Chapter three

3.1. Water Well Development

A tube well is not completely ready for use just after construction. The tube well can function
successfully only after proper development.

Water well development is a process where by the mud cake or compacted borehole wall, resulting
from drilling activity, is broken down; the mud cake liquefied and drawn with other fines into the
well. This material is then removed by bailing or pumping. Well development, therefore, stabilizes
the walls of a well adjacent to the screen by a process which removes fine particle from the
formation immediately surrounding the well screen, leaving coarser particles to contact and
surround the screen.

Tube wells are developed to increases their specific capacity, prevent sanding and obtain maximum
economic well life. Development work is necessary step in completing all types of wells. Most
wells will not perform at maximum efficiency if they are not properly developed.

The main objectives of well development are:-

1. to correct any damage to or clogging of the water bearing formation ; i.e., to remove
mud or clay particles which may have blocked the water movement from the aquifer
into the well.
2. to increase the porosity and improve the permeability of the water bearing formation
in the vicinity of the well.
3. to stabilize the sand formation (gravel pack) around a screened well and the
formation immediately
4. to reduce drawdown in the well during production or pumping.

Development is necessary in all gravel packed wells and other screened wells except when the screen
is formed of fine wire mesh located in a highly permeable formation.
The benefits which result from well development are:
1. sand pumping during well operation will be eliminated to a greater extent
2. the life of the well will be prolonged
3. Operation and maintenance costs will be reduced.
4. the specific capacity of the well will be improved (maximum yield at available minimum
drawdown)
3.1.1. Methods of well development

The methods commonly employed for well development are over pumping, backwashing, use of
compressed air, hydro fracturing, jetting and use of dispersing agents (chemicals).
Over pumping:- Loose sand and material are removed by pumping the well at a higher rate than the
well will be pumped when put into service. Over pumping has the advantage that much of the fine
material brought into the borehole is pumped out immediately.

Backwashing: - sand and fine materials are loosened by reversing the direction of flow through the
screen. By changing the flow respectively the loose material will be moved through the screen into
the well.

Air development:- Air lift technique can be used for surging and pumping. The practice of
alternatively surging and pumping with air has grown with the great increase in the number of rotary
drilling rigs equipped with large air compressors.

Surging is used to loosen sand and fine material in the screen and filter zone. The surging action is
created by lifting the water near to the surface by injecting air into the well and then shut off the air to
allow the water to flow back through the well and formation.
Pumping water with air lift can be used for cleaning a well from sand and fine material. Using the air
lift means no water, as would be the case if a submersible or turbine pump is used to clean the well

Water Jetting:- High velocity water jetting can be used to loosen sand and fine material from the filter
zone and the screen.
A maximum development efficiency is achieved if water jetting is combined with simultaneous
pumping with air lift, as the loosened material is not allowed to settle again.

Hydro fracturing:- High pressure pumps are used to overcome the pressure of overlying rock and
inject fluids into newly opened fractures. Pressure in the production zone usually causes small, tight
breaks in the rock to open up and spread radially. The newly opened fractures provide effective
interconnections between nearby water-bearing fractures and the well bore.

Dispersing agents:- Sometimes it is necessary to add a chemical agents to disperse the clay particles
in the mud cake or in the formation to avoid their sticking to sand grains, and to speed up the
development process.

Well development work must be done in a manner that does not cause undue settlement and
disturbance of the strata above the water bearing formation, not disturb the seal effected around the
well casing and there by reduces the sanitary protection otherwise afforded by such a seal.
Development of the well shall be continued until water pumped from the well at the maximum test
pumping rate is clear and free of sand. The water shall be considered sand-free when samples, taken
during test pumping, contain more than 2ppm of sand by weight.

2-3 ppm tolerable for municipal and industrial water supply

1ppm may be permissible limit in a system that has many values and small orifices 20ppm for
irrigation.
But it can be recognized that any kind of sand in the water can damage the pump.
Sand content testing-5 samples averages
- 15 minute after the start of the test
- after 1/4th of total planned test time
- after 1/2nd of total planned test time
- after 3/4th of total planned test time
- near the end of the pumping test

Excessive sand pumping may result in the formation of cavities around the screen and subsidence of
the soil.

3.2. Well Testing for performance

Following the development of a new well, the well should be tested to provide information on the
potential yield of the borehole and drawdown.
Purpose of conducting a pump test of water well: - water well may be pump tested for either of two
main purposes:
1. The usual objective is to obtain information about the performance and efficiency of the well
being pumped. The result in such a case is usually reported in terms of they yield, the observed
drawdown, and the calculated specific yield. These data, taken under controlled conditions,
give a measure of the productive capacity of the completed well and provide information
needed for selection of the pumping equipment.
2. Another objective of well pumping test is to provide data for which the principal factors of
aquifer performance, transmissivity and storage coefficient, can be calculated

In general, the data obtained from pumping test provide information necessary to determine:-

a) capacity of the well

b) Aquifer characteristics
c) Well efficiency
d) Pumping rates
e) Pump installation depth settings
f) Other factors which will be of value in the long term operation and maintenance of the well
g) Well design and construction equipment.
 Chapter four
Ground water Balance and Management
4.1. water Resources Management in General

Water resources management means intervention in matters concerning water.

Such matters may be the planning, design or operation of hydraulic works, but they may also be
factors that are related indirectly to water (e.g. control of land use as a factor affecting ground water
quality; or water pricing to influence water demand).

Water resources management assumes that an authority exists powerful enough to define the
boundary conditions for water resources planning, and to impose decisions upon individuals or at
least to influence people’s behavior.

Although there are different interpretations of the field encompassed by water resources management,
in scope it focuses on enhancing and protecting collective interests in water resources and
guaranteeing that recognized individual or sectorial requirements continue to be satisfied.

Objectives of Water Resources Development and Management

The many different objectives of water resources development and management can (after Hall and
Dracup, 1970) be grouped into three fundamental categories, paraphrased as follows:

a) Conserve and control the water resources zone so as to prevent or minimize excessive or
deficiencies in quantity or quality.
b) Provide or maintain water in such places and times, and according to the many single
quantity and quality requirements;
c) Minimize expenditures involved in accomplishing all of the above

It should be noted that (b) may be subject to conflicts of interest or competition under condition of
scarcity; finding a compromise in such cases belongs to water resources management

The word expenditures as used under the third category should be interpreted in the widest sense, to
include not only the cost of developing or conserving/controlling water, but also the associated
adverse ecological, environmental or social impacts if any.
 Water resources management takes care of these objectives in a coordinated way in order to
maximize the over all net benefit that can be obtained from the water resources of the region
considered.

Generally, the functions of groundwater management are as follows

1. Regulation of water consumption

Water consumption can be regulated either directly by allocated or indirectly by a fee or tax on
consumption.
The objective of this function is to maintain the aquifer yield at a satisfactory level and to prevent the
mining of the aquifer when water withdrawals through a specified period of time exceed the aquifer
recharge during the same period.
2.Augmentation of water supply
Several methods are used to increase the water supply, such as artificial recharge, relocation of
wells, or importing water
3. Aquifer restoration
certain measures should be taken to restore the integrity of the aquifer against pollution and
excessive withdrawal. The latter effect would deplete the groundwater levels or piezometric
heads, which might require deepening the wells or increasing pump lifts.
In coastal (areas) aquifers, excessive withdrawal could lead to the expansion of salt water
encroachment.
Purpose of Ground water Management
The ideal purpose of groundwater management in a basin is to develop the maximum possible
groundwater to satisfy the requirements of all users within the basin and to meet specific
predetermined conditions, such as the level of water quality, the cases of development and operation
and certain legal, social, and political constraints.
Management procedures should be adequate to avoid present and future potential detrimental effects,
such as excessive water depletion, deterioration of water quality, and land subsidence due to
excessive pumping.
Need for Groundwater management
I. The continuous increase in population and the recent increase in water demands due to the
continuously rising standard of living created a new situation that necessitated proper planning and
sound management of groundwater resources.
II. Aquifers can no longer be looked on as everlasting sources of abundant water of good quality.
Increases in urban wastes and expansion of industry and agriculture lead to deterioration in the
quality of groundwater. In coastal aquifers, increases in water demand have resulted in inland
progress of saltwater intrusion. All these problems and others dictated the urgent need for
groundwater management
Optimum economic water management requires an integrated approach to management of both
surface water and groundwater.

4.2. Groundwater Balance

In the management of ground water resources, man intervenes in the hydrologic cycle in order to
achieve beneficial goals.
This intervention takes the form of modifications imposed on the various components of water
balance.
Water and pollutants carried with it may enter an aquifer, or a considered portion of one, in the
following ways:
1. Groundwater inflow through aquifer boundaries and leakage from overlying or underlying
aquifers.
2. Natural replenishment (infiltration) from precipitation over the area.
3. Return flow from irrigation and septic tanks (or similar structures, including faulty water
supply or sewage networks)
4. Artificial recharge.
5. Seepage from influent streams and lakes

Water and pollutants carried with it may leave an aquifer in the following ways
1. Groundwater outflow through boundaries and leakage out of the considered aquifer into
underlying or overlying strata.
2. Pumping and drainage
3. Seepage into effluent streams and lakes
4. Spring discharge
5. Evapotranspiration
The difference between total inflow and total outflow of water and of pollutants during any period
is stored in the aquifer, causing a rise in water levels and in the concentration of pollutants,
respectively.
1. Inflow and outflow through Aquifer Boundaries
When a boundary of an aquifer (or a portion of one) is pervious, groundwater may enter the aquifer
through it from the outside (another aquifer or the remaining part of the aquifer.
Leakage
The leakage (volume of water per unit area and per unit time) through a semi permeable layer from an
overlying (or underlying) aquifer may take place.
2. Natural Replenishment from precipitation
Phreatic aquifers can be replenished from above by precipitation falling directly over the ground
surface overlying the aquifer, provided the ground surface is sufficiently pervious.
Confined aquifers are replenished by groundwater inflow from an adjacent phreatic aquifer,
which in turn, is replenished from precipitation. Part of the area may be completely impervious
and does not contribute to the natural replenishment of the aquifer beneath it.

3. Return Flow from Irrigation and sewage

Even in efficient irrigation practices, a certain portion of the water applied to an area is not used
 up as consumptive use, but infiltrates, eventually reaching the water table. We shall refer to this
contribution to an aquifer’s replenishment as return flow from irrigation.

The water used for irrigation may be that pumped from underlying aquifer (hence the term return
flow), surface water or water imported from other regions.

4. Artificial Recharge
It may be defined as man’s planned operations of transferring water from the ground surface into
aquifers

This is in contradiction to natural replenishment (or natural recharge), considered above, whereby
water from precipitation ad surface runoff reaches the aquifer with out man’s intervention.
Whereas natural replenishment is an uncontrolled (by man) input to the groundwater system,
artificial recharge is a controlled input.

The quantity, quality, location, and time of artificial recharge are decision variables, the values of
which are determined as part of the management policy of a considered groundwater system.

5. River-Aquifer Interrelationships

Rivers passing through a region under-lain by a phreatic aquifer (and in special cases even by a
confined aquifer )may either contribute water to the aquifer or serve as its drain.

When a stream cuts through an impervious layer, establishing a direct contact with and
underlying confined aquifer, the stream may be either an influent one or and effluent one,
depending on whether the piezometric heads in the aquifer are above or blow the water level in
the stream.

Much of the low water flow in streams (base flow) is derived from groundwater whose water
table elevations in the vicinity of a stream are higher than the stream; such streams are called
effluent streams. On the other hand, when the water level in a stream is higher than the water
level in an adjacent (or underlying) aquifer, water will flow from the river to the aquifer. The
river is called an influent river.

The same stream can be an influent one along one stretch and an effluent one along another or it
can be both influent and effluent at the same point.

The volume of water contributed to an aquifer by stream flow (or drained into a stream from an
aquifer), is part of the regional water balance.

6. Springs

It is a point (sometimes a small area) through which groundwater emerges from and aquifer to the
ground surface. The discharge of some springs is small and of no significance in the groundwater
balance, however, some are very large and dominate the flow pattern in their vicinity.

Several types of springs

A depression spring occurs when a high water table intersects the ground surface.

Ac perched spring occurs when an impervious layer, which underlies a phreatic aquifer intersects
 the groundwater

A confined aquifer can be drained in the form of a spring either through a pervious fault or fissure
reaching the ground surface, or where it becomes exposed at the ground surface.

7. Evapo-Transpiration (ET)
This is another mechanism by means of which groundwater may leave an aquifer. Evaporation is
the net transfer of water from the liquid phase to the vapor one.
Transpiration is the process by means of which plants remove moisture from the soil and release it to
the atmosphere as vapor.
ET, a combination of the above two processes, is the term used to describe the total water removal
from an area partly covered by vegetation by transpiration, evaporation from soil (actually from
the water present in the void space of unsaturated soil), from snow, from open water surface
(lakes, streams, and reservoirs).
Unless the ground water table is with in 1-1.5m from ground surfaces evaporation from
groundwater is practically zero. When the water table is near the ground surface, ET may contribute
a significant factor in the water balance.
We do have some evaporation from water in the unsaturated zone.
8. Pumpage and Drainage
Water can be withdrawn from an aquifer for beneficial usage by means of shallow dug wells,
tube deep wells, horizontal wells, and galleries. A well can pump water as long as the water
table at its location is higher than the elevation of the pump installed in it. For water to enter a
gallery, the water table should be above its bottom.
In regional water balance, we are often interested only in the total withdrawal by pumpage during the
balance period.
A drainage system (open channels, or buried drains) is usually installed in order to control the
elevation of the (ground) water table say, to maintain water levels below the root zone.
Groundwater will then leave the aquifer through this system (say, to a near by stream) whenever
the water table is higher than the drains.

The volume of water drained out of an aquifer in this way should not be left out of the Water-
balance.
9. Change in Storage
The difference between all inflows and outflows during a balance period accumulates in the
considered aquifer region. In a phreatic aquifer, water is stored in the void space. In a
confined aquifer, water is stored on account of water and solid matrix compressibility. In the first
case, increased storage is followed by a rise of the phreatic surface. In the second case, increased
storage is followed by a rise in the piezometric head.
10. Regional Groundwater Balance
We can now summarise the regional groundwater balance by the following equation
[ Ground water inflow]-[Grondwater outflow]+[Natural replenishment]+[Return flow]+[Artificial
recharge]+[Inflow from streams and lakes]-[spring discharge]-[Evapo-transpiration]-[Pump age and
drainage]= [Increase in volume of water stored in aquifer]
Where all the terms are expressed as volume of water during the balance period
4.3. Groundwater Resources Management Issues
Identifying the relevant issues is a crucial step in groundwater resources management planning;
omitting or misjudging one or more of them may lead to unbalanced, inefficient or even ineffective
plans.
The issue of concern for groundwater resources management reflects the physical conditions and the
socio-economic development of the area considered. But in spite of the uniqueness of each
groundwater system in this respect, the problems observed world-wide seem to boil down to a
relatively small list of main issues. They can be grouped roughly under three different headings:
Groundwater quantity management, groundwater quality management and groundwater-related
environmental protection. Table 4.1 lists and classifies the groundwater resources management issues
that will be commented in this chapter.
Table 4.1 Common groundwater resources management issues

Groundwater Groundwater Environmental

quantity quality protection
management management

Rate of aquifer exploitation X

Allocation of groundwater X (X)
Conjunctive management of groundwater
and surface water
X (X) (X)

Groundwater salinity control

X (X)
Ground water pollution control
X (X)

Conservation of water types

(X) x
Groundwater level control
(X) x
Control of land subsidence
(X) x

Groundwater resources management is not new field of activity: some issues have been recognized
long ago in some countries and have given rise to the development of water resources management
approaches and activities. Such activities stared to be undertaken one after another in response to
observed needs, sometimes without people being aware that they were dealing with groundwater
resources management and with decision problems. A wealth of professional creativity, however, has
accumulated in the numerous approaches to groundwater resources management developed over the
years in several parts of the world. Professionals engaged in groundwater resources management may
benefit greatly from the ideas developed and experiences gained elsewhere.
Therefore, a brief review of the mentioned issues and suggested or pioneered approaches will follow.
1. The rate of aquifer exploitation
“How much groundwater to abstract from a certain aquifer?” is an old problem that has puzzled many
hydro geologists and water resources engineers. The following figure outlines the principal choices to
be made. Pumping at too low a rate means usually a loss of potential benefits from groundwater; and
excessive pumping, on the other hand, will produce groundwater depletion and other undesired
effects.

1- Sustained yield
2 2- Mining followed by
GW Storage sustained yield
3- Mining followed by
exhaustion

Time

The problem has frequently given rise to misconceptions and confusion. One of the misconceptions is
that it would be a technical problem only, to be solved merely by technical means (which is suggested
by the somewhat confusing term ‘safe yield’).
However, a hydrologist can not provide a quantitative answer unless it is specified whether the
resources should be exploited under a ‘mining policy’ or under a policy of sustainable yield.
Mining depletes the storage and thus can only be practiced for a limited period of time. It is often a
dilemma to what extent it is wise and ethically justifiable to allow present-day groundwater users to
enjoy the benefits of groundwater mining and to leave the associated problems for a future
generation.
The sustainable-yield approach is based on the capture of recharge and thus will not exhaust the
aquifer. It avoids difficult decisions regarding intergenerational allocation of water. Optimal yield is
not only a function of physical factors, but depends equally well on a complex of economic, social
and political factors.
A second misconception is that the optimal rate of aquifer exploitation often implicitly is thought to
be constant in time (‘stationary approach’). As will be shown below, a more dynamic approach-
allowing discharge to be time-dependent-may be attractive.
 Sustainable-yield policy
Sustainable yield represents a groundwater abstraction rate that allows on a long term the inputs and
outputs of water to be balanced over the domain of the aquifer, thus leading to a stable state of the
aquifer. Many conventional groundwater assessment and development studies implicitly associate
maximum sustainable yield (MSY) with optimal yield. In relation to sustainable yield, a few remarks
can be made:
a) The maximum sustainable yield is not necessarily equal to the aquifer’s recharge: rather,
sustainable yield is the ‘ groundwater capture’, which is the difference between recharge and
‘natural’’ discharge; consequently, maximum sustainable yield (MSY) is the maximum
capture attainable, which is sometimes considerably less than the average recharge;
b) After all natural groundwater discharge has stopped due to abstraction, the dynamic
equilibrium between recharge and pumping at full MSY rate can be maintained at different
levels of groundwater storage so there is no typical value of stationary groundwater stock in
response to pumping at MSY rate;
c) Even under an sustainable-yield policy it is possible that economic or environmental factors
are limiting optimal yield to a level below ‘maximum sustainable yield’,
d) Sustainable exploitation regimes in principle may have abstraction rates that are variable in
time.

 Mining policy
Although by tradition there is often preference for a sustainable-yield policy (because it does not
threaten continuity), such an approach may be excessively conservative under certain circumstances.
Frequently, it seems to be more profitable to adopt a mining policy for some limited period, before in
a later stage a sustainable-yield policy is followed. This is because the exploitation of ‘mining
resources’ definitely produces a certain economic profit and often also increases the ‘renewable
resources’ , either by decreasing the natural outflow, or by increasing the recharge.
 Is there really need for control?

Trying to control groundwater abstraction is only worth to be considered if uncontrolled competitive

groundwater abstraction would diverge substantially from a planned, socially ‘optimal’ abstraction
regime. What makes competitive abstraction rates in principle diverge from socially optimal raters?
At least the following factors are important:
Lack of knowledge; technology and /or money
These factors have caused for a long time ‘underdevelopment’ of groundwater resources in many
aquifers of the world; people were not able to exploit them at rates that would be indicated as optimal
in planning studies.
The need for aquifer-wide groundwater storage management is especially large in areas where the
water resources are scarce and groundwater is highly profitable at the same time. On the basis of
several papers it can be concluded that the discrepancy between competitive pumping and optimal
control may be pronounced if any of the following conditions are present: multi-pumper conditions,
elastic demands for water, low social rates of discount, high contrast between financial and social
rates of discount, and limited capacity of the groundwater reservoir.

2. Allocation of ground water

Considering groundwater as a resource to be abstracted and used, two different types of allocation
problems will be discussed below: allocation among users and spatial allocation.
 Allocation of abstracted groundwater among users
Under conditions of relative scarcity of water, groundwater demands of different users or sectors may
be competitive or even conflicting. Uncontrolled development then may cause excessive interference
or harmful aquifer depletion, both leading to economic losses. The water resources management
response to such circumstances is to allocate the available resources among the users, either by
licensing (granting water rights) or by other measures such as taxation related to the type and
intensity of water use.
Such an allocation needs a guiding principle; different approaches for such a guiding principle are:
a) priority of the oldest rights (‘first come, first served’)
b) Priority differences between sectors (domestic supply, agriculture, industry);
c) Priority differences between zones (e.g. surface water priority for water are available);
d) Economic optimization (e.g. by linear programming)

Which principle to choose depends very much on existing water resources management policy and
plans, or on water resources management objectives adopted, and of course has to be consistent with
prevailing water rights.
 Allocation in space
Given a certain demand to be satisfied from a specific aquifer, different spatial patterns of wells may
be chosen. Some of these patterns are more favorable than other ones; hence the problem is to find an
optimal distribution in space of abstraction well. Depending on the details of the problem and on the
management objectives chosen, the analysis will focus either on optimization (if the of decision-
process is complex) or on simulation (if the system’s behaviors is complex). An elegant approach is
to combine optimization and simulation in a spatially discrete model.
If a number of distinct aquifers is present, basically a similar approach can be followed, but
complexity increases. In the case that local groundwater and surface water resources are insufficient
to satisfy crucial water demands under acceptable conditions, inter basin transfer of water becomes
unavoidable. This is often the case in rapidly expanding metropolitan zones.
3. Conjunctive management of ground water and surface water
Ground water and surface water tend to be strongly interrelated, in the sense that groundwater may
feed surface water bodies, and vice versa. Variations of flow, storage or quality of water in one of the
subsystems may directly affect the state of the other one. These variations may have a natural cause
(e.g. Weather conditions), but they can also be induced by water resources development or
management activities. Artificial recharge, base flow suppletion and surface water dams are typical
examples of the latter category. Furthermore, the availability of both surface water and groundwater
in an area opens the possibility of conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water.
a. Artificial recharge
Artificial recharge consists of storing surface water in an aquifer. Usually the main purpose is to
utilize the storage facility offered by the aquifer, thus enabling certain volumes of surface water to be
kept for use at other times (and increasing the permissible abstraction from the aquifer). Other
objectives sometimes aimed at by artificial recharge is the improvement of the quality of the
infiltrated water (decay of pathogen bacteria, mixing with other waters, filtering), the use of the
aquifer as a means to convey water to where it is needed, or the control of the interface between fresh
and saline groundwater.
b. Base flow Separation
This is in fact the opposite of artificial recharge: groundwater is pumped from aquifers to maintain a
minimum base flow in streams during periods of drought. The activity is usually related to the
environment impacts of water
c. Surface water storage dams
Although not always recognized, a surface water storage dam may have very important consequences
for the recharge of aquifers fed by the stream where the dam is constructed. Water resources
management officials should be aware of this interdependence, and should care for an integrated
analysis before any decision is taken on the physical works or on the operation rules.
Storage dams and artificial recharge can be considered as alternatives: storage and use of water via
the recharge alternative is often more energy-consumptive, whereas surface water reservoirs may be
subject to higher losses of water due to evaporation.
d. Conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water
Groundwater and surface water have different properties regarding flow variability, storage, quality
parameters, cost of exploitation and vulnerability for pollution. Coordinated use of groundwater and
surface water (conjunctive use) may take advantage of the ‘stronger’ properties of either source of
water at proper time and location. Especially under conditions of scarcity this approach may have
distinct advantages over the isolated exploitation of each of the resources.
Conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water is a component of almost all water resources
management plans for larger regions of high and conflicting demands for ware.
4. Groundwater Salinity control
Many aquifers contain both fresh groundwater and saline or brackish groundwater. The fresh zones
usually are recharged by rain or by streams. The saline or brackish waters are most frequently of
marine origin and may be either connate waters (‘deposited’ simultaneously with the aquifer rocks;
sometimes migrated and/ or mixed with fresh waters) or intruded saline waters.
Although all kinds of configuration may occur, the situation that fresh water overlies saline or
brackish groundwater is very common; physically, this is a rather ‘stable’ situation, in particular when
the ‘interface’ is approximately horizontal. Saline groundwater on top of fresh groundwater, on the
other hand, presents an unstable situation, unless lithological conditions prevent downward migration
of the heavier saline water.
The purpose of groundwater salinity control is to prevent or minimize salination of the fresh ground
water resources; in other words: to conserve the resource for future use. In order to do so, it is
important to analyze how the flow processes in the aquifer might develop under different technical
alternatives of groundwater development. Due to the differences in density between fresh water and
saline water, the interface between fresh and saline groundwater is extremely sensitive for
disturbances of the groundwater regime. Salinization of a fresh part of an aquifer is partially
irreversible (as a consequence of dispersion processes), thus is difficult to cure. Hence, protective
measures are required, and such measures should be designed on the basis of simulation.
5. Groundwater pollution control
 Well field protection
One of the most obvious options to protect a well field against pollution is to locate it at a suitable
site: in an aquifer zone of relatively low vulnerability regarding pollution (e.g. covered by confining
beds) and as far as possible or up gradient from sites that represent a risk (e.g. a polluting industry).
Once in existence, well fields in many countries are protected against pollution by establishing so-
called groundwater protection zones. Inside these areas there is usually a distinction between several
zones: closer to the well field the control becomes more and more strict. Table 4.3 shows
characteristics of protection areas in a number of European countries. The dimensions of the different
more or less concentric protection zones are based commonly on estimates of the time it would take
for a contaminant to move from the land surface or from the top of the aquifer to the wells.
Karstic aquifers pose a special problem: the size of protection zones based on the usual travel time
criteria would become easily too large to give it special protection.
 Aquifer protection
Protection of the entire aquifer against pollution has become a major concern during recent years,
after more and cases of severe contamination have been discovered in many different countries.

The trend in groundwater management is shifting from the ‘defensive’ attitude (well field protection)
to wards control of the sources of contamination over the total exposed surface of the aquifer.
Intensive research is being carried out in many parts of the world to develop a scientific base for this
control. As far as the diffuse sources of pollution are concerned, it becomes clear that control of land
use and agricultural practices may contribute highly to the conservation of groundwater quality. Strict
regulations on the disposal of industrial and hazardous domestic waste may greatly reduce point-
source pollution.
6. Conservation of chemical water types
Water quality management is not only concerned with salinity control and pollution control. It may
also focus on apparently ‘minor’ changes in water quality, if these changes have important practical
implications.
Many of these changes in water quality are closely interlinked with water quantity processes.
Declines of shallow phreatic levels may enrich groundwater in nutrients (because of mineralization
processes) and in Sulphates (because of the oxidation of poyrite). Intensive pumping from deep
aquifers may cause a reduction of natural outflow of deep groundwater, and ‘shallow’ flow systems
may replace largely the contribution of the deeper flow systems to the seepage in groundwater
exfiltration zone. Increases of water levels in surface water bodies may cause or increase the mixing
of shallow groundwater with surface water which is often of a different chemical composition. And
irrigation will lead to subsurface accumulation of solutes which tend to change the chemical
characteristics of shallow groundwater.
Important practical consequences of changing chemistry of groundwater have been reported in
relation to phreatophytic ecosystems. Such ecosystems occur preferently in groundwater exfiltration
zones and are extremely vulnerable. They do not only violently react to relatively small declines of
the groundwater level; they may also degenerate in response to changes in shallow groundwater
chemistry.
7. Groundwater level control
Control of shallow ground water levels is traditionally the domain of drainage engineers. Drainage
activities are usually carried out independently of groundwater development activities, but it is clear
that both types of groundwater engineering may interfere considerably. That is why groundwater
management needs to ensure that such activities are carried out in a co-ordinated way.
The level that should be considered as the optimum groundwater level varies according to soil type,
land use and climate conditions.
In agriculture, there is considerable empirical knowledge in the relation between yields of
groundwater-fed crops and the depth to groundwater.
Ecologists have similar information on the relation between depth to groundwater and the survival or
modification of ecosystems.
In the urban sector, in general, there are certain requirements on minimum depths (sometimes also
maximum depths) to groundwater to be maintained.
Thus, different sectors will come up with different requirements regarding the target groundwater
levels. This leads to spatial variation in drainage depth criteria, but sometime also to
incompatibilities.
The design of adequate drainage systems requires some kind of groundwater flow analysis, which
may range from the application of very simple to the use of numerical groundwater models. Common
technical means of groundwater level control are ditches, drains and well-point systems.
It is perceived that ecological issues such as wetland conservation are gaining importance in the
planned control of groundwater level.
8. Control of land subsidence
Significant land subsidence may occur as a consequence of groundwater abstraction or groundwater
level control. This may be expected in particular when important drops of hydraulic head are
produced in zones where water-saturated peat, clay or silty layers occur at relatively shallow depths
(within some tens of meters from land surface).
Limiting land subsidence is in such cases an important constraint to water resources development.
Under particularly unfavorable conditions this may become so critical that prevention of any further
land subsidence becomes the main groundwater management objective; an example is the situation of
Venice, where further subsidence would cause the city to drown in the Adriatic Sea.
Predication by simulation is also in subsidence prone cases the key to good management approaches.
Not only is it important to asses the total expected land subsidence, the rate of subsidence is also a
crucial factor.
 4.4. Artificial Recharge of Groundwater
Recharge in general
Groundwater in a certain basin is recharged from either surface water within the basin or groundwater
percolating from another basin. The recharge may be natural, incidental or artificial.
Natural Recharge
It is usually produced under one or more of the following conditions
a. Deep infiltration of precipitation
b. Seepage from surface water (stream & lakes)
c. Under flow from another basin (if hydraulically interrelated)
Incidental Recharge
Incidental or unplanned, recharge occurs where water enters the ground as a result of a human activity
whose primary objective is unrelated to artificial recharge of groundwater.
In includes water from
Irrigation, cesspools, septic tanks, water mains, sewers, land fills, waste-disposal facilities, canals,
and reservoirs.
The quantity of incidental recharge normally for exceeds that deliberately accomplished by artificial
recharge projects.
Because several of these sources introduce polluted water into the underground degradation of the
quality of groundwater can occur.
Artificial Recharge
In order to increase the natural supply of groundwater, people artificially recharge groundwater
basins.
Artificial recharge may be defined as man’s planned operations of transferring water from the ground
surface into aquifers, or
Artificial recharge may be defined as augmenting the natural movement of surface water into
underground formation by some method of construction, by spreading of water, or by artificially
changing natural conditions.

Objectives of Artificial Recharge

AR may be practiced in order to achieve various objectives. Among them, we may list the following.
1) Control of regional hydrological regime.
By artificially recharging an aquifer, water level, or piezometric heads, is raised. By
manipulating these levels (obviously, taking also the effect of pumping into account), we can
control the rate and direction of flow in an aquifer, control the movement of water bodies of
inferior quality, (eg. Sea water intrusion, control spring discharge, and control seepage to or out
of adjacent water bodies (rivers and lakes, etc.).
 2) Storage of water
Water can be stored in an aquifer, to be pumped at a later time. Phreatic aquifer may serve as
very large storage reservoirs. Water is stored in the void later time by pumping
Long term storage In years with excess surface runoff, water may be diverted from streams&
lakes to be stored in aquifers for use in dryer years.
Short term storage may be used to make a more efficient use of the water supply lines. Water
may be delivered to a demand area at a constant rate throughout the year, to be stored in the
aquifer when supply exceeds demand and pumped by local wells to supplement demand in
excess of direct supply.
3) Control of water quality
As water is introduced into an aquifer and the indigenous water of the aquifer moves, they mix
as a result of hydrodynamic dispersion.
Mixing is also achieved by wells which pump simultaneously from the two kinds of water
We can control the quality (in terms of dissolved matter) of pumped water by manipulating
pumping and artificial recharge, thus controlling the movement of the water bodies introduced
into the aquifer and the mixing that takes place in the aquifer and in the pumping wells.
The water used for artificial recharge ma be either water of a quality higher than that of the
indigenous water of the aquifer, or of an inferior quality.
Due to the very slow movement of water in the aquifer, a period of year, sometimes many years,
may elapse between the time water is introduced into an aquifer and the time it is pumped.
During that time phenomena such as chemical reactions among constituents present in the water,
interaction with the solid skeleton (adsorption and ion exchange), and decay (eg. Radioactive),
and filtering may take place. Thus the aquifer acts to improve the quality of the injected water.
Suspended line material in surface water used for AR can be removed by the filtering that takes
place as the water percolates through the bottom of a spreading basin and the soil underlying it
on its downward way to the aquifer.
Of special interest is the improvement of water quality (e.g. Removal and destruction of micro
organisms) as the recharge water percolates through the unsaturated zone.

In addition to these major objectives, we may also mention the following additional ones.

1. Supplementing the difference between the demand for groundwater and natural replenishment of
an aquifer.
2. Disposal of liquid waste into deep formation where it will stay, or move very slowly (some times
for thousands of years) to wards outlets.
3. Using the aquifer as a conduit or a water distribution system. By recharging and pumping, water
levels are raised and lowered, respectively. It is therefore, possible to create a flow pattern within
the aquifer from the area of recharge to that of withdrawal by pumping, with the aquifer serving
as a conduit. Wells distributed over an area may withdraw water for local use, thus avoiding the
need for a distribution system.
4. Maintenance of high water levels (or heads) to prevent land subsidence or other undesirable
phenomena which result from lowered water levels (eg. Damage to foundations).
5. Conservation of water. For example, water used only for cooling can be re-circulated by injecting
the warm water back into the aquifer from which it is pumped.
In most cases, artificial recharge is implemented to achieve a number of goals and in conjunction with
the utilization of surface water.
Recharge Methods
Artificial recharge can be implemented by several methods, the choice of method for each particular
case depends on the source of water, the quality of the water, the type of aquifer, the topographical
and geological conditions, type of soil, economic conditions, etc.
The most widely practiced methods can be described as types of water spreading releasing water over
the ground surface in order to increase the quality of water infiltration into the ground and then
percolating to the water table.
Although field studies of spreading have shown that many factors govern the rate at which water will
enter the soil, from a quantitative stand point, area of recharge and length of time water is in contact
with soil are most important. Spreading efficiency is measured in terms of the recharge rate,
expressed as the velocity of downward water movement over the wetted area.
Spreading methods may be classified as basin, stream channel, ditch and furrow, flooding, irrigation,
and methods enhancing infiltration.
a) Methods for enhancing infiltration
In these methods, the objective is to increase infiltration by various agro techniques which affect
ground surface roughness, slope, vegetation cover, etc.
The purpose is to extend the time and area over which infiltration from surface runoff takes place.
Both the slopes of the water shed and the drainage channel net work can be treated to achieve this
purpose. For example, small check dams in natural channels will cause the water to spread over a
large area.
b) Basin Method
Here water is diverted to specially constructed ponds or basins, and allowed to infiltrate through their
pervious bottom.
(Sometimes ditches, dug along around surface contours, are used instead of basins.) Two objectives
are achieved by this method. Storage (say, if water in the river is available in winter and is needed for
irrigation in summer) and purification. The latter is related to the filtering of fine materials, mainly in
the settling basin, but also through the soil layer just beneath the infiltration basins.
c) Stream Channel Method
Water spreading in a natural stream channel involves operations that will increase the time and area
over which water is recharged from a naturally losing channel.
This involves both u/s management of stream flow and channel modifications to enhance infiltration
u/s reservoirs enable erratic runoff to be regulated ideally to limit stream flows to rates that do not
exceed the absorptive capacity of d/s channels.

Improvement of stream channels may include widening, leveling, scarifying, or ditching to increase
infiltration.
d) Ditch and Furrow Method
In this method water is distributed to a series of ditches, or furrows, that are shallow, flat bottomed,
and closely spaced to obtain maximum water contact area.
e) Flooding Method
In relatively flat topography, water may be diverted to spread evenly over a large area. In practice,
canals and earth distributing gullies are usually needed to release the water at intervals over the upper
end of the flooding area. It is desirable to from a thin sheet of water over the land, which moves at a
minimum velocity to avoid disturbing the soil.
f) Irrigation Method
In irrigated areas water is sometimes deliberately spread by irrigating cropland with excess water
during dormant, winter, or non irrigating seasons. The method requires no additional cost for land
preparation because the distribution system is already installed.
g) Pit Method
A pit excavated into a permeable formation serves as ideal facilities for groundwater recharge. In
areas where shallow subsurface strata, such as hard pans and clay layers, restrict the downward
passage of water, pits can effectively reach materials with higher infiltration rates.
h) Recharge well Method
Recharge well may be defined as a well that admits water from the surface to freshwater aquifers.
Its flow is the reverse of a pumping well, but its construction may or may not be the same. Well
recharging is practical where deep, confined aquifers must be recharged, or where economy of space,
such as in urban areas, is an important consideration, where extended impervious layers are present
between the g/surface and an underlying phreatic aquifer, and where existing pumping wells can be
used for recharge, thus eliminating the need for costly artificial recharge installation.
i) Induced Recharge
Direct methods of AR described above involve the conveyance of surface water to some point where
it enters the ground
Induced recharge is accomplished by withdrawing groundwater at a location adjacent to a river or
lake so that lowering of the groundwater level will induce water to eater the ground form the surface
source.
By induced recharge we can achieve tow goals: recharge the aquifer by river water, to be pumped for
beneficial use, without constructing any recharge installations the aquifer it self is used as a conduit,
and filtration and purification of the river water as it travels through the aquifer towards the
abstraction installation.