Group 4

By:
 Ground Water
• the water that lies beneath the ground surface,
filling the pore space between grains in bodies of
sediment and clastic sedimentary rock, and filling
cracks and crevices in all types of rock
• source of ground water is rain and snow that falls
to the ground a portion of which percolates down
into the ground to become ground water
 The Water Table
• saturated zone: the subsurface zone in which all
rock openings are filled with water
• water table: the upper surface of the zone of
saturation
• vadose zone: a subsurface zone in which rock
openings are generally unsaturated and filled
partly with air and partly with water; above the
saturated zone
• capillary fringe: a transition zone with higher
moisture content at the base of the vadose zone
just above the water table
The Water Table
Perched Water Table:
the top of a body of ground water
separated from the main water table
beneath it by zone that is not saturated.
 The Movement of Ground Water

• most ground water moves relatively slowly

through rock underground
• because it moves in response to differences
in water pressure and elevation, water
within the upper part of the saturated zone
tends to move downward following the
slope of the water table
 Movement of Ground Water

Movement of ground water beneath a sloping water table in

uniformly permeable rock. Near the surface the ground water
tends to flow parallel to the sloping water table.
Factors Affecting the Flow of Ground Water

• The slope of the water table - the steeper the

water table, the faster ground water moves

• Permeability - if rock pores are small and

poorly connected, water moves slowly; when
openings are large and well connected, the
flow of water is more rapid
 Aquifers
• a body of saturated rock or sediment through
which water can move easily
• good aquifers include sandstone,
conglomerate, well-joined limestone, bodies
of sand and gravel, and some fragmental or
fractured volcanic rocks such as columnar
basalt
Aquitards
when the porosity of a rock is 1% or less and
therefore retards the flow of ground water.

Unconfined Aquifer
A partially filled aquifer exposed to the land
surface and marked by a rising and falling water
table.

Confined Aquifer/Artesian Aquifer

an aquifer completely filled with pressurized water
and separated from the land surface by a relatively
impermeable confining bed, such as shale
 Wells
• a deep hole, generally cylindrical, that is dug of
drilled into the ground to penetrate an aquifer
within the saturated zone
• recharge: the addition of new water to the
saturated zone
• the water table in an unconfined aquifer rises in
wet seasons and falls in dry seasons as water
drains out of the saturated zone into rivers
• artesian well: a well in which water rises above
the aquifer
Wet season: water table and rivers are high;
springs and wells flow readily

Dry season: water table and rivers are low;

some springs and wells dry up
 Springs and Streams
Spring - a place where water flows naturally from
rock onto the land surface
Some springs discharge where the water table
intersects the land surface, but they also occur
where water flows out from caverns or along
fractures, faults, or rock contacts that come to the
surface Water enters caves along joints
in limestone and exits as springs
Springs can form along faults
when permeable rock has been
at the mouths of caves moved against less permeable
rock. Arrows show relative
motion along fault

Water moves along fractures in Springs form at the contact between

crystalline rock and forms springs a permeable rock such as sandstone
where the fractures intersect the and an underlying less permeable rock
land surface such as shale
 Gaining stream - a stream that receives
water from the zone of saturation

Losing stream - a stream that looses water to

the zone of saturation

Stream gaining water from Stream losing water through Water table can be close to the land
saturated zone stream bed to saturated zone surface beneath a dry stream bed
 Pollution of Ground Water
• pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers: chemicals that
are applied to agricultural crops that can find
their way into ground water when rain or
irrigation water leaches the poisons downward
into the soil
• rain can also leach pollutants from city dumps
into ground-water supplies
• Heavy metals such as mercury, lead, chromium,
copper, and cadmium, together with household
chemicals and poisons, can all be concentrated in
ground-water supplies beneath dumps
• liquid and solid wastes from septic tanks, sewage
plants, and animal feedlots and slaughterhouses
may contain bacteria, viruses, and parasites that
can contaminate ground water
• acid mine drainage from coal and metal mines
can contaminate both surface and ground water
• radioactive waste can cause the pollution of
ground water due to the shallow burial of
low-level solid and liquid radioactive wastes from
the nuclear power industry
• pumping wells can cause or aggravate
ground-water pollution
Water table steepens near a dump, increasing the Water-table slope is reversed by pumping, changing
velocity of ground-water flow and drawing direction of the ground-water flow, and polluting the well
pollutants into a well
Water Resources
Water resources are divisible into two distinct categories:
the surface-water resources and the ground-water
resources. Each of these categories is a part of the
earth's water circulatory system, called the hydrologic
cycle, and is derived from precipitation, which is rainfall
plus snow.
This is how the water is distribute on Earth. If you
could see here that is most amount of water in
the oceans.
This is another graphic
about the world’s water
and how it is distributed.

Here also you could see

that the total volume in
the hydrosphere of water
is 1.386 km2 (100%)
 Sources of Fresh Water
Surface water
Surface water is water in a river, lake or fresh water wetland.
Surface water is naturally replenished by precipitation and
naturally lost through discharge to the oceans, evaporation, and
sub-surface seepage.
Ground Water
Sub-surface water, or groundwater, is fresh water located
in the pore space of soil and rocks. It is also water that is
flowing within aquifers below the water table.
Frozen Water
Several schemes have been proposed to make use of
icebergs as a water source, however to date this has only
been done for novelty purposes. Glacier runoff is
considered to be surface water.
Under River Flow
Throughout the course of a river, the total volume of water transported
downstream will often be a combination of the visible free water flow
together with a substantial contribution flowing through rocks and
sediments that underlie the river and its floodplain called the hyporheic
zone. For many rivers in large valleys, this unseen component of flow
may greatly exceed the visible flow. The hyporheic zone often forms a
dynamic interface between surface water and groundwater from
aquifers, exchanging flow between rivers and aquifers that may be fully
charged or depleted. This is especially significant in karst areas where
pot-holes and underground rivers are common.
Desalination
Desalination is an artificial process by which saline water
(generally sea water) is converted to fresh water. The most common
desalination processes are distillation and reverse osmosis.
Desalination is currently expensive compared to most alternative
sources of water, and only a very small fraction of total human use is
satisfied by desalination. It is only economically practical for
high-valued uses (such as household and industrial uses)
in arid areas. The most extensive use is in the Persian Gulf.
 Water Uses
Agricultural
It is estimated that 70% of worldwide water is used for irrigation, with 15-35% of
irrigation withdrawals being unsustainable. It takes around 2,000 - 3,000 litres of
water to produce enough food to satisfy one person's daily dietary need. This is a
considerable amount, when compared to that required for drinking, which is
between two and five litres. To produce food for the now over 7 billion people who
inhabit the planet today requires the water that would fill a canal ten metres deep,
100 metres wide and 2100 kilometres long.

Industrial
It is estimated that 22% of worldwide water is used in industry. Major industrial
users include hydroelectric dams, thermoelectric power plants, which use water
for cooling, ore and oil refineries, which use water in chemical processes, and
manufacturing plants, which use water as a solvent. Water withdrawal can be
very high for certain industries, but consumption is generally much lower than that
of agriculture.
Domestic
It is estimated that 8% of worldwide water use is for domestic purposes. These
include drinking water, bathing, cooking, toilet flushing, cleaning, laundry
and gardening.

Recreational
Recreational water use is usually a very small but growing percentage of total
water use. Recreational water use is mostly tied to reservoirs. If a reservoir is
kept fuller than it would otherwise be for recreation, then the water retained
could be categorized as recreational usage. Release of water from a few
reservoirs is also timed to enhance whitewater boating, which also could be
considered a recreational usage. Other examples are anglers, water skiers,
nature enthusiasts and swimmers.

Environmental
Environmental water may include water stored in impoundments and released
for environmental purposes (held environmental water), but more often is water
retained in waterways through regulatory limits of abstraction. Environmental
water usage includes watering of natural or artificial wetlands, artificial lakes
intended to create wildlife habitat, fish ladders, and water releases from
reservoirs timed to help fish spawn, or to restore more natural flow regimes.
 Hydrologic Soil Groups
Soils were originally assigned to hydrologic soil groups based on measured
rainfall, runoff, and infiltrometer data. Since the initial work was done to
establish these groupings, assignment of soils to hydrologic soil groups has
been based on the judgment of soil scientists. Assignments are made based on
comparison of the characteristics of unclassified soil profiles with profiles of
soils already placed into hydrologic soil groups. Most of the groupings are
based on the premise that soils found within a climatic region that are similar in
depth to a restrictive layer or water table, transmission rate of water, texture,
structure, and degree of swelling when saturated, will have similar runoff
responses. The classes are based on the following factors:

• intake and transmission of water under the conditions of maximum yearly

wetness (thoroughly wet)

• soil not frozen

• bare soil surface

• maximum swelling of expansive clays

The four Hydrologic Soils Groups are A, B, C and D. Where A's generally have
the smallest runoff potential and Ds the greatest.

Group A is sand, loamy sand or sandy loam types of soils. It has low runoff
potential and high infiltration rates even when thoroughly wetted. They consist
chiefly of deep, well to excessively drained sands or gravels and have a high
rate of water transmission.

Group B is silt loam or loam. It has a moderate infiltration rate when thoroughly
wetted and consists chiefly or moderately deep to deep, moderately well to
well drained soils with moderately fine to moderately coarse textures.

Group C soils are sandy clay loam. They have low infiltration rates when
thoroughly wetted and consist chiefly of soils with a layer that impedes
downward movement of water and soils with moderately fine to fine structure.

Group D soils are clay loam, silty clay loam, sandy clay, silty clay or clay. This
HSG has the highest runoff potential. They have very low infiltration rates
when thoroughly wetted and consist chiefly of clay soils with a high swelling
potential, soils with a permanent high water table, soils with a claypan or clay
layer at or near the surface and shallow soils over nearly impervious material.
 Water Conservation
Water conservation includes all the
policies, strategies and activities made
to sustainably manage the natural
resource fresh water, to protect
the water environment, and to meet
the current and future human demand.
Population, household size, and
growth and affluence all affect how
much water is used. Factors such
as climate change have increased
pressures on natural water resources
especially in manufacturing and
agricultural irrigation. Many US cities
have already implemented policies
aimed at water conservation, with
much success.
The goals of water conservation efforts include:

∙ Ensuring availability of water for future generations where the

withdrawal of freshwater from an ecosystem does not exceed its
natural replacement rate.
∙ Energy conservation as water pumping, delivery and wastewater
treatment facilities consume a significant amount of energy. In some
regions of the world over 15% of total electricity consumption is
devoted to water management.
∙ Habitat conservation where minimizing human water use helps to
preserve freshwater habitats for local wildlife and migrating waterfowl,
but also water quality.
The key activities that benefit water conservation (save
water) are as follows:

• Any beneficial reduction in water loss, use and waste of resources.

• Avoiding any damage to water quality.
• Improving water management practices that reduce the use or
enhance the beneficial use of water.
One strategy in water conservation is rain water harvesting. Digging ponds,
lakes, canals, expanding the water reservoir, and installing rain water catching
ducts and filtration systems on homes are different methods of harvesting rain
water. Harvested and filtered rain water could be used for toilets,
home gardening, lawn irrigation, and small scale agriculture.
Another strategy in water conservation is protecting groundwater resources.
When precipitation occurs, some infiltrates the soil and goes underground. Water
in this saturation zone is called groundwater.
Contamination of groundwater causes the groundwater water supply to not be
able to be used as resource of fresh drinking water and the natural regeneration
of contaminated groundwater can takes years to replenish. Some examples of
potential sources of groundwater contamination include storage
tanks, septic systems, uncontrolled hazardous waste, landfills, atmospheric
contaminants, chemicals, and road salts.
Contamination of groundwater decreases the replenishment of available
freshwater so taking preventative measures by protecting groundwater resources
form contamination is an important aspect of water conservation.
An additional strategy to water conservation is practicing sustainable
methods of utilizing groundwater resources. Groundwater flows due to
gravity and eventually discharges into streams. Excess pumping of
groundwater leads to a decrease in groundwater levels and if continued it can
exhaust the resource. Ground and surface waters are connected and overuse
of groundwater can reduce and, in extreme examples, diminish the water
supply of lakes, rivers, and streams. In coastal regions, over pumping
groundwater can increase saltwater intrusion which results in the
contamination of groundwater water supply. Sustainable use of groundwater
is essential in water conservation.
THE END
Thank
You!