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C7. GROUNDWATER HYDROLOGY
(KUL-code: I748 (Th); I749 (Pr))
Lecturer: DE SMEDT F.
ECTS-credit: 5 pts
Contact hours: 30 hrs. of theory/30 hrs. of practical
Prerequisites: Hydraulics, Hydrology and Geology contents
Time and place: 2nd semester, 13 sessions of 3 hours each, K.U.Leuven
Course syllabus: Course notes are available
Evaluation: The exam is open book. The students are tested on their insight in fundamental
understanding of the material and their ability to interpret and process information
concerning groundwater occurrence and dynamics. The overall result is obtained as 2/3
on the exam and 1/3 of marks given on the exercises.
Comparable handbook: Freeze, R.A., and G.A. Cherry, 1979. Groundwater. Prentice Hall, Inc., 604 p.
Additional information: -
Learning objectives:
The goal of this course is to give the student a fundamental understanding of the principles and practical
applications of groundwater occurrence and behavior, such that the student can interpret observations in a
correct way, calculate and predict groundwater amounts and movement, and in general be able to manage
groundwater in a sustainable way.
Course description:
1. Fundamentals: groundwater and the hydrologic cycle; occurrence of underground water; basic properties as
porosity, water content, groundwater potential, flux and velocity; Darcy's law; measurement techniques for
groundwater potential and conductivity;
2. Natural groundwater flow: hydrogeological classification of ground layers; aquifer types; groundwater flow
systems; unsaturated zone; saturated groundwater flow and storage in artesian and phreatic aquifers and in
aquitards; the hydraulic groundwater flow approach and the flow net theory;
3. Groundwater abstraction techniques: advantages of groundwater use; wells and galleries; principles of well
flow as cone of depression, radius of influence, maximum and specific capacity; interference between wells
and aquifer boundaries; pumping test analysis; design of well fields; safe yield and groundwater
management;
4. Groundwater chemistry: groundwater chemical constituents and main processes; oxygen status and organic
matter decay in unsaturated and saturated groundwater layers; mineral dissolution and ion evolution cycle;
groundwater isotopes; groundwater pollution sources and major pollutants; measurement techniques and
interpretation and classification of water types; groundwater quality assessment and protection techniques;
Practical exercises:
- Analyses of field samples: determination of porosity, water content, density and hydraulic conductivity;
- Field measurement techniques: interpretation of slug tests in auger holes and piezometers;
- Calculations of groundwater flow in artesian and phreatic aquifers using piezometric readings;
- Flow net analyses using piezometric data and field reconnaissance for hydrogeological mapping and
interpretation;
- Analyses and interpretation of drawdown around pumping wells and pumping test experiments;
- Design of groundwater pumping wells and well fields; and
- Interpretation of hydro-geochemical data: Stiff and Piper diagrams, classification of water types and
identification of chemical evolution.
Complementary studies in Water Resources Engineering / 12