Groundwater Storage

(Aquifer Characteristics)

Two basic functions:

1. Stores reservoir.
- Water is stored between pore spaces of
sediment or in fault, fractures or solutions
cavities of rock.

2. Transmits water conduit system.

- Gw is transmitted from areas of recharge to
areas of discharge when these void spaces are
connected

 The following properties of the aquifer are

required for study of groundwater hydrology:
1. Porosity
2. Coefficient of permeability
3. Specific Yield
4. Specific Retention
5. Transmissivity
6. Specific Storage
7. Storage Coefficient

What happens to water when it is added to the soil?

 Porosity: Percent of
volume that is void
space.

30%

Sediment: Determined
by how tightly packed
and how clean (silt and
clay), (usually between
20% and 40%)
Rock: Determined by
size and number of
fractures (most often
very low, <5%)

Porosity

5%

1%

 Porosity is a measure of the open

space within soil or rock
Pore spaces represent the reservoir
for holding water
The larger the pore space or the
greater their number, the higher the
porosity and the larger the waterholding capacity
Clays tend to reduce the porosity of
soil material due to the small pores.
Generally, surface horizons have a
larger porosity and subsoils have
smaller porosity
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 rocks, the porosity

depends upon the extent,
spacing and pattern of cracks
and fractures.

volume of voids of a sample

n
total volume of the sample

n is the porosity (percentage)

Vv is the volume of void space in a unit volume of earth material (L3, cm3 or
m3 )
V is the unit volume of earth material, including both voids and solids (L 3,
cm3 or m3)

 The porosity of well-rounded sediments, which have

been sorted so that they are all about the same size, is
independent of particle size, depending upon the
packing.
Well-rounded coarse-grained sediments usually have
higher porosity than fine-grained sediments, because the
grains dont fit together well

Porosity

ROUNDNESS AND SPHERICITY

OF CLASTIC GRAINS

High

Low
Very
Angular
Angular

SubSubAngular Rounded

ROUNDNESS

Porosity

Rounded

WellRounded

 In igneous and metamorphic rocks porosity is usually low

because the minerals tend to be intergrown, leaving little
free space. Higher fractured igneous and metamorphic
rocks, however, could have high secondary porosity.
Since cements tend to fill in the pore space, highly
cemented sedimentary rocks have lower porosity

GRAIN PACKING IN SANDSTONE

Line of Traverse
(using microscope)

4 Types of Grain Contacts

Packing Proximity

Sutured Contact

A measure of the extent to

which sedimentary particles
are in contact with their
neighbors

Long Contact

Packing Density

Tangential Contact

Cement

Matrix
(clays, etc.)

A measure of the extent to

which sedimentary particles
occupy the rock volume
Concavo-Convex
Contact

This Example
Packing Proximity = 40%
Packing Density = 0.8
(modified from Blatt, 1982)

Relation Between Texture and Porosity A. Well Sorted Sand Having High
Porosity; B. Poorly- Sorted Sand Having Low Porosity; C. Fractured Crystalline
Rocks (Granite); D. Soluble Rock-Forming Material (Limestone).

Grain-Size Sorting in Sandstone

Very Well
Sorted

Well
Sorted

Moderately
Sorted

SORTING

Poorly
Sorted

Very Poorly
Sorted

 In porous rock, there may be small pores known as dead end pores
which have only one entrance, and so water molecules can diffuse in and
out of them, but there can be no hydraulic gradient across them to cause
bulk flow of groundwater. In extreme cases, there may be pores
containing water that are completely closed so that the water in them is
trapped. Since we are frequently interested in the movement of
groundwater, it is useful to define a porosity that refers only to the
movable water in the rock.
This is called the kinematic or effective porosity n e

volume of the interconnected voids of a sample

ne
total volume of the sample

Typical Values of Porosity

16
Bedient et al., 1999.,

Measuring porosity
Ex._1
A container is filled with 42.7 cm 3 of loose sand. This volume of sand is poured
into a graduate cylinder partially filled with water. It is recorded that 28.4 cm 3 of
water are displaced. The displaced volume is the volume of solids. Determine the
porosity?

Ex._2
One cubic meter of uniform sand with a porosity of 0.30 is mixed with two cubic
meters of uniform gravel that had a porosity of 0.25. What is the resulting
porosity?

Coefficient of Permeability (K)

The capacity of a geological formation,
whether consolidated or not, to allow
the transmission of a fluid under the
influence of a hydraulic gradient
Two measures can be used to quantify
permeability:
1. hydraulic conductivity
2. intrinsic permeability

Hydraulic conductivity, K
- Volume of mobile water in m3 transmitted
perpendicularly to the flow direction in unit time (s)
through a unit cross-section in m2, under the effect of
a unit hydraulic gradient.
- Hydraulic conductivity has the dimensions of velocity
and is expressed in m/s
Intrinsic permeability, k
- Volume of liquid (in m3) having unit kinematic
viscosity that passes through a unit cross-section
area (m2) perpendicular to the flow direction under
the effect of a unit hydraulic gradient.
- It is expressed in m2 or in Darcys

Permeability
Permeability is a function of the
sizes of particles, pores, and the
way they are arranged.
Permeability is how quickly water
will flow through the soil
The straighter and larger the
pores, the faster the permeability.
Clays tend to reduce the
permeability of soil material due to
the small pores.

Permeability
Permeability: Ease
with which water will
flow through a porous
material
Sediment: Proportional
to sediment size

GravelExcellent
SandGood
SiltModerate
ClayPoor

Rock: Proportional to
fracture size and
number. Can be good to
excellent

Excellent

Poor

Permeability Water Transmission

Sandy soils will
have fast water
transmission
and low water
retention
Clay soil will
have slow water
transmission
and high water
retention.

 Hydraulic
Conductivity
of bedrock is
controlled by
Size of fracture openings
Spacing of fractures
Interconnectedness of fractures

Porosity and
Permeability
Permeability is not
proportional to
porosity.
30%

5%

1%

Hydraulic Conductivity for Unconsolidated and Hard Rocks

Medium

Unconsolidated deposits
Clay
Fine sand
Medium sand
Coarse sand
Gravel
Sand and gravel mixes
Clay, sand, gravel mixes (e.g. till)
Hard Rocks
Chalk (very variable according to fissures if not soft)
Sandstone
Limestone
Dolomite
Granite, weathered
Schist

K (m/day)

10-8 10-2
1-5
5 - 20
20 - 102
102 - 103
5 - 102
10-3 10-1
30.0
3.1
0.94
0.001
1.4
0.2

Medium

Dependent on location

heterogeneous

constant

homogeneous

K A , K B , KC , K D are _ not _ equal

heterogeneity

K (at a point) independent of

direction of measurement

isotropic

K (at a point) varies with direction

anisotropic

Anisotropic
KX KY KZ
Path of molecules flowing through
imbricated material is more tortuous in
vertical direction
Not only by particle orientation, but also
by layering of materials with different K
values

qx iK1 z1 K2 z2 .... Kn zn

K1 z1 K 2 z2 ..... K n zn
Kx
Z
Average hydraulic conductivity
of the medium in a horizontal
direction

Average hydraulic
conductivity of the medium
in a vertical direction

Kz

Z
zn
z1 z2

.....
K1 K 2
Kn

Hydrodynamic parameters
These parameters are characteristic of the
reservoir function of an aquifer
Can be determined in the field by means of
pumping tests (also laboratory methods)

Transmissivity
The rate which groundwater flows horizontally through an aquifer
The discharge capacity of a well in an aquifer depends on the hydraulic
conductivity K and the thickness of the aquifer

T Kh
Unconfined aquifer

T Kb
Confined aquifer

Classification of Transmissivity
Magnitude
(m2/day)

Class

Designation

Specific
Capacity
(m2/day)

Groundwater
supply
potential

Expected Q
(m3/day) if
s=5m

> 1000

Very high

> 864

> 4320

100-1000

II

High

86.4 864

10-100

III

Intermediate

8.64 86.4

1-10

IV

Low

0.864 8.64

0.1-1

Very low

0.0864 0.864

<0.1

VI

Imperceptible

< 0.0864

-Regional
Importance
-Lesser regional
Importance
-Local water
supply
-Private
consumption
-Limited
consumption
-Very difficult
to utilize for
local water
supply

432 4320

43.2 432
4.32 43.2
0.423 4.32

< 0.432

example
What is the transmissivity of an aquifer
that has a thickness of 20 m and a
hydraulic conductivity of 15 m/d?

T = Kb = 20*15 = 300 m 2/d

39

Storativity (Coefficient of Storage) and Specific Storage

1. If water is removed from a confined aquifer:

Hydraulic head decreases - water level in wells falls

Fluid pressure decreases in the aquifer.
Porosity decreases as the granular skeleton
contracts (aquifer collapses slightly)
The volume of water increases

2. In unconfined aquifer, main source of water

is drainage of water from pores

Storativity (coefficient of storage)

Storativity (S):
the volume of water that an aquifer
releases from or takes into storage per unit
surface area per unit change in head.
Storativity is a dimensionless property
S = volume of water/(unit area) (unit head
change) =L3/(L2 * L) = m3/m3

Storativity contd.
In confined aq. S ranges from 10-3 to 10-5
Specific Storage is the volume of water that an aquifer
releases from or takes into storage per unit surface area
per unit aquifer thickness per unit change in head
Ss =

volume of water
_______________________
(unit area)(unit thickness)(unit head change)
1/m
S = Ss b

Storage in Confined Aquifers

SS in a confined aquifer reflects storage coming from
compression of granular matrix and expansion of
water

S s w g ( P n w)
w:
g:
n:
p:
w:

density of water
gravitational constant (9.81 m/s2)
porosity of aquifer
vertical compressibility of rock matrix
compressibility of water (4.8x10-10 m2/N)

Values of Specific Storage assuming Porosity equal to 15 % (after Younger,1993)

Typical Lithologies
Clay
Silt, fine sand
Medium sand, fine
Coarse sand, medium gravel, highly fissured
Coarse gravel, moderately fissured rock
Unfissured rock

Specific Storage (m-1)

9.81 x 10-3
9.82 x 10-4
9.87 x 10-5
1.05 x 10-5
1.63 x 10-6
7.46 x 10-7
SOURCE: (Younger, 1993)

In a confined aquifer, the head may decline-yet the potentiometric surface remains
above the unit. Although water is released from storage, the aquifer remains
saturated. Specific storage (Ss) of a confined aquifer is the storage coefficient per
unit-saturated thickness of the aquifer. Thus,

Ss

S
b

where, b is the thickness of aquifer

Storage in Unconfined Aquifers

Pumping water from unconfined aquifer:
early stage: water comes from expansion of
water and compression of matrix
Later stage: water comes from gravity
drainage
S = Sy + bSs

Ex.
Calculate the change in storage (Vw) for a confined
aquifer over 5.0 km2. Assume a typical confined
storage value of 0.0002. The h is 1.7 m.
Determine Vw in m3.

Specific Yield, Sy
-The volume of water, expressed as a percentage of the
total volume of the saturated aquifer, that can be drained by
gravity.
- The water removed from unit volume of aquifer by pumping
or drainage and is expressed as percentage volume of
aquifer.
- It depends upon grain size, shape and distribution of pores
and compaction of the formation

Vw
Sy
x100%
V

S y n Sr

Specific yield Porosity Specific retention

 All the water stored in a water bearing stratum cannot be

drained out by gravity or by pumping, because a portion of
the water is rigidly held in the voids of the aquifer by
molecular and surface tension forces
Specific Yield in Percent (after Freeze & Cherry, 1979)

Formation
Clay
Sandy clay
Silt
Fine sand
Medium sand
Coarse sand
Gravelly sand
Fine gravel
Medium gravel
Coarse gravel
Limestone

Sy (range)

Sy (average)

0-5
3 - 12
3 - 19
10 - 28
15 - 32
20 - 35
20 - 35
21 - 35
13 - 26
12 - 26

2
7
18
21
26
27
25
25
23
22
14

Specific Retention (Sr)

The volume of water retained by molecular and surface
tension forces, against the force of gravity, expressed as
a percentage of the total volume of the saturated aquifer,
is called 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. Since the specific yield represents the
volume of water that a rock will yield by gravity drainage,
hence the specific retention is the remainder. The sum of
the two equals porosity.

n Sr S y

 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.