Artificial ground water recharge with capillarity
Date
1977
Authors
Ortiz, Nestor, author
Longenbaugh, R. A., advisor
Sunada, D. K., advisor
McWhorter, D. B., committee member
Thompson, E. G., committee member
Zachmann, D. W., committee member
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Abstract
The effect of the capillary region on the transient response of the water table to recharge was studied. A two-dimensional model was developed to simulate growth of groundwater mounds when flow and storage in the capillary region are significant. The contribution from the capillary region was described analytically in terms of measurable soil properties and recharge rate. A series of laboratory experiments, simulating the spreading of groundwater mounds due to steady recharge from a narrow strip, was conducted. The adequacy of the numerical model in predicting mound height was verified by comparing its solution with the results obtained from the physical model. The numerical model was used to generate a series of solutions to determine the effect of bubbling pressure head, pore-size distribution index, initial saturated depth, depth to water table and recharge rate on predicted mound height. The results indicate that the effect of capillarity significantly influences the development of groundwater mounds. For practical cases where the initial saturated thickness is large, the influence of capillary storage is much more important than capillary flow. Directly beneath the recharge area, in-transit water has a significantly greater effect on capillary storage than the contributions from the static moisture content profile. The effect of the capillary region increases for decreasing pore-size distribution index, decreasing initial saturated depth and increasing recharge rate. Previously available solutions underestimate the growth of groundwater mounds by as much as 56 percent at least for the practical case analyzed.
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Subject
Artificial groundwater recharge
Capillarity