Groundwater Flow

This document discusses the phenomenon of groundwater overdraft in Canada and the United States, management techniques to slow or stop it, the effects of urbanization on groundwater recharge, and mitigation measures. It also covers topics such as flowing artesian wells, rocks with high porosity but low aquifer potential, and the Ghyben Herzbeg relationship. The document provides valuable insights for students studying hydrology and related subjects.

Running Head: GROUNDWATER FLOW 1
Groundwater Flow
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliations’
Date

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1. What areas in Canada and United States are experiencing groundwater overdraft?
What are some management techniques that could slow or stop this overdraft?
In dry and semi-dry, there enough water to sustain domestic needs, commercial, and
agricultural purposes. Due to the high demand for water, people explore to acquire water from
the groundwater aquifers. During the dry season a lot of water gets removed from the
underground reservoirs through pumping (Gies, 2014). The rate of water removed exceeds the
rate of streams flowing into the underground storages. As a result, a phenomenon called the
underground water overdraft arises. According to Gies (2014) California and Minnesota is the
largest producer of fruits, vegetables and nuts in America. Therefore, in Minnesota and
California there is huge demand of water for irrigation farming (Gies, 2014). As a result,
California depends on underground waters. On the Canada side, although the country has big
rivers and freshwater lake, a significant percentage of water comes from the underground
aquifer. For example, the regions such as Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Yukon
(Gupta, 2015).
Folkman (2018) argues that the levels of groundwater can get protected from depletion
by planting native plant species. In this case, native plants are suitable for a particular landscape
thus requires less water and fertilizer. As a result, native plant protects the ground from exposure
to sunlight and soil erosion (Folkman, 2018). The second technique relates to advocating for
efficient use of water. In this case, the public get urged on the importance of conserving water
for example, avoid water wastage and spillage. The third technique relates to control the rates of
water usage. In this regard, there should adequate laws to regulate the rate of water underground
water discharge and promote more water recharge. For example, harnessing storm water to
supplement or support agricultural activities during the dry seasons.

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2. (10) Flowing artesian wells were common in the early days of settlement on the Northern
Great Plains. Now water almost always has to be pumped. Why?
In great plain there were adequate flowing artesian because the bedrock was relatively
water impermeable. As a result, the layer of stratum material spread over the shielding rock thus
forming another clay cover. () argues that water collected on to if this layers that laid with a
relative gradient thus supplying plains with steady flow of water. In the modern days, the
artesian flows have decreased because of human activities that interfered with hardpan making it
impermeable by water and gravel responsible for forming a top layer of clay makes is depleted
due to soil erosion. Therefore, underground remains entrap under hard pan thus reduced the
number of free-flowing artesian hence water requires pumping to reach the ground.
3. (10) Are there any situations in which rocks may have high porosity but are not good
aquifers? Explain.
Porosity refers to the ability of the geological material to hold underground water
(Turner, 2018). Materials with fine grains are characterized with high porosity hence the best for
holding underground water. However, the fine course materials are characterized with low
permeability or the arrangement of spaces for underground water to pass through. As a result,
underground water contained in materials with high porosity and low permeability is not good
water aquifers as much of water remain confined under impermeable wall.
4. (5) Tables are flat! But groundwater tables are not. Explain.
Unlike the common table having a flat surface, groundwater table does not have a flat
surface. Instead, underground water table tends to follow the characteristics of the topography. In

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this regard, a water table may be taking the shape of a sloppy or downward tilt or the cliff or
upward tilt based on the surface of land on top (Turner, 2018).
5. (10) what is the Ghyben Herzbeg relationship? Using this relationship, calculate the
thickness of the lens of freshwater that is under an island off the coast of Nova Scotia that
has a water table level 3 m above sea level.
The Ghyben Herzbeg relationship refers to the level of saltwater intrusion to inland
freshwater aquifers resulting in contamination of the fresh water (Greene et al., 2016). Saline
water intrudes freshwater aquifers due to higher density hence higher water pressure that enables
salty water to push further to inland water reservoirs.
Calculations
Ghyben Herbeg relationship Z =((ϱf))/(( ϱS-ϱf) ) h
Z = Thickness of freshwater (m)
ϱf= freshwater of density
ϱS= Saline water density
h= height of freshwater
Z= ((1000 kg/m3)/( 1027 kg/m3- 1000kg/ m3)) 3m
Z= 111.11m

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6. (5) You have been asked to drill a well for your penny-pinching uncle who lives on a
farm in eastern Saskatchewan. He insists that you stop drilling as soon as you strike water.
Is this wise? Explain?
Piccinini, Fabbri & Pola (2016) argues that borehole drilling is an engaging process that
needs a lot of investment, planning, and research. In this case, my uncle was s wrong for
insisting that I should stop drilling once water gets the strike. To determine the correct point to
stops drilling requires satisfying the following indicators. First, once reached the water table, the
cuttings may show signs of drill hitting a zone of gravel or sand that is saturated. Secondly,
notice the change of speed of the driller once permeable sand or gravel layer is reached, and the
drill bounces in the water saturated zone. The other indicator relates to a significant temperature
drop for groundwater.
7. (15) Discuss the effects of groundwater recharge in a region that is undergoing
urbanization. What procedures might you suggest to the city council to mitigate any
potentially harmful effects?
Urbanizations have considerate impacts on the hydrology cycle. For instance, the rapid
growth of urban centers reduces the effects of both the quality and quantity of water. In terms of
quantity, there is a significant volume of polluted water produced in the city. Wakode, Baier, Jha
& Azzam (2018) argues that the development of cities is characterized by massive works that
collapse the soil structure. Activities such as road building, house building, uprooting of the
indigenous vegetation and change of the topography affect soil arrangement. As a result, the soil
structure fails to filters the highly polluted water; hence some contaminants reach the water table.
Also, due to high populations, a lot of wastewater is produced in comparison to the fresh water

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required to dilute the concentrations of several contaminants. As a result, a lot of contaminated
penetrate the soil layers and pollute the water table.
On the other hand, the quantity of water recharge in urban cities is relatively low.
Wakode, Baier, Jha & Azzam (2018) claims that due to the rapid development of houses in urban
centers, the soil surface area decreases significantly. Also, the amount of run-off water also
decreases due to increased demand and collection of stormwater to serve huge populations and
industries. Therefore, the amount of water undergoing the recharge process decreases
significantly compared to the amount of water discharged for a municipal utility. The result of
this high discharge of water compared to the recharge ratio causes underground water overdraft.
There are several ways to mitigate the effect of urban growth and its impact on the
underground waters. First, the municipal council should regulate the rate of discharge of the
underground water not to exceed the rate of recharge. In this regard, the municipals should focus
on harvesting stormwater and treat it to serve people and industries (Bhaskar et al., 2016).
Another mitigation measure to protect underground water is by regulating the wastewater level
of contaminations. For example, industrial waste should undergo the treatment process to ensure
that stabilization of the reactive materials before releasing it to water bodies. Other regulations
should get enacted to protect the wetlands and some areas within the cities from maintaining it
natural thus increase the surface area for recharge. Domestic wastewater may undergo physical,
biological and or chemical treatment process and get recycled to serve people (Bhaskar et al.,
2016). As a result, the amount of water discharged from the underground decreases significantly
thus protecting it from depletion. The other recommendation requires sourcing water from other
water sources such as rivers and lakes (Bhaskar et al., 2016). As such, the municipal may utilize
water from rivers, dams, and lakes in order to reduce the dependence on underground water.

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Q. 8
V= KI/n.
V =>is the velocity of water
K =>refers to the hydraulic conductivity 5m/day
I=> is the horizontal hydraulic gradient
n=> stands for the effective porosity
Velocity = K (hydraulic head)/ length
Velocity = (5m/day) X (10m/2000m)
Velocity = (5m/day)X (0.005)
Apparent velocity = 0.025m per day.
Q. (9)
Darcy’s law Q=-KA (dh/dI)
Where Q = rate of water flow
K= hydraulic conductivity
A= cross section area
dh/di is the hydraulic gradient = 10 ft per mile which implies 10 ft per 5280 ft.
Q= (400 ft/day) ( 5280 ft x 3.281ft) (10ft/5280ft )

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Q= 400X 0.001894x 17318.4
Q=13120.42 ft3/day
Q= (13120.42 X0.0283168) M3/ day
Q=371.5283 M3/ day

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References
Ayres, A. B., Edwards, E. C., & Libecap, G. D. (2017). How transaction costs obstruct collective
action: Evidence from California’s groundwater (No. w23382). National Bureau of
Economic Research.
Bhaskar, A. S., Beesley, L., Burns, M. J., Fletcher, T. D., Hamel, P., Oldham, C. E., & Roy, A.
H. (2016). Will it rise or will it fall? Managing the complex effects of urbanization on
base flow. Freshwater Science, 35(1), 293-310.
Folkman, S. (2018). Water main break rates in the USA and Canada: A comprehensive study.
Gies, E. (2014). California's Underground Water War. Retrieved from
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/californias-epic-water-wars/
379294/
Greene, R., Timms, W., Rengasamy, P., Arshad, M., & Cresswell, R. (2016). Soil and aquifer
salinization: toward an integrated approach for salinity management of groundwater.
In Integrated Groundwater Management (pp. 377-412). Springer, Cham.
Gupta. S. (2015). Canada Freshwater. Retrieved from https://www.alive.com/lifestyle/canadas-’
freshwater/
Piccinini, L., Fabbri, P., & Pola, M. (2016). Point dilution tests to calculate groundwater
velocity: an example in a porous aquifer in northeast Italy. Hydrological Sciences
Journal, 61(8), 1512-1523.
Turner, F. J. (2018). The significance of the frontier in American history. Charles River Editors
via PublishDrive.

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Wakode, H. B., Baier, K., Jha, R., & Azzam, R. (2018). Impact of urbanization on groundwater
recharge and urban water balance for the city of Hyderabad, India. International Soil and
Water Conservation Research, 6(1), 51-62.