Cycle, Hydrologic Cycle, The Groundwater system in the
Hydrologic Cycle, Hydrologic Budget.
• Occurrence of Groundwater.
• Origin and age of Ground water, properties affecting Groundwater,
Aquifers, Porosity, Soil Classification, Vertical distribution of
Groundwater, Specific retention, Specific yield. Geologic formation as
aquifers: Alluvial deposits, Limestone, Volcanic rocks, Igneous and
Metamorphic rocks, clay; Types of aquifers. Hydrometeorology.
• Groundwater Movement: Darcy’s law. Experimental verification.
Darcy velocity, Validity of Darcy’s law. Permeability. Intrinsic
permeability. Hydraulic conductivity. Transmissivity. Hydraulic
conductivity of geologic materials. Determination of Hydraulic
conductivity.
• Cont.
• Groundwater and Well Hydraulics.
• Steady unidirectional flow: Confined aquifer, Unconfined
aquifer. Base flow to a stream. Steady and Unsteady
Radial flow to a well: Confined aquifer, Unconfined
aquifer. Theis method of solution. Recovery test.
• Water wells: Test holes and well logs. Methods for
constructing shallow wells, Dug wells, Bored wells,
Driven wells. Methods for drilling deep wells: Cable tool
method, Rotary method- Air rotary method, rotary
percussion method. Reverse circulation rotary method.
Well completion: Well casing, cementing, Screens, gravel
packs.
• Cont.
• Quality of Groundwater: Natural groundwater quality. Sources of
salinity, measures of water quality, chemical analysis:
concentration by weight. Chemical equivalence. Total dissolved
solids by electrical conductance. Hardness. Graphic
representation. Water quality criteria: Drinking water standard.
Industrial water criteria. Irrigation water criteria. Changes in
Chemical composition. Isotope hydrology.
• Pollution of Groundwater: Pollution in relation to water use.
Municipal sources and causes. Industrial sources and causes.
Agricultural sources and causes. Miscellaneous sources and
causes.

• Surface investigations of Groundwater: Geologic methods:

Remote sensing, weathering, Folds, Faults, Unconformity.
Geophysical exploration: Electrical resistivity method, Seismic
refraction method, Gravity and Magnetic.
• Subsurface investigations of Groundwater
Geologic and geophysical logging: Resistivity
logging, Spontaneous potential logging,
Radiation logging, natural gama logging, Gama-
gama logging. Neutron logging, Temperature
logging, Caliper logging.

• Groundwater management: Natural and artificial

recharge concepts, site selections for recharge,
Practical:
• One or two day’s field demonstration of the
basic methods of hydrogeological data
collection.
• Laboratory estimation of water quality
parameters; Presentation of chemical data
and their uses in different purposes;
• Estimation of aquifer (hydrologic) properties
such as hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity
and storage coefficient. Analysis of
hydrogeologic maps.
 C.F. Tolman (1937): Groundwater, McGraw Hill , New York
and London.
D.K. Todd (1995): Groundwater Hydrology, John Wiley and
Sons.
F.G. Driscoll (1988): Groundwater and Wells, UOP, Johnson
[Link]. Min. USA.
H.M. Raghunath (1990): Groundwater, Wiley Eastern Ltd.,
H.S. Nagabhushaniah (2001): Groundwater in
Hydrosphere (Groundwater hydrology), CBS Publ..
K. R. Karanth (1989): Hydrogeology, Tata McGraw Hill Publ..
S.N. Davies and R.J.N. De Wiest (1966): Hydrogeology, John
Wiley and Sons, New York.
 HYDROLOGY
GEOHYDROLOGY
HYDROGEOLOGY
Hydrology: Processes governing the depletion
and replenishment of water resources of land
areas of the earth.
Dealing with surface water
• Surface Water Hydrology: the study of
subaerial waters (in contact with the
atmosphere), excluding oceans. Civil engineers
usually mean “lakes and bays”, geologists
usually mean “rivers and streams” when using
this term.
•
Dealing with surface water
• Potamology: Science of surface
stream
• Limnology: Science of Lakes
• Cryology: Science of snow and ice
Dealing with air water
• Hydrometeorology
• Climatology
• Hydrogeology: Mode of occurrence, distribution,
movement and chemistry of water occurring in
the subsurface in relation to the geological
environment. Dealing with ground water

• Emphasizes the hydrologic aspects of geology,

e.g. lithologic or facies influences on groundwater
movement

• Geohydrology: Emphasizing geologic aspects of

hydrology, particularly the effects of the porous
medium through which groundwater flows.
Definitions
• Ground Water:
• Two overlapping definitions – subsurface
water that occurs beneath the water table in
porous geologic formations that are fully
saturated – that portion of subsurface water
that flow naturally to the surface via springs
and seeps.
• (NOTE: not all subsurface water is
groundwater) – important to remember there
is accessible and inaccessible water in the
subsurface
Water Table Definitions
• the undulating plane below the ground surface
at which pore water pressure is equal to
atmospheric
• also the dividing line between the unsaturated
and saturated zones
• position depends on
Topography, geological structure, areas of
recharge and discharge, permeability
characteristics, heavy withdrawal.
Groundwater
• Groundwater makes up about 1% of the water
on the Earth (most water is in oceans)

• Groundwater occurs everywhere beneath the

Earth’s surface, but is usually restricted to
depth less than about 750 meters.
Water resource
• Ocean- 97%

• Ice caps 2%
• Ground water 1%
(Deep ground water 0.31%)
(Fresh water 0.69% )
Importance of hydro geological study
• Evaluation of surface water-
required parameters- precipitation, infiltration,
Runoff, slope, evaporation.
• Evaluation of ground water-
required parameters-geometry of basin, storage,
yield, properties of aquifer
• Mineral prospecting and mining- Sulphide
minerals-1ppm Zinc
• Evaluation of sites for geotechnical construction–
reservoir and dam
• Problem related to pollution
Proper management of water resource-
Problem-
• Identify basin boundary, the main river and its
tributary.
• Divide in to sub basins of controllable size
• Establish hydrometeorological set up.
• Base period for hydrologic equation
• Determine average depth of rain fall
• Draw hydrograph.
• Draw cropping pattern maps and estimate
evapotranspiration
• Determine evaporation from soil and water
surface
• Draw soil map and conduct infiltration studies
• Draw ground water level contours
• Storage coefficient for confined aquifer
• Specific yield
• Conduct water balance studies
• Thus with the hydrometeorological
data combined with geophysical and
hydrogeological investigation and
pumping test, it is possible to
develop and manage ground water
resource of a basin.
Effect

• Excess extraction of ground water– depletion of

water level, subsidence of land surface---- both
by artificial recharge

• Excess use of surface water for irrigation– water

logging---by conjunctive use
Hydrogeology and environment
• Construction of reservoir—shallow water
table
• Deforestation---reduce infiltration and
recharge, increase runoff and erosion and
evaporation
• Waste disposal--- water quality (water
pollution)
Groundwater development
• Stratigraphy
• Petrography
• Structural Geology
• Geomorphology
• ------ Presence, type, dimension, productivity of aquifer
and quality of water, structure of formation
Hydrogeological
classification of rocks

• Consolidated (hard)
• Unconsolidated (soft)
• Hydrologic cycle: The circulation of
water from the ocean to the
atmosphere, atmosphere to the
lithosphere and lithosphere to the
ocean occurring through complex and
independent process including
precipitation, runoff, ground water
flow, evaporation and transpiration, is
called hydrologic cycle.
Hydrologic cycle
Evapotranspiration - Precipitation
Interception
Through fall
Detention storage Overland flow
Infiltration
Channel storage
Soil moisture storage------Interflow
Percolation
Ground water recharge
Ground water storage ------------base flow
• The stages of the Hydrological Cycle.
Hydrologic cycle
• Precipitation
• Evaporation (open water surface, ground surface, interception)

• Transpiration (vegetation)
Evapotranspiration (Cumulative loss)
• Field capacity
• Wilting point
Consumptive use (ET+ plant metabolism)
Potential Evapotranspiration (maximum rate of total loss by E and T)
Difference between P and ET= surface water and ground water
• Infiltration/percolation
• Run off- (surface runoff, baseflow, interflow)
• [Link]: It is
atmospheric discharge of water
in the form of the solid, liquid
from the earth surface.
• The distribution of water on the
surface and subsurface is
governed by duration and
intensity of precipitations.
Types of precipitation
• Cyclonic
• Convective
• Orographic
Forms of Precipitation
• Drizzle--.1-.5mm
• Rain-- >.5mm
• Sleet –ice pellets—1—4mm
• Snow—ice crystal
• Hail->5mm
• 2. Evaporation and transpiration:
It is the process by which water is
returned to the atmosphere.

Evaporation:
Sublimation:
Transpiration:
• (i) Wilting point: Lowest amount of
moisture that is held by soil, not available for
transpiration by vegetation, is the wilting
point

• (ii)Field capacity: The maximum water that

the soil can hold against the force of gravity.

• Available soil moisture: Difference between

field capacity and wilting point
• Approximate properties such as field capacity
and wilting point are used in the hydrological
and agricultural literature. Field capacity is the
volumetric moisture content left in the
medium after it has drained under gravity
from saturation for a period of two days
(definitions vary), and the wilting point is the
volumetric moisture content which is just low
enough so that any plants growing in the
medium will fail to transpire, so will wilt and
die.
• 1. Transpiration: The part of water
reaching the ground is evaporated
through the leaves.
• 2. Evapo-transpiration:
The cumulative loss by evaporation and
transpiration

• (i) Consumptive use: Term includes

water used in plant metabolism and
evapo-transpiration.
4. Infiltration:Percolation
Moving of precipitated water in to subsurface.
The rate of infiltration depends on the rain fall
intensity, duration and texture of materials.
Depends on texture of materials (soil)
• Sand ------ 5cm/h
• Fine sandy loam-----1.5 – 5 cm/h
• Silt and clay---< 1.5 cm/h
• Runoff. Runoff is the water
discharged through stream
consisting wholly, or in part, of
water contributed by overland
flow (surface runoff) and ground
water flow (base flow).Flow over
impervious horizons above
water table –(Interflow)
Factors affecting Runoff
Soil type
Stream type
Climate type
Land use
Run off - relation to soil types (Depends on
texture of materials (soil)
• Type infil. Runoff
• Sand/gravel ------ 5cm/h Low
• Fine sandy loam-----1.5 – 5 cm/h moderate
• Silt and clay---< 1.5 cm/h High
• Runoff – relation to ground water-stream type
• Influent (losing)
• Effluent (gaining)
• Insulated
• Climatic
Type, intensity, duration and areal distribution of
rainfall.
• Physiographic features
Land use
i. Type of soil
ii. Area and shape of basin
iii. Elevation and slope
iv. Type of drainage network
Rainfall - Runoff relationships
• Time distribution of Runoff--- Hydrograph –
important in flood control or flood forecasting.
• Shape of the catchment
• Shaped with the narrow end towards the upstream
and the broader end nearer the catchment outlet
(Figure 1a) shall have a hydrograph that is fast rising
and has a rather concentrated high peak (Figure 1b).
• Shaped with its narrow end towards the outlet has a
hydrograph that is slow rising and with a somewhat
lower peak (Figure 2) for the same amount of
rainfall.
Water budget
• Water budget: Quantitative
representation of hydrologic cycle for
any area is water budget.

• A water budget comprised of the

components of the hydrologic cycle
can be formulated. It is an
accounting of the inflow, outflow
and storage of water in a designated
hydrologic system.
Water budget
• For surface flow
• For underground flow
For surface flow
The hydrologic budget can be written as:
• P + R1 - R2 + Rg - Es - Ts - I = ΔSs (1)
• where precipitation(P), surface-water
inflow(R1), and groundwater appearing as
surface water (Rg) are inflows;
• surface-water outflow(R2), evaporation(E), and
infiltration(I) are outflows;
• All variables are volumes per unit of time.
For underground flow,
the hydrologic budget can be written as:
• I + G1 - G2 - Rg - Eg - Tg = ΔSg (2)

• where infiltration (I) and groundwater inflow (G1) are inflows;

• groundwater outflow (G2), groundwater appearing as surface water runoff(R),

evaporation(E), and transpiration(T) are outflows.

• combined hydrologic budget for a region is derived by summing the two previous
equations:
•

• P - (R2 - R1) - (Es + Eg) - (Ts + Tg) - (G2 - G1) = Δ(Ss + Sg)
•

• If the subscripts are dropped and the quantities in parentheses are

taken as net changes, the equation reduces to:
Inflow+ Outflow+ Storage=0
The origin and age
of groundwater
The origin of groundwater is primarily one of the following:
• Groundwater derived from rainfall and infiltration within the
normal hydrological cycle. This kind of water is called meteoric
water. The name implies recent contact with the atmosphere.

• Groundwater encountered at great depths in sedimentary rocks

as a result of water having been trapped in marine sediments at
the time of their deposition. This type of groundwater is
referred to as connate waters. These waters are normally saline.
It is accepted that connate water is derived mainly or entirely
from entrapped sea water as original sea water has moved from
its original place. Some trapped water may be brackish.

• Fossil water if fresh may be originated from the fact of climate

change phenomenon, i.e., some areas used to have wet
weather and the aquifers of that area were recharged and then
the weather of that area becomes dry.
• Age of groundwater
Isotope hydrology is a field of
hydrology that uses isotopic
dating to estimate the age and
origins of water and of
movement within the
hydrologic cycle
 Environmental Isotopes

Stable Isotopes Radioactive Isotopes

Do not decay spontaneously (stable over Emit alpha and beta particles and
time) decay over time
Examples: 18O, 2H, 13C Examples: 3H (Tritium), 14C

Used as Tracers Used for Dating

Tritium Fundamentals
Tritium (T) or 3H is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen (having
two neutrons and one proton) with a half-life of 12.4 years.
Tritium concentrations are measured in tritium units (TU)
where 1 TU is defined as the presence of one tritium in 1018
atoms of hydrogen (H).

In the earth, small amounts of natural tritium are produced by

alpha decay of lithium-7.

Natural atmospheric tritium is also generated by secondary

neutron cosmic ray bombardment of nitrogen which then
decays to carbon-12 and tritium. Tritium atoms then combine
with oxygen, forming water that subsequently falls as
precipitation.
Tritium-Helium-3 (3He) Method
Tritium decays to 3He by beta particle emission, and knowing this
decay rate allows for a more accurate shallow groundwater
recharge age. T/3He ratios are useful for groundwater ages ranging
from several months to about 30 years (but no further out than
about 50 years). T/3He ratios have an accuracy of one to three
years. Groundwater ages can be estimated using the following
equation:
Groundwater Age (in years) =
–17.8ln (1+ 3Hetrit/3H)
where:
• 3Hetrit = component of 3He from the decay of tritium corrected for other
3He sources such as the Earth’s atmosphere, small contributions
from spontaneous fission of lithium-6, and from uranium and
thorium decay.

• 3H = tritium concentration in TU.

Groundwater age estimation using tritium only
provides semi-quantitative, “ball park” values:
•
<0.8 TU indicates submodern water (prior to 1950s)
• 0.8 to 4 TU indicates a mix of submodern and
modern water
• 5 to 15 TU indicates modern water (<5 to 10 years)
Numerous methods exist for age dating groundwater,
including carbon-14, krypton-85, chlorine-36, and
chlorofluorocarbon analyses.
Many of these methods require either large quantities
of sampled water, have complex chemical analysis, or
require instrumentation found in only a few
laboratories.
However, the simplest, most frequently used, and
currently most popular method involves analyzing
water for isotopes of hydrogen and helium;
Occurrence and
distribution of
Ground water
Vertical distribution
of ground water
Vertical distribution of ground water or
kind of ground water
• Zone of aeration (Zone b/n ground
surface and water table)

………………………………………..
• Zone of saturation (Zone below
water table)
 Vertical distribution of ground water A schematic cross-section showing the typical
distribution of subsurface waters in a simple “unconfined” aquifer setting, highlighting
the three common subdivisions of the unsaturated zone and the saturated zone below
the water table.
Water table: It is an irregular
surface within aquifer
defining pressure level of
ground water equal to
atmospheric pressure.
• Above water table
• Soil water
• Pellicular water
• Vadose
• Perched water
• Capillary water
• Below water table
• Free water
• Confined water
• Fixed water
• Connet water
• Types of geological formations:
• Aquifer--permeable
• Aquitard– semipermeable
• Ex. sand lenses in a clay

• Aquiclude—impermeable/porous
• Ex. shale or clay

• Aquifuge –Nonpermeable/nonporous
• Ex. basalt, granite, etc. without fissures
• An aquitard is a partly permeable geologic formation. It
transmits water at such a slow rate that the yield is
insufficient. Pumping by wells is not possible. For
example, sand lenses in a clay formation will form an
aquitard.
• An aquiclude is composed of rock or sediment that acts
as a barrier to groundwater flow. Aquicludes are made
up of low porosity and low permeability rock/sediment
such as shale or clay. Aquicludes have normally good
storage capacity but low transmitting capacity.
• An aquifuge is a geologic formation which doesn’t have
interconnected pores. It is neither porous nor
permeable. Thus, it can neither store water nor transmit
it. Examples of aquifuge are rocks like basalt,granite,
etc. without fissures.
Types of aquifer
• Unconfined or water table or
phreatic
• Confined or artesian or
pressure
• Leaky or semi confined
Different types of aquifers; A. Confined aquifer, B. Unconfined Aquifer, C.
and D. Leaky aquifers, E. Multi-layered leaky aquifer system.
Schematic Cross-sections of Aquifer Types
Water Table and Piezometric Surface
Piezometric surface:
Imaginary surface defining
pressure level of ground
water in the confined
aquifer is termed the
Piezometric surface.
Formation
characteristics/
Aquifer properties
Aquifer properties
• [Link]
• 2. Specific Yield
• 3. Specific Retention
• [Link]
• 5. Coefficient of permeability
(Hydraulic conductivity, Darcian velocity/specific discharge)
• 6. Coefficient of transmissivity.
• 7. Specific Storage
• 8. Storage Coefficient
• Porosity (n) is the percentage of rock or soil that is void of
material. The larger the pore space or the greater their
number, the higher the porosity and the larger the water-
holding capacity. It is defined mathematically by the equation:
n = Vv x100
V
• Where, n is the porosity (percentage) Vv is the volume of void space in a unit
volume of earth materials (L3, cm3 or m3) V is the unit volume of earth material,
including both voids and solids (L3, cm3 or m3)

• In sediments or sedimentary rocks the porosity depends

on grain size, the shape of the grains, the degree of sorting
and the degree of cementation.
• In igneous rocks, the porosity depends upon the extent,
spacing and pattern of cracks and fractures.
• Textural classification of
soil/sediments
• Fig.
Grain Size: Classification of soil
• Wentworth Size Scale (1922)
• Size in mm Phi Ø unit Name Equivalent rocks
• >256 -8 Boulder Boulder

• 64-256 -7 Cobble Cobble

• 4-64 -6 Pebble Pebble

• 2-4 -2 Granule Granulstone

• 2-1/16 +4 Sand Sandstone

• 1/16-1/256 +8 Silt Siltstone

• <1/256 +9 Clay Claystone

• Size parameters
• Mean
• Median
• Mode
• Skewness
• Kurtosis
• Sorting coefficient d75/d25
• Uniformity coefficient d60/d10

• Derived from cumulative curve and frequency

curve
Grain size distribution can be used to:

1.) Determine filter pack.

2.) Determine screen slot size.
3.) Estimate hydraulic conductivity
• d75
• d50
• d25
• d60
• d10
• Sorting coefficient--- d75/d25
• Uniformity coefficient--- d60/d10
Measuring Porosity, Permeability and Aquifer Properties from
Grain Size Distribution Curves
• Uniformity coefficient - a measure of how well
or poorly sorted a sediment is.

Cu = uniformity coefficient
d60 = grain size that is 60% finer by weight

d10 = grain size that is 10% finer by weight (effective grain

size)

for this example

CU= 0.05/0.01= 5
• A sample with an Uc
less than 4 is well
sorted;
• if the Uc is more than
6 it is poorly sorted
Porosity from grain sorting
(UC)
• Lower values of Cu (<2) indicate more uniform
material or poor grading and higher values
indicate well graded material which indicate
non uniform material.

• A uniformly graded sand has higher porosity

than a less uniform
Uniformity coefficient
A numerical expression of the variety in particle sizes in
mixed natural soils.
The ratio of (1) the diameter of a grain of a size that is barely
too large to pass through a sieve that allows 60 percent of
the material (by weight) to pass through to (2) the diameter
of a grain (particle) of a size that is barely too large to pass
through a sieve that allows 10 percent of the material (by
weight) to pass through. The resulting ratio is a measure of
the degree of uniformity in a granular material, such as filter
media. It is unity for a material whose particles are all of the
same size, and it increases with variety in size (as high as 30
for heterogeneous sand).
• Well graded soil is the one that contain
particles of all sizes. This soil is good as the
voids are filled by small size particles and
hence lesser volume of voids.
• Uniformly graded soil is the soil that contain
particles of same size and hence more volume
of voids.
• Gap graded soil is the soil in which particles of
at least one size is missing.
Grain-size distribution curve of a silty fine
to medium sand
Grain-size distribution curve of a fine sand
Porosity from Size,
sorting, shape and
packing
Porosity from grain size
• For spherical grains,
porosity values are
independent of their size
• Porosity values tend to
increase as d50 values
decrease
• Shape: Angularity tends to increase porosity

• Packing/arrangement: Cubic – more porous

rhombic- less porous
Porosity of Well-Rounded Coarse-Sediments vs. Fine Grained Sediments
Highly Cemented Sedimentary Rock Since cements tend to fill in the pore space,
highly cemented sedimentary rocks have lower porosity
Relation Between Texture and Porosity A. Well –
Sorted Sand Having High Porosity; [Link]- Sorted Sand Having Low Porosity; C. Fractured
Crystalline Rocks (Granite); D. Soluble Rock- Forming Material (Limestone).
Classification and origin of porosity
Primary (depositional)
i) intergranular
ii) intragranular

Secondary (post depositional) is due to solution, fracture and

joints, recrystalization and dolomitization, cementation and
compaction occur in carbonate rocks

• Intercrystalline due to cementation

• Fenestral
• Moldic due to solution
• Vuggy
• Fracture tectonic
• Exercise ----- Plot cumulative frequency curve and
calculate uniformity coefficient from given grain size
data.
• Mesh size Weight% Cum Wt %
• In phi
• -1 - ----------------------2.8
• -0.5 ---------------------7.8
• 0.0 -----------------------14.8
• 0.5 -----------------------12.8
• 1.0-----------------------19.8
• 1.5 ----------------------18.0
• 2.0 ---------------------- 18.7
• 2.5 ----------------------- 4.0
• 3.0 ------------------------ 0.86
• 3.5 --------------------- -- 0.06
Specific Yield (Sy)
• Specific yield (Sy) is the ratio of the volume of
water that drains from a saturated rock owing
to the attraction of gravity (or by pumping from
wells) to the total volume of the saturated
aquifer. It is defined mathematically by the
equation: Sy= Vw x100
• V
• where, V w is the volume of water in a unit
volume of earth materials (L3, cm3 or m3) V is
the unit volume of earth material, including
both voids and solids (L3, cm3 or m3)
Specific Retention (Sr)
• Specific retention (Sr) is the ratio of the volume
of water that cannot be drained out to the total
volume of the saturated aquifer. Sr=100Vc/V
Specific yield represents the volume of water
that a rock will yield by gravity drainage,
Sy=100Vy/V

• The sum of the two equals porosity. N=Sr +Sy

• Effective Porosity= saturated permeable material
through which movement of water takes place.
• The specific yield and specific retention depend
upon the shape and size of particle,
distribution of pores (voids), and compaction of
the formation.
• The specific retention increases with decreasing
grain size.
• It should be noted that it is not necessary that
soil with high porosity will have high specific
yield because that soil may have low
permeability and the water may not easily drain
out. For example, clay has a high porosity but
low specific yield and its permeability is low.
 Coefficient of permeability
(Hydraulic conductivity, Darcian velocity/specific discharge)
• Permeability is the ease with which water can
flow in a soil mass or a rock. The coefficient of
permeability (K) is equal to the discharge (m3/s)
per unit area (m2) of soil mass under unit
hydraulic gradient.
• Because the discharge per unit area equals to the
velocity, the coefficient of permeability has the
dimension of the velocity [L/T]. It is usually
expressed as cm/s, m/s, m/day, etc. The
coefficient of permeability is also called hydraulic
conductivity.
• Hydraulic Conductivity can be determined and
expressed as follows: Formulas
• 1 [Hazen method]. The coefficient of permeability
(K) depends on the properties of both porous
medium and fluid. It can be expressed as,
• K= Cdm2 ρ g/ μ
• Where, C is the shape factor which depends
upon the shape, particle size and packing of the
porous media, dm is the mean particle size (d50)
(L, m) , ρ is the mass density ( M/L3, kg/m3) g
is the acceleration due to gravity (L/T2, m/s2) μ
is the viscosity (M/T.L, kg/s.m)
• Hydraulic conductivity is
defined as the rate of flow
in cubic meter per day
through a cross sectional
area of one square meter
under unit hydraulic
gradient.
 Intrinsic permeability
• Another coefficient of permeability, called intrinsic permeability (k), is
sometimes used. The intrinsic permeability depends upon the porous
medium and is independent of the properties of the fluid. It is usually
expressed as, k= Cdm2
• The intrinsic permeability k has the dimensions of [L2] and is usually
expressed in cm2 or Darcy, where 1 Darcy = 0.987 * 10- 8 cm2. 1
darcy is equivalent to 9.869233×10−13 m² or 0.9869233 µm²
• A medium with a permeability of 1 darcy permits a flow of 1 cm³/s of
a fluid with viscosity 1 cP (1 mPa·s) under a pressure gradient of 1
atm/cm acting across an area of 1 cm².
• The intrinsic permeability is rarely used in groundwater hydrology, but
this term is very popular in the petroleum, natural gas industries, and
in density-dependent flow problems such as saline water intrusion.
• The intrinsic permeability is also called the absolute permeability.
• 1 darcy is equivalent to 0.831 m/day. in hydrology
• The rate of groundwater flow is controlled by the
two properties of the rock, porosity and
permeability.
• Low porosity usually results in low permeability, but
high porosity does not necessarily imply high
permeability.
• It is possible to have a highly porous rock with little
or no interconnections between pores. A good
example of a rock with high porosity and low
permeability is a vesicular volcanic rock, where the
bubbles that once contained gas give the rock a high
porosity, but since these holes are not connected to
one another, the rock has low permeability.
Permeability from grain size, shape,sorting

• 1)Size: As median grain size increases,

permeability increases à larger pore openings.
• [Link] :Angularity tends to increase Permeability
• 3) Sorting: Permeability decreases for more poorly
sorted sediments.
Transmissivity (T) Rate of flow of water under unit hydraulic
gradient through vertical strip of aquifer of unit width over
entire saturated thickness of aquifer.
• T=Kb (confined aquifer)
• T=Kb(Unconfined aquifer)

• where, b is the saturated thickness of the aquifer. b is equal

to the depth of a confined aquifer. It is equal to the average
thickness of the saturated zone of an unconfined aquifer.
• Transmissibility is usually expressed as m2/s, or l/day/m.
• Transmissibility of most formations lies between 1*104 -
1*106 l/d/m, with an average value of 1*105 l/d/m.
Coefficient of transmissivity.

• Hydraulic conductivity multiplied by the

aquifer thickness equals coefficient of
transmissivity.
• Storage Coefficient (Storativity): The
volume of water it releases from or takes
in to storage per unit surface area of
aquifer per unit change in the component
of head normal to that surface.
Storativity ranges from
0.0001 to 0.001 for confined aquifer
0.01 to 0.3 for unconfined aquifer
For confined aquifer
S= Ѳ y b ß (1+ α / Ѳ ß)

S= Storativity
y= Specific weight of water in kg/m3
Ѳ= Porosity
b= Thickness in m
ß= Bulk modulus of compression of water m2/kg
α= Bulk modulus of compression of aquifer m2/kg
For unconfined aquifer
• S= Sy
• Expansion of water (Ѳ y b ß )---small
• Compression of aquifer( y b α )– small
• Specific storage: The volume of water released
from storage by unit volume of aquifer due to
expansion of water and compression of
aquifer under unit decline in head within unit
volume of aquifer.
Ss= S/b
• Geologic formations as aquifer
• Alluvial deposits
• Carbonate rocks
• Volcanic rocks
• Igneous and metamorphic rocks
• Alluvial deposits as aquifer
• Piedmont deposits: many alluvial fan joined
together.
• Coarsest deposits
• Influent condition
• Permeability maximum (24000cubic meter/day)
• Groundwater condition:
• Large water level fluctuation
• Perched ground water
• Confined aquifer---- flowing well common
• Aquitard
• Valley flat deposits
• Channel
• Levee
• Flood plain
• Sediment – better sorted—gravel, sand, silt,clay
• Porosity-30-50%,permeability-5m/day.

• Ground water condition

• Shallow water table
• Effluent condition
• Confined, semiconfined in flood plain
• Aquifer in channel, strong anisotropic
MENADERING RIVER SYSTEMS AND THEIR PRODUCTS
Carbonate deposits
• Karst topography—sink
hole,uvala,caverns,gallaries,shaft,stalactites,stalag
mites,karst valley.
• Porosity –high
• Specific yield- low
• Secondary porosity/permeability-
• Lithology,
• Topography
• Water table
• Structure
• Hard rocks(Igneous/Metamorphic)
• Fresh—granite, gneiss,
quartzite
• Weathered zone- Laterite–
good aquifer
• Volcanic rocks- fractures,
cracks, joints, fault
Igneous and metamorphic-rock
aquifers can be grouped into two
categories:
• crystalline-rock aquifers
• volcanic-rock aquifers
• Crystalline rocks are geologically
complex, movement of water
through the rocks is totally
dependent on the presence of
secondary openings; rock type
has little or no effect on
groundwater flow.
• Volcanic rocks have a wide range of chemical, mineralogic, structural, and
hydraulic properties, due mostly to variations in rock type and the way the
rock was ejected and deposited.
• Unaltered pyroclastic rocks, for example, might have porosity
and permeability similar to poorly sorted sediments.
• Hot pyroclastic material, however, might become welded as it
settles, and, thus, be almost impermeable.
• Silicic lavas tend to be extruded as thick, dense flows, and
they have low permeability except where they are fractured.
• Basaltic lavas tend to be fluid, and, they form thin flows that
have considerable pore space at the tops and bottoms of the
flows.
• Basalt flows commonly overlap, and the flows are separated by soil zones
or alluvial material that form permeable zones.
• Columnar joints that develop in the central parts of basalt flows create
passages that allow water to move vertically through the basalt.
• Basaltic rocks are the most productive aquifers in volcanic rocks.