Groundwater Hydrology Engineering, Planning and Management

Preface: The demand for freshwater is increasing as the world’s population continues to grow and expects higher standards of living.

Water conservation, better systems’ opera- tion, higher end use, and water allocation efficiencies have not been able to offset the growing demand. Many societies are struggling to bring supply and demand to a sustainable level. Although water is abundant on earth, freshwater accounts only for about 2.5% of global water reserves. Out of this amount, approximately 30% is stored as groundwater and the same amount is on the surface as rivers and lakes; the remaining reserves are held in glaciers, ice caps, soil moisture, and atmospheric water vapor. 

Groundwater is a source of vital natural flow. In arid and semiarid areas, groundwater may represent 80% or more of the total water resources. The public has a perception of groundwater as a reliable, clean, and virtually unlimited source of water supply. Even though there could be exceptions, it is a dependable source almost everywhere in the world. 

The term “groundwater” is usually used for subsurface water that is located below the water table in saturated soils and geological formations. Groundwater is an important element of the environment; it is a part of the hydrologic cycle, and an understanding of its role in this cycle is necessary if integra ted analyses ought to be promoted. 

Aquifers and watershed resources are two inseparable media for regional assessment of water and contamination movement, as well as soil–water interaction. Water enters the formation of the earth from the ground surface by natural or artificial recharge. Within the subsurface, water moves slowly downward through unsaturated zones under the force of gravity and in saturated zones in the direction determined by the hydraulic gradient. 

It is discharged naturally to the streams and lakes or as a spring or by transpiration from plants. It can also be discharged by pumping from wells. Storage of groundwater could be significantly beneficial com- pared to surface storage, which may require massive infrastructure and is subject to considerable evaporation. In this book, a compilation of the state-of-the-art subjects and techniques in the education and practice of groundwater are presented. 

The materials are described in a systematic and integrated fashion useful for undergraduate and graduate students and practitioners. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to different aspects of groundwater science, engineering, planning, and management. It discusses the concepts of integration, sustainability, and public participation with an emphasis on laws and regulations governing groundwater operation and management. 

Chapter 2 presents an overview of general concepts on the occurrence of ground- water as a part of the hydrologic cycle. The basic definitions of subsurface water and aquifers are discussed in this chapter. The occurrence of groundwater in karst areas and karst aquifers is also explained. Chapter 3 discusses groundwater hydrology and the basic laws of groundwater movement.


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