Course: Hydrogeology / Chap1 Basics and Principles

Chapter 1
Basics and Principles
1.1. Introduction
This course is about the study of hydrogeology and the significance of groundwater
in the terrestrial aquatic environment. Water is a precious natural resource, without
which there would be no life on Earth. We, ourselves, are composed of two-thirds
water by body weight. Our everyday lives depend on the availability of inexpensive,
clean water and safe ways to dispose of it after use. Water supplies are also essential
in supporting food production and industrial activity. As a source of water,
groundwater obtained from beneath the Earth’s surface is often cheaper, more
convenient and less vulnerable to pollution than surface water.
Groundwater, because it is unnoticed underground, is often unacknowledged and
undervalued resulting in adverse environmental, economic and social consequences.
The over-exploitation of groundwater by uncontrolled pumping can cause detrimental
effects on neighboring boreholes and wells, land subsidence, saline water intrusion
and the drying out of surface waters and wetlands.

1.2 Objectives
Course materials will prepare master students to engage in hydrogeological
assessments, problem-solving, and groundwater resources management. It
specifically helps them to:
- Understand fundamental hydrogeological terminology
- Conceptualize hydrogeological systems
- Characterize and quantify groundwater flow
- Characterize groundwater systems from aquifer tests
- Assess groundwater chemistry and groundwater quality issues
- Plan and manage groundwater extraction

1.3 Definitions of hydrogeology

Typical definitions of hydrogeology emphasize the occurrence, distribution,
movement and geological interaction of water in the Earth’s crust. Hydrogeology is an
interdisciplinary subject and also encompasses aspects of hydrology. Hydrology has
been defined as the study of the occurrence and movement of water on and over the
Earth’s surface independent of the seepage of groundwater and springs which sustain

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 Course: Hydrogeology / Chap1 Basics and Principles

river flows during seasonal dry periods. However, too strict a division between the two
subjects is unhelpful, particularly when trying to decipher the impact of human
activities on the aquatic environment. How well we respond to the challenges of
pollution of surface water and groundwater, the impacts of over-exploitation of water
resources, and the possible impact of climate change will depend largely on our ability
to take a holistic view of the aquatic environment. Hydrogeology is the study of the
interrelationships of geologic materials and processes with water, especially
groundwater (Fetter, 2001). By this definition, Fetter (2001) implies long periods of
“geologic time” during which steady-state or equilibrium conditions can be reached in
a groundwater system. Alternatively, Domenico and Schwartz (1990) present
hydrogeology as the study of the laws governing the movement of subterranean
water, the mechanical, chemical, and thermal interaction of this water with the porous
solid, and the transport of energy and chemical constituents by the flow. Hydrogeology
involves generalization and specificity, qualitative science and quantitative
engineering concepts to describe four-dimensional physical and chemical
components of a subsurface system.
In brief
What is hydrogeology? Hydrogeology is the study of the distribution, movement,
and quality of groundwater. Groundwater is water that is found underground in the
pores and fractures of rocks and soil. It is a vital resource that is used for drinking
water, irrigation, industrial purposes, and environmental protection.
Why is hydrogeology important? Groundwater is an important source of drinking
water for billions of people around the world. It is also used for irrigation, industrial
purposes, and environmental protection. For example, groundwater can be used to
recharge wetlands, sustain streamflow, and prevent saltwater intrusion into coastal
aquifers.
What are the different types of groundwater systems?
There are two main types: unconfined aquifers and confined aquifers.
Unconfined aquifers are aquifers in which the water table is exposed to the
atmosphere. This means that the water table can rise and fall depending on the
amount of precipitation and recharge.
Confined aquifers are aquifers in which the water table is overlain by a layer of
impermeable rock. This means that the pressure of the water in the aquifer is greater

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 Course: Hydrogeology / Chap1 Basics and Principles

than atmospheric pressure. In addition to unconfined and confined aquifers, there are
other types, such as karst aquifers, fractured aquifers, and geothermal aquifers.
Hydrogeology is a complex and important science that plays a vital role in our
understanding and management of groundwater resources. By understanding how
groundwater systems work, we can better protect and manage this precious resource.
1.4. Sustainable groundwater development
By studying topics such as the properties of porous material, groundwater flow theory,
well hydraulics, groundwater chemistry, environmental isotopes, contaminant
hydrogeology and techniques of groundwater remediation and aquifer management,
it is the responsibility of us all to manage groundwater resources to balance
environmental, economic and social requirements and achieve
sustainable groundwater development (Fig. 1.1).

Fig. 1.1 Sustainable groundwater development through the balance of recharge inputs to aquifer
storage (the groundwater resource) against discharge outputs for economic, environmental and
human (social) benefits. After Hiscock et al. (2002).

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 Course: Hydrogeology / Chap1 Basics and Principles

1.5 Early examples of groundwater exploitation

The vast store of water beneath the ground surface has long been realized to be an
invaluable source of water for human consumption and use. Throughout the world,
springs fed by groundwater are revered for their life-giving or curative properties, and
utilization of groundwater long preceded understanding of its origin, occurrence and
movement. Groundwater development dates from ancient times, as manifest by the
wells and horizontal tunnels known as qanats (ghanats) or aflaj (singular, falaj), both
Arabic terms describing a small, artificial channel excavated as part of a water
distribution system, which appear to have originated in Persia about 3000 years ago.
Examples of such systems are found in a band across the arid regions extending from
Afghanistan, Morroco, to Algeria. In Oman, the rural villages and aflaj-supplied oases
lie at the heart of Omani culture and tradition.

Fig. 1.2 Longitudinal section of a qanat. Based on Beaumont (1968) and Biswas (1972).
The system of participatory management of communal aflaj is an ancient tradition in
Oman by which common-property flows are channelled and distributed to irrigation
plots on a timebased system, under the management of a local community (Young
2002). Figure 1.2 shows a cross-section along a qanat with its typical horizontal or
gently sloping gallery laboriously dug through alluvial material, occasionally up to 30
km in length, and with vertical shafts dug at closely spaced intervals to provide access

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 Course: Hydrogeology / Chap1 Basics and Principles

to the tunnel. Groundwater recharging the alluvium in the mountain foothills is fed by
gravity flow from beneath the water table at the upper end of the qanat to a ground
surface outlet and irrigation canal on the arid plain at its lower end (Fig. 1.3).

Fig. 1.3 Irrigation canal supplied with water by a qanat or falaj in

Oman. Photograph provided courtesy of M.R. Leeder.

The depth of the mother well (Fig. 1.2) is normally less than 50 m, with discharges,
which vary seasonally with water-table fluctuations, seldom exceeding 3 m3 s−1. Such
early exploitation of groundwater as part of a sophisticated engineered system is also
evident in the supply of water to feed the fountains of Rome.
Hence, hydrogeology has now developed into a truly interdisciplinary subject, and
students who aim to become hydrogeologists require a firm foundation in Earth
sciences, physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, statistics and computer science,
together with an adequate understanding of environmental economics and law, and
government policy.

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 Course: Hydrogeology / Chap1 Basics and Principles

1.6 The water cycle

A useful start in promoting a holistic approach to linking ground and surface waters is
to adopt the hydrological cycle as a basic framework. The hydrological cycle, as
depicted in Fig. 1.4, can be thought of as the continuous circulation of water near the
surface of the Earth from the ocean to the atmosphere and then via precipitation,
surface runoff and groundwater flow back to the ocean. Warming of the ocean by
solar radiation causes water to be evaporated into the atmosphere and transported
by winds to the land masses where the vapour condenses and falls as precipitation.

Fig. 1.4 The hydrological cycle. The global water cycle has three major pathways: precipitation,
evaporation and water vapour transport. Vapour transport from sea to land is returned as runoff
(surface water and groundwater flow). Numbers in () represent inventories (in 106 km3) for each
reservoir. Fluxes in [ ] are in 106 km3 / a (area). After Berner and Berner (1987).
The precipitation is either returned directly to the ocean, intercepted by vegetated
surfaces and returned to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration, collected to form
surface runoff, or infiltrated into the soil and underlying rocks to form groundwater.
The surface runoff and groundwater flow contribute to surface streams and rivers that
flow to the ocean, with pools and lakes providing temporary surface storage.
Of the total water in the global cycle, Table 1.1 shows that saline water in the oceans
accounts for 97.25%. Land masses and the atmosphere therefore contain 2.75%. Ice
caps and glaciers hold 2.05%, groundwater to a depth of 4 km accounts for 0.68%,

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 Course: Hydrogeology / Chap1 Basics and Principles

freshwater lakes 0.01%, soil moisture 0.005% and rivers 0.0001%. About 75% of the
water in land areas is locked in glacial ice or is saline:
Table 1.1 Inventory of water at or near the Earth’s surface. After Berner and Berner (1987).

1.7 Groundwater as a natural resource

Groundwater is an important natural resource. Worldwide, more than 2 billion people
depend on groundwater for their daily supply (Kemper 2004). A large proportion of the
world’s agriculture and irrigation is dependent on groundwater, as are a large number
of industries. Whether groundwater or surface water is exploited for water supply is
largely dependent on the location of aquifers relative to the point of demand. A large
urban population with a high demand for water would only be able to exploit
groundwater if the aquifer, typically a sedimentary rock, has favourable storage and
transmission properties, whereas in a sparsely populated rural district more limited
but essential water supplies might be found in poor aquifers, such as weathered
basement rock.
1.8 Fundamental hydrogeological terminology
Here is a glossary of some fundamental hydrogeological terminology:
• Aquifer: A geologic formation that stores and transmits groundwater.
• Aquifer recharge: The process by which water is added to an aquifer.

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 Course: Hydrogeology / Chap1 Basics and Principles

• Aquifer discharge: The process by which water is removed from an aquifer.

• Confined aquifer: An aquifer in which the water is confined by a layer of
impermeable rock.
• Groundwater: Water that is found underground in the pores and fractures of rocks
and soil.
• Groundwater flow: The movement of groundwater from areas of high hydraulic
head to areas of low hydraulic head.
• Hydraulic conductivity: A measure of how easily water can flow through a rock or
sediment.
• Hydraulic head: A measure of the potential energy of groundwater.
• Porosity: A measure of the amount of void space in a rock or sediment.
• Saturated zone: The zone below the water table where all of the pores and fractures
in the rock are filled with water.
• Unsaturated zone: The zone above the water table where not all of the pores and
fractures in the rock are filled with water.
• Water table: The boundary between the saturated zone and the unsaturated zone.
In addition to these basic terms, there are a number of other hydrogeological terms
that are commonly used. Here are a few examples:
• Artesian aquifer: A confined aquifer in which the hydraulic head is greater than the
elevation of the ground surface.
• Aquifer test: A test conducted to determine the hydraulic properties of an aquifer.
• Cone of depression: The cone-shaped area of lowered hydraulic head around a
well that is pumping.
• Drawdown: The difference between the water table elevation before pumping and
the water table elevation while pumping.
• Recharge area: An area where water infiltrates into the ground and recharges an
aquifer.
• Discharge area: An area where water discharges from an aquifer.

Hydrogeology is a complex and technical science, but it is important to

understand the fundamental terminology in order to appreciate the importance
of groundwater resources and the challenges of managing them sustainably.

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