9/4/2017 Appendix C: Finding Underground Water

Appendix C
Finding Underground Water
C-1: Hydrological cycle
C-2: Groundwater
C-3: Groundwater movement
C-4: Tropical hydrogeology
C-5: References

People can not exist without good water. Drinking water is obtained
from two main sources: surface water and groundwater. These sources
are connected by the hydrological cycle.

C-1: Hydrological Cycle

The water (hydrological) cycle is the continuous circulation of water

between land, air and ocean (see Figure 18). The cycle has no
beginning or end. Radiation from the sun evaporates water from rivers,
lakes and oceans. The water vapour rises, collects to form clouds and
then falls back to earth as precipitation (rain, hail, sleet or snow).

When precipitation falls on land, some of the water runs off into the
lakes and rivers, some is evaporated back into the atmosphere, some is
adsorbed by plant roots and re-enters the atmosphere by a process
known as transpiration (evapotranspiration), and some of the water
infiltrates into the soil. This recharge water is known as groundwater.
Groundwater moves slowly through the subsurface into rivers and
oceans where it is evaporated to complete the hydrological cycle.
Groundwater makes up 97% of the world's freshwater available for
human use, is found almost everywhere and it is of relatively good
quality in most areas (see Table 12).

C-2: Groundwater

Water infiltrates downward until it reaches a depth where water fills all
of the openings in soil and cracks in rock. This is called the saturated
zone. The top of the saturated zone is called the water table (see
Figure 18). The depth to the water table depends on the nature of the
geological materials and the slope of the land surface. During rainy
seasons the water table rises; during the dry season it falls.

Water occurs in all geologic materials; if enough openings are

interconnected, water can move in appreciable quantities and the
http://www.lifewater.ca/drill_manual/Appendix_C.htm 1/9
9/4/2017 Appendix C: Finding Underground Water

deposit is called an aquifer. Aquifers may be found in the bedrock and

in the overburden overlying the bedrock.

Bedrock aquifers derive their permeability from joints, bedding planes,

fractures and solution channels. The yield of bedrock aquifers is highly
variable, depending on the width and interconnectedness of fractures.
While water can usually be found within rocks, it is hard to predict the
depth of yield of this water. Many Lifewater wells have been
sucessfully drilled in limestone or andstone.

Overburden aquifers are deposits of sand or gravel which are of

sufficient extent and permeability to store and transmit water and are
readily recharged by percolating water from the surface (see Figure
19). Saturated sand and gravel yields lots of water; fine sand or silt
formations yield water more slowly. When the upper limit of an aquifer
is the top of the saturated zone (water table), the aquifer is called a
water-table or unconfined aquifer (see Figure 19). Even where
surficial soils are low yielding clays (aquitards), good water bearing
aquifers are often found at the overburden/ bedrock interface.

Figure 18: The Hydrologic Cycle

An aquifer that is overlain by material through which water cannot

easily pass (aquiclude) is called an unconfined aquifer (see Figure
19). Water in confined aquifers is under pressure caused by the weight
of the confining materials, the elevation differences in the aquifer, and
the restriction in movement of water in the aquifer. When a well is
drilled into a confined aquifer, water rises in the well to a point
somewhere above the top of the aquifer (piezometric surface).
Sometimes the pressure is so high that water rises to ground surface and
wells overflow.

Figure 19: Unconfined and Confined Aquifers

http://www.lifewater.ca/drill_manual/Appendix_C.htm 2/9
9/4/2017 Appendix C: Finding Underground Water

When a well is pumped, the water table is lowered forming a cone of

depression (see Figure 20). The shape of the cone is determined by the
pumping rate of the well and the permeability of the rocks surrounding
the well.

Figure 20: Cone of Depression

As water is withdrawn, the aquifer must eventually be replenished to

keep producing. Water table aquifers are usually recharged from local
sources of precipitation. Confined aquifers, however, frequently
receive recharge many miles from the well.

The residence time of groundwater (the amount of time water spends

underground), varies from a few days to thousands of years.
Groundwater moves at a very slow rate, usually much less than 1 metre
per day (see Table 12).

Table 12: Surface Water vs. Groundwater Characteristics

Surface Water Groundwater
http://www.lifewater.ca/drill_manual/Appendix_C.htm 3/9
9/4/2017 Appendix C: Finding Underground Water

Understanding Easily seen & observed Invisible, mysterious,

complex.
Where Found Streams, rivers, lakes etc. Everywhere beneath the
surface in layers of sand,
gravel, clay or cracked rock.
Rarely forms underground
"streams" or "lakes"
Availability Active groundwater systems account for 95% of the world's
available freshwater! (Freeze & Cherry, 1985)
Uses Drinking water, food (fish, Drinking water, energy,
trapping, rice etc), maintaining flow in surface
transportation, bird/animal water courses.
habitat, power, aesthetics
and spiritual health.
Flow Downhill Usually from high to low
Direction elevations.
Flow Rate Fast (metres/second) Slow (metres per year)
Quantity Easy to assess. Drilling and pumping. Lots of
(yield) Supply problems rare. water in sand and gravel or
heavily fractured rock. Low
yields in silt and clay or
unfractured rock.
Quality Low dissolved (soft, low High dissolved (hard, high
iron) iron)
High organics Low organics
Temperature changes Constant, cool temp
Mud, clay, algae No suspended solids
Consistency Changes with seasons Constant over time
Safety Variable bacteria/virus Safe because of filtration and
counts natural purification processes
Treatment Continuous chlorination Initial chlorination
Cost High Low
Contamination Easily contaminated Not easily contaminated.
Risk
Contamination Natural breakdown by sun, Clean-up difficult or
Remediation air, mixing etc. impossible; May take many
decades.

The earth filters and purifies water moving through it. Since
groundwater is protected by earth, it is far less vulnerable to
contamination than the water in rivers and lakes (see Table 12).

As water moves through the ground, it dissolves minerals from soil and
rock. In general, groundwater from deep sand or rock layers contains
http://www.lifewater.ca/drill_manual/Appendix_C.htm 4/9
9/4/2017 Appendix C: Finding Underground Water

more minerals than water from shallow deposits. Because the water has
travelled a greater distance underground, it has had more time to slowly
dissolve minerals. Sometimes leached iron gives groundwater a strong
red colour and bitter "mineral" taste (see Table 12). Although this may
be unpleasant, the water is potable (safe to drink). Sometimes,
however, safe water supplies are not used because the water is "cold" or
has "no taste" or a "bad taste" (UN, 1981).

C-3: Groundwater Movement

There are two fundamental components to groundwater movement:

1. water flows downhill (hydraulic gradient): Water always moves

downward due to the potential energy from gravity. Just like a
stream can not flow up a hill, groundwater only flows from areas
of high groundwater levels to areas of low groundwater levels.
2. Water flows through open spaces (hydraulic conductivity):
groundwater can only move through interconnected spaces. Water
has the potential to move rapidly through subsurface materials
which has many open, interconnected spaces (ie., coarse sand,
fissured sandstone). Conversely, clay and bedrock generally have
poor water transmitting characteristics.

C-4: Tropical Hydrogeology

As shown on Figure 21, the bedrock over much of Africa are

Precambrian formations which are dominated by relatively
impermeable crystalline rocks such as granites, schists, quartzites, and
gneisses (Houston, 1995). In these rocks, it is often necessary to drill
60-80 metres deep, wells often yield less than 2 m3/day and it is often
necessary to pump from considerable depths (Dijon, 1981).
Groundwater which does move through these rocks is concentrated in
geological structures such as faults, shear zones and joint systems.

Figure 21: Generalized distribution of Rocks in Africa

http://www.lifewater.ca/drill_manual/Appendix_C.htm 5/9
9/4/2017 Appendix C: Finding Underground Water

Sedimentary rocks (sandstone) are usually more permeable than

crystalline (igneous or metamorphic) rocks. As shown on Figure 21,
there are large sedimentary basins in central Africa. Local sedimentary
deposits may exist along major rivers, lakes and ocean coasts.

In tropical environments, rock breaks down quickly, producing a zone

of weathered material called saprolite or laterite. Surface soils are often
underlain by a red-brown silty clay which does not function as a good
aquifer (Selby, 1985). This material often grades into a silty sand
containing some rounded fragments of unweathered rock (corestones).
These deposits can yield significant quantities of water if coarser-
grained materials are present. Corestones become larger and less
rounded with depth until unweathered bedrock is encountered.

In humid tropical regions, complex saprolite profiles develop (Selby,

1985):

http://www.lifewater.ca/drill_manual/Appendix_C.htm 6/9
9/4/2017 Appendix C: Finding Underground Water

a 0 to 2 m thick SOIL ZONE containing hard, dark red nodules in

a sandy soil;
a 1 to 10 m thick CRUST of reddish or brown blocks formed of
cemented, hardened iron-rich nodules with tube-like cavities filled
with red or ochre clay. Most minerals, except iron and aluminum
oxides, have been leached from the crust;
a 1 to 10 m thick MOTTLED ZONE of white kaolinitic clay
with patches (mottles) of yellowish oxides. This zone is strongly
leached and weathered;
a 5 to 30 m thick PALLID ZONE of bleached kaolinitic clay;
a WEATHERED ZONE up to 60 m thick which consists of
deeply weathered rock still containing original rock structures;
UNWEATHERED BEDROCK. Since the bedrock surface is
generally far beneath the surface, few wells in tropical regions are
drilled into pristine, unweathered bedrock.

As shown in Figure 22, groundwater is often found near the active

weathering front, where permeabilities are higher than in the
overlying, clay-rich soils and underlying unweathered bedrock. The
underlying rock acts as an aquiclude, trapping groundwater in the
immediately overlying weathering front (Key, 1992). As a result, the
goal of many well drilling programs in humid tropical regions is
to drill wells into the upper 1 - 3 m (5 - 10 ft) of weathered rock.
Figure 23 shows areas in Africa where these weathered zone aquifers
can be found.

Typically, yields are highest where the weathering front is located over
highly fractured bedrock in fault zones or adjacent to dikes which
intrude along fracture zones; these are also the areas of deepest
weathering. Astier and Paterson (1987) found that well yields were
inversely related to distance from interpreted faults or dikes for a
distance of 3 km (1.86 mi); i.e., closer to structure = higher yield).

Weathering process result in the development of permeable sandy soils

between valleys, fine sands with clay on valley sides and poorly drained
clay soils in the valley bottoms (Farquharson and Bullock, 1992).
Rainfall tends to pass quickly into the upper sandy soils but reaches
layers of reduced permeability at relatively shallow depths (often at the
top of the weathered saprolite layer). Thus, while runoff is initially
down into the soil, lower permeability at shallow depths produces
lateral throughflow downslope towards the valley bottom (Farquharson
and Bullock, 1992).

Figure 22: Weathered Zone Well Yield with Depth

http://www.lifewater.ca/drill_manual/Appendix_C.htm 7/9
9/4/2017 Appendix C: Finding Underground Water

Figure 23: Location of Weathered Zone Aquifers in Africa

C-5: References

Astier, J. and N. Patterson (1987). Hydrogeological Interest of

Aeromagnetic Maps in Crystalline and Metamorphic Areas. In:

http://www.lifewater.ca/drill_manual/Appendix_C.htm 8/9
9/4/2017 Appendix C: Finding Underground Water

Exploration '87 Proceedings, Applications of Geophysics and

Geochemistry, pp. 732-745.

Dijon, R. (1981) "Groundwater Exploration in Crystalline Rocks in

Africa", Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, May
11-15, 1981.

Farquharson, F. and A. Bullock (1992) "The Hydrology of Basement

Complex Regions of Africa with Particular Reference to Southern
Africa", pp. 59-76 in Wright, E. and Burgess, W. (eds) Hydrogeology of
Crystalline Basement Aquifers in Africa, Geological Society Special
Publication No. 66, London.

Freeze, A. and J. Cherry (1985) Groundwater, Prentice-Hall,

Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

Houston, J. (1995). Exploring Africa's groundwater Resources.

International groundwater Technology, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 29-32.

Key, R. (1992) "An Introduction to the Crystalline Basement of Africa",

pp. 29-57 in Wright, E. and Burgess, W. (eds) Hydrogeology of
Crystalline Basement Aquifers in Africa, Geological Society Special
Publication No. 66, London.

Selby, M.J. (1985). Earth's Changing Surface. Clarendon Press, Oxford,

607pp.

United Nations (1981) "Rural Water Supply", UN Dept. of Technical

Cooperation for Development, Report of a United Nations Interregional
Seminar, Uppsala, Swede, 6-17 October, 1980.

Choose Another Well Construction Module:

Go to the Well Construction Tutorial Go

http://www.lifewater.ca/drill_manual/Appendix_C.htm 9/9