Groundwater Resource Development

Book excerpt: Groundwater Resource Development describes the basic steps involved in the development of a groundwater resource in the search for productive aquifers. This book discusses groundwater exploration, construction and testing of water wells, water quality and pollution considerations, and groundwater management. This text is comprised of 10 chapters and begins by presenting the steps in the evaluation, development, and management of an aquifer for water supply. The reader is then introduced to the fundamentals of groundwater, with emphasis on their origin and occurrence as well as the influence of porosity and permeability on groundwater accumulation, migration, and distribution. The chapters that follow focus on groundwater exploration, assessment of aquifer recharge and potential well yield, and factors affecting the quality of groundwater. The issues to be considered in well design and construction are also highlighted, along with aquifer hydraulics and pumping tests, groundwater pollution, and optimum management of groundwater resources. This text concludes with a chapter on techniques used in modeling the response of a groundwater reservoir. This book will be of value to geologists, civil engineers, environmental scientists, mathematicians, chemists, water well contractors, and others involved in the profession of water engineering.