Porosity is a measure of how much empty space (individual pore spaces are often very tiny) is present between

the
particles in a rock.

Permeability is an evaluation of whether or not - and how much - of those empty spaces are connected to each other.

You can have a whole lot of porosity - but if the pore spaces aren’t connected, any fluids in those pore spaces aren’t going
anywhere. The rock is ‘impermeable’: you can’t add fluid to it, and fluid can’t get out.

Very few rocks which have reasonable amounts of pore space are totally impermeable, but many rocks have quite poor
permeability because the pore spaces don’t connect enough for there to be easy fluid flow.

Cross section showing the water table varying with surface topography as well as a perched water table

The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and
fractures of the ground are saturated with water.[1]
Water table, also called Groundwater Table, upper level of an underground surface in which the soilor rocks
are permanently saturated with water.

The phreatic zone, or zone of saturation, is the area in an aquifer, below the water table, in which relatively all
pores and fractures are saturated with water.

The one nearest the surface is the "zone of aeration", where gaps between soil are filled with both
air and water. The zone of aeration is the region between the earth's surface and the water table. The
main components of this region are the soil and rocks. Their pores are at times partly filled with water
and air, and aeration occurs when the air and water mix or come into close contact.

The capillary fringe is the subsurface layer in which groundwater seeps up from a water table by capillary action to
fill pores. Pores at the base of the capillary fringe are filled with water due to tension saturation.

Groundwater is the water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock. It is
stored in and moves slowly through geologic formations of soil, sand and rocks called aquifers.

A perched water table (or perched aquifer) is an aquifer that occurs above the regional water table, in the vadose
zone.

An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials
(gravel, sand, or silt).

aquitard, which is a bed of low permeability along an aquifer,[

Unconfined aquifers are sometimes also called water table or phreatic aquifers, because their upper boundary is
the water table or phreatic surface. (See Biscayne Aquifer.)

Confined aquifers are aquifers that are overlain by a confining layer, often made up of clay. The confining layer
might offer some protection from surface contamination.

A spring is a point at which water flows from an aquifer to the Earth's surface.
The hydraulic gradient (1) is the slope of the water table or potentiometric surface, that is, the change in water level
per unit of distance along the direction of maximum head decrease. It is determined by measuring the water level in
several wells. The water level in a well (Fig. 3-11), usually expressed as feet above sea level, is the total head (ht),
which consists of elevation head (z) and pressure head (hp).
Groundwater discharge is the volumetric flow rate of groundwater through an aquifer.
Total groundwater discharge, as reported through a specified area, is similarly expressed as:
Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process where water moves
downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method through which water enters
an aquifer.
 A gaining stream is where a stream may gain water from the inflow of groundwater. A losing
stream is where a stream loses water to a groundwater system or by outflow through the
streambed

A cone of depression occurs in an aquifer when groundwater is pumped from a well. In an unconfined
aquifer (water table), this is an actual depression of the water levels. In confined aquifers (artesian), the
cone of depression is a reduction in the pressure head surrounding the pumped well.