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Hydraulic Head,
• and consists of 3 components: • Often, the kinetic energy due to the flowing
• (1) a velocity head, groundwater is small. Typical groundwater
• (2) an elevation head, and flow rates are about 30 m/y which is about
• (3) a pressure head.
10-6 m/s.
• Each of these terms is characterized by Bernouli’s
equation:
• Therefore, we can safely drop the kinetic
v2 P term from the hydraulic head equation to
h= + z+
2g gρ obtain:
• g=gravity (L/T2)
• z=elevation of water mass above a reference elevation (L)
• v=velocity (L/T) P
• ρ for density of water (m/V ) h= z+
• P=pressure (M/LT2; pascals, N/m2) ρg
1
Hydraulic head measured in a well
How do we measure hydraulic head? in a confined aquifer
Hydraulic Head
measured in wells in an unconfined aquifer Groundwater flows from
high to low total hydraulic head
Well 1 Well 2
Land surface • Groundwater flows from areas of high total
Water Tabl
hydraulic head to areas of low total hydraulic
e head.
Groundwater flow • Groundwater does not necessarily flow from areas
h1total
h2total
hp2
hp1 hp2
hp1
z1 z2
z1 z2
2
With only 3 wells,
Groundwater flows in three Map View Potentiometric contours
Can only be straight lines.
dimensions.
First cut assumption is that
• It is often difficult for us to display Groundwater flow is
groundwater flow in three dimensions, Perpendicular to
Potentiometric contours
therefore, we often look in two dimensions (Only true for a homogeneous,
as in a cross-section or in map view or both. Isotropic aquifer)
Need a minimum of 3
Wells to obtain a
Horizontal groundwater
Flow direction.
• For a water table map it is important that the wells are screened across the water table
of surface. Also that the wells be from the same aquifer, and are not sampling multiple
aquifers.
ENP (m) • Only horizontal gradients can be obtained from a water table map.
• At least three wells are needed to determine both groundwater flow direction and
gradient.
• This map can also be used to determine areas of groundwater recharge and discharge.
3
Hydraulic gradient Hydraulic Gradient
• Hydraulic gradient is the change in head
over a distance.
• Hydraulic gradient, dh/dl or (i) can be
estimated from 3 or 4 wells. ha
Datum h=0
4
Groundwater-
Groundwater flow to a stream
surface water interactions
A B C
Surface elevation=225 m
Measured from mean 60 m
Sea level 77 m
80m
75m
• Elevation head is the height of the measuring point above the datum. The elevation at the bottom of
the well.
• Question 1. Three wells are placed side by side at varying depths in the same
• It is the difference in the total head divided by the vertical distance between the bottom of two
aquifer as shown on the following figure. You know that the elevation of the piezometers.
ground surface at each well is 225 m.
• What is the total hydraulic head at A, B, and C? • Between A to B, (148 m - 145 m)/(150-100) = 3m/50m=0.06 downward
• Between B to C, (165 m - 148 m)/(100-75) = 17m/25m= 0.68 downward
• What is the pressure head in each of the wells?
• What is the elevation head in each well?
• What is the vertical hydraulic gradient between the piezometers?
5
Head of variable Density
• Remember that the pressure at the bottom of the • Point water head is the water level in a well
well is related to the density of the water filled with water coming from a point in an
aquifer, and which is just enough to balance
the pressure in the aquifer at that point.
• P=ρghp
P1=ρsghp
\
Now, let’s assume that the water in
the well is now filled with fresh-
water, its pressure would be • In a fresh water aquifer, all point-water heads are fresh-
defined as:
water heads, and no correction is necessary.
hp hf P2=ρfghf
• In an aquifer of variable salinity, correction of point-water
heads to an equivalent fresh-water head needs to be made
Since the pressures P1 and P2
represent the same point in the
to obtain hydraulic gradients.
aquifer, basically the bottom of the
well, then P1=P2., so
• This works best in determining vertical gradients.
ρsghp=ρfghf
rearranging to solve for hf, the
• For theoretical reasons, in regions of lateral variations of
equivalent fresh-water head: salinity, the correction can not be used to determine the
hydraulic gradient.
hf = (ρs/ρf)hp