UNIT 3

GROUNDWATER EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION TECHNIQUES

Common sequence followed in groundwater investigation is:
1. Literature Review/Bench Work

2. Remote sensing studies :- for regional investigation

a. Uses Aerial photos,
b. Radar imageries and
c. Landsat imageries. Radar imageries:
 Lineament/Fracture analyses:
- length - frequency
- intersection - orientation

Intersection of long fractures

Long fractures
High frequency

3. Geological exploration: - follows remove sensing analysis. Difference rocks units are delineated
nosing their hydro geological structural and geomorphologic characters.

Geological field work

- ground-thruthing
- produce geo-section
 4. Geophysical investigation: - applied for combination of earlier obtained results, especially at depths.
Commonly used is Electrical resistivity (Induced potential) method.
Geophysical Investigation: - HEP & VES

HEP INTERPRETATIONS:
L/L; H/L; H/H; L/H

For HEP, Wenner arrangement is adopted

For VES, Schlumberger arrangement is used
4000

2000
VES-4
1000
800
600
400

200
Layer No. Thickness Resistivity
1 1m 600 ohm-m
100 2 2m 1,200 ohm-m
80
60 3 27m 500 ohm-m
4 # >1,300 ohm-m
40
4000

2000

1000
800
600 VES-3
400
( oh m -me t re s)

200 Layer No. Thickness Resistivity

1 1m 310 ohm-m
100 2 1m 62 ohm-m
80 3 6m 200 ohm-m
60 4 # >8,500 ohm-m
40
4000

2000
RE SIS TI VI TY

1,000
800
600 VES-2
400

200
Layer No. Thickness Resistivity
1 1m 2,700 ohm-m
100 2 1m 3,375 ohm-m
80
60 3 12m 680 ohm-m
4 # >3,750 ohm-m
A PPAR E NT

40
4000

2000
VES-1
1,000
800
600
400

200 Layer No. Thickness Resistivity

1 1m 2,800 ohm-m
100 2 8m 840 ohm-m
80 3 3m 170 ohm-m
60 4 # > 1,050 ohm-m
40
0.1 1 10 100 1,000
CURRENT ELECTRODE SPACING, AB/2 (metres)
 5. Drilling or direct investigation

WELL

What is a well?

A well is a hydraulic structure which, when properly designed and constructed permits the economic
withdrawal of water from a water-bearing formation. Successful wells are designed and built based on the
following considerations:

i) Use of materials that will provide an efficient well with a long service life.
ii) Use of techniques in drilling and well construction that take maximum advantage of the
hydrogeologic conditions.
iii) Application of the principles of hydraulics in a practical way to the analysis of wells and aquifer
performance.
 Individuals who design or construct wells must understand the fundamentals of well
hydraulics
 Some aspects of well hydraulics can be complicated and few engineers/hydrogeologists have
mastered all phases of the subject. In some cases, mathematicians have developed such
complex solutions for specific well and aquifer conditions that practical application of the
theory is nearly impossible in light of all the geologic and hydrologic uncertainties.
 Certain geologic and aquifer environments are so complex that reliable analytical solutions for
the flow patterns are almost unobtainable
  Given the complexity of the underground environment, only the most fundamental hydraulic
theories can be used successfully in everyday well design and construction. Remarkably, these
basic methods often yield accurate results in most cases without laborious calculations.
Well Construction
Water wells are commonly classified on the basis of their method of construction as follows:
a) Dug well - well dug by hand;
b) Driven or jetted well point - well driven or jetted;
c) Bored hole or drilled wells - well bored or drilled by earth auger or drilling rig

Dug, jetted and driven wells are limited to shallow depths, unconsolidated deposits and relatively small
yields. Drilling however is the only feasible approach for deeper, more productive wells in unconsolidated
deposits and for wells in consolidated had rocks. Selection of drilling methods depends on such factors as
follows:
(i) The purpose of the well;
(ii) The depth and diameter envisaged;
(iii)Economic factors;
(iv) Quantity of water required;
(v) The geologic setting or hydrogeologic environment.

Based on the afore-mentioned factors, well construction usually comprises the following distinct operations:
a) Drilling operations
b) Design operations
c) Development of well to ensure sand-free operation at optimal yield;
d) Completion operations

DRILLING OPERATIONS

Methods of Drilling
1. Cable-tool (or Standard percussion) drilling:- Involves forcing down, by banging, a pipe through the
action of a cutting end and (drilling bit or cutting shoe). Used in both consolidated and soft rock
areas. The drilling bits are of various hardness and can always be changed to suit the rock
encountered at depths. Undisturbed rock samples can be recovered for analysis. Water is normally
circulated to the cutting end to mix with rock cuttings forming a slurry which is removed at intervals
by a sand pump or bailer.

2. Hydraulic Rotary drilling:- Faster and cheaper than cable-tool drilling used in both hard and soft
forms. Method works by rotary action but only disturbed samples are obtained here. A cooling fluid,
bentonite (also called drilling mud) is circulated under pressure through the drill pipe for cooling the
drilling bit and washing out the drilled materials.

3. A combination of cable-tool and hydraulic rotary techniques also exists called rotary-percussion
drilling. It is the most modern method and also uses bentonite as drilling mud (fluid) but there some
that use compressed air as the drilling fluid (called Air or pneumatic Rotary- percussion drilling). Air
Rotary is used only in hard unsaturated formations. It is changed to conventional drilling liquid when
saturation is encountered.

4. Jet Drilling:- Involves jetting a stream of water under very high pressure through a pipe with nozzle
into the ground. Applicable only in soft rock formations which are unconsolidated.
 5. Auger boring:- Auger–type cutting blades are used for boring the rock with rotary motion and the
loosened materials are removed at intervals with the aid of a cylindrical bucket. Applicable in clayey
or soft rock formations only. Drilling becomes difficult below the water table.

6. Driven wells :- In soft formations free of boulders. Involves driving a string of pipes either manually
or mechanically down to desirable depth within the soft formation. The string of pipes will later be
pulled out and the well completed. Depth of penetration is limited and depends on nature of formation
-say maximum of about 25 meters because of friction and mass load effects.

Drilling Fluids
Primary drilling fluids used in the water well industry include water-based and air-based components.
(i) Water-based drilling fluid consists of a liquid phase, a suspended particle (colloidal phase) and
cuttings entrained during drilling.
(ii) Air-based drilling fluid may consist of only a dry air phase together with cuttings or some water with
surfactant (soap) to produce foam.

Apart from those primary fluids, a great variety of additives are available to modify their physical and
chemical properties for satisfactory performance. The most widely used drilling fluid is a suspension of
bentonitic clay in water known as drilling mud of bentonite.

Functions of a drilling fluid

The overall objective for the use of drilling fluid in water well construction is to ensure that maximum
information is gained from the borehole i.e. allowing good recovery of cuttings and proper lithologic logging
of the borehole. However, other primary functions of drilling fluid can be summarized as follows:
i. To cool and lubricate the drilling bit and drilling stem or string;
ii. To remove drilled cuttings from the borehole;
iii. To prevent caving of the borehole walls;
iv. To suspend cutting materials when circulation stops;
v. To release sand and cuttings at the surface i.e. in settling pit or sand trap;
vi. To assist in supporting part of the drilling strings weight;
vii. To control subsurface pressures;
viii. To prevent damage to permeable formations and prevent fluid loss through filter cake formed by the
fluid;
ix. To minimize vibrations of the drilling rods.

However, the performance of the above functions depends on various properties of the fluid (i.e. mud) and in
some cases, compromises are often necessary in form of additives.

DESIGN OPERATIONS

Generally, the design of a deep cased well in a unconsolidated aquifer includes the following operations:
i) Installation of casings and screens. The choice of the type of casings and screens has to be in
accordance with the mechanical stress and chemical behaviour of the tapped groundwater. The
screen length and the size of the screen slots are determined according to the grain-size distribution
and thickness of the aquifer;
ii) Placement of gravel layer or filter. In some cases, an artificial gravel pack is emplaced to improve the
intake property of the well. Placement of such gravel pack will not only ensure low entrance
resistance for the in-flowing water, it will also prevent fines from entering the well. Usually,
grain size of such filter material has to be chosen with respect to the grain size of the aquifer
materials. Such filter material should be well sorted, clean and contain 90 - 95% quartz grains (to
 avoid loss of volume due to possible dissolution of minerals) and have uniformity coefficient of
2.5 or less.

Fig. Common design of well completion

DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS

This is usually an important operation in screened well/hole involving flushing, surging or backwashing of
the fines out of the aquifer through the screen and up to the surface. Procedures designed to maximize well
yield are included in the term "well development". Development has two broad objectives:
i) To repair damage done to the formation by the drilling operations so that the natural hydraulic
properties are restored, and
ii) To alter the basic physical characteristics of the aquifer near the borehole so that water will flow more
freely to a well.
These objectives are accomplished by applying some form of energy to the screen and formation. Well
development is confined mainly to a zone immediately adjacent to the well, where the formation materials
have been disturbed by well construction procedures or adversely affected by the drilling fluid. In addition,
the undisturbed part of the aquifer just outside the damaged zone may be reworked physically during
development to improve its natural hydraulic properties. All new wells should be developed before being put
into production to achieve sand-free water at the highest possible specific capacity.
Benefits of Development Procedures
i) Reduction in compaction and intermixing of grain sizes produced during drilling by removing fine
materials from the pore spaces.
ii) Increasing the natural porosity and permeability of the previously undisturbed formation near the
well bore by selectively removing the finer fraction of aquifer material. For the case of wells without
gravel pack, such development operation will ensure the creation of a relatively well-sorted and
permeable zone of natural gravel pack around the in-take portion of the well, which will allow for
easy in-flow of groundwater with low resistance velocity.
iii) Flushing or backwashing operation after placement of gravel layer is of great importance due to the
fact that it will ensure sorting and proper rearrangement of such gravel layer around the well/screen
thereby ensuring the proper functioning of the filter layer and in essence the efficiency/performance
of the whole system.
iv) Removal of the filter cake or drilling fluid film that coats the borehole, and removal of much or all
of the drilling fluid and natural formation solids that have invaded the formation.
v) Creation of a graded zone of sediment around the screen in a naturally developed well thereby
stabilizing the formation so that the well will yield sand-free water. Some stabilization of the
formation can also be achieved in a filter pack well as long as the filter pack thickness is about
20.3cm or less.
The ultimate result of proper well development is to provide sand-free water at maximum specific
capacity.

Factors Affecting Development Operations

i) Well completion method
ii) Drilling fluid type
iii) Type of formation
iv) Filter pack thickness
v) Open area and slot configuration and size

Pumping and recovery tests are carried out for the development of the well. This means the determination of
the aquifer parameters S, T and K for the calculation of optimum well yield, etc. Well development is also
used to open up all the blocked pore spaces (e.g. spaces that were blocked by drilling impact during well
construction).

handle

cone

COMPLETION OPERATIONS

The well completion operations involve,

(i) Cementation,
 (ii) Grouting
(iii)Surface housing
In certain cases, cementing of well is employed to seal wells, protecting them against contamination through
surface water. Also, surface housing with pumping equipment may also be needed. In addition, as part of the
final completion procedure, aquifer/pumping tests are usually carried out in order to estimate or predict
hydraulic head drawdown in the well or aquifer. Through such tests, aquifer and well parameters such as
storage coefficient and transmissivity can be estimated. Also, possible interactions between the groundwater
exploitation and the local/regional hydrologic system can be assessed. Such assessment will ensure effective
management of the groundwater resources.

Furthermore, chemical analysis of the water sample is an important component of the completion process
not only in terms of the water quality and usability, but also to erve as guide in respect of the appropriate
treatment needed if applicable. Selection of appropriate type and make of pump and other
installations/fittings will also depend on the chemical characters of the water (such as temperature,
aggressiveness, iron content etc.) which might affect the proper functioning or life span of such
fittings/installations.

Finally, as part of the management for long-term sustainable use of the groundwater resource, a periodic
maintenance and rehabilitation processes are also matters of necessity.

After drilling the hole, it is necessary to convert it to a yielding well to foster easy entrance and removal of
water. This is done by a process called well completion. It involves:
1. Casing of the well and also installation of screens. A casing is a blank pipe. Screens are perforated
casing through which water flow in to the well from the aquifer. Screens are installed within the well
at depths where one wants obtain its water – usually in most permeable and clean parts. The other
parts are cased off. Casing prevents caving of well sides.
2. Gravel Packing: This is the 2nd aspect to well completion. It is done to improve permeability around
the well. Sizes of particle grains to use depends on screen slot sizes. Recommended particle sizes
2mm- 3mm (2000µm - 3000µm)
3. Third aspect is grouting of necessary places for sanitary reasons. It prevents incursion of water from
polluted zones.

WELL MAINTENANCE AND REHABILITATION

Well Ageing
Every well has a limited life span, ranging from some months to even centuries. However, well ageing
becomes noticeable through a slow decrease in the discharge rate and increasing drawdown i.e. loss of
performance or even sudden collapse.

Factors Affecting Well Ageing

Important factors influencing well ageing are as follows:
i) The construction materials used
ii) The method of well construction
iii) The chemical constituents of the tapped groundwater
iv) The pumping behaviour of the well
v) The type of formation or rock surrounding the well i.e. aquifer type

Inspection and routine maintenance schedules designed on the basis of the individual characteristics of the
well and pumps are necessary to sustain well performance and prolong well life. Thus, well rehabilitation can
be defined as follows:
Well Rehabilitation: This is the restoration of a well to its most efficient condition by various treatments
(mechanical, chemical etc.) or reconstruction procedures depending on the causative problem(s) involved.

Effective maintenance programmes begin with well construction records showing geologic conditions, water
quality and pumping performance as well as such information/data like specific capacity, pumping water
level, pumping rate, total depth of the well, static water level, and quality aspects of the tapped groundwater.
These will serve as reference marks, expressing the perormance standard of the well as at the time of
completion.

A significant change in any of such conditions or parameters stated above indicate that either well or pump or
even both need attention. Experience had shown that if the specific capacity of a well declines by 25%
(independent of the general weather condition or regional decline in groundwater level), it is time to initiate a
rehabilitation procedure.

Major Causes of Deterioration in Well Performance

i) Incrustation: Well yield may be reduced by chemical incrustation or biofouling of the well screen
and formation materials around the in-take portion of the well by precipitation of materials such as
carbonates and sulphates of calcium and magnessium, compounds of iron and manganese (hydroxides
or hydrated oxides) and plugging caused by slime-producing iron bacteria or other slime-forming
organisms (bio-fouling). Incrustations often form hard, brittle, slimy deposits/scales in casings,
screens and adjacent formation materials.

Carbonate Incrustation
Calcium carbonate can be carried in solution in proportion to the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide
in the groundwater. The ability of water to hold carbon dioxide in solution varies with pressure - the
higher the pressure, the higher the concentration of carbon dioxide. When water is pumped from a
well, the water table is drawn down to produce the necessary gradient to cause water flow into the
well. Due to such gradient or pressure differential, some carbon dioxide is released from the water.
When this occurs, the water is often unable to carry its full load of dissolved calcium carbonate and
part of it is then precipitated onto the well screen and in the adjacent formation materials.

Magnesium bicarbonate changes to magnesium carbonate in the same manner when the carbon
dioxide is released.
Iron and manganese Incrustation
During pumping, velocity induced pressure changes can disturb the chemical equilibrium of the
groundwater and result in the deposition of insoluble iron and manganese hydroxides. These
hydroxides have the consistency of a gel, and harden over time into scale deposits

As shown above, of oxygen is introduced by aeration during pumping additional precipitation of

ferric hydroxide occurs.
ii) Corrosion: Generally, corrosion is known to be the attack of aggressive water on the
construction/installation material as well as the aquifer materials. However, this could be due to
chemical or electrochemical processes.
Chemical corrosion is caused by groundwater containing free aggressive CO2, O2, H2S, HCl, Cl or
H2SO4. In such waters, Fe may be deposited as iron oxide, thus corrosion and incrustation will occur
simultaneously.
Electrochemical corrosion is caused by flow of electric current, which facilitates the corrosive
attacks on metals. Usually, an electrical potential difference between two different kinds of metals or
 between separate parts/areas on the surface of the same metal may exist, which results in the creation
of anode and cathode areas: metal is removed from the anode. Two conditions for electrochemical
corrosion are:
 A difference in electrical potential on metal surface
 Water containing enough dissolved solids (high salinity) in order to be a conductive fluid
(electrolyte).
Forms of electrochemical corrosion include,
 Bimetallic corrosion of two different metals; creates a galvanic cell and corrosion occurs as
the electrochemical process proceeds.
 Selective corrosion; leaching of one metal of an alloy.
 Pitting corrosion: corrosion on the same metal surface due to creation of anode and cathode
areas.
 Stress corrosion or cracking: corrosion of mechanically highly stressed areas of a metal.
However, like chemical corrosion, the products (in electrochemical corrosion) may also be deposited at the
cathode e.g. ferric hydroxide or ferric oxide may result in blocked screen slot and reduced well yield.
Furthermore, the following are evidences of corrosion in general.
 Enlargement of screen slots and sand pumping
 Reduction of strength and failure of the screen/casing
 Possible in-flow of low quality water.

iii) Sanding-up and plugging: This is a situation where well pumps sand, a condition usually
attributable to poor well design or inadequate development. Two possibilities of sanding are:
(a) If filter grains or screen openings are too small, plugging of in-take area and reduction in
permeability will be the result
(b) If filter grains or screen openings are too large, washing of sand into the well and hence the
reduction in the depth and in extreme case damage to the pump will be the result.

iv) Pump Failure: although pump failure affects the well performance indirectly, it is frequently
observed that the pump rather than the well is faulty. Hence, it should be checked before starting any
extensive well repair. However, mistakes in the design and construction of the well can cause severe
damage to pump over time. For example,
 The impellers, impeller housing and pump shaft are susceptible to sand pumping;
 Corrosion of pump parts in low pH water
 Pump failure due to cavitations.
These and other related processes that can impede the proper functioning of the pump could reduce the
efficient life span of the pump and indirectly the performance of the well.

The decision to rehabilitate an old well or construct a new one can be extremely difficult. The key factors to
be considered are:
(a) The cost comparison
(b) The time required for rehabilitation and time to drill and put in place a new well;
(c) The projected life span of the new well;
(d) The economic life span of the old well after rehabilitation; and
(e) The cost of further use of the old well without performing any maintenance work.

Nonetheless, in most cases with the exception of severely corroded screens and casings, systematic well
rehabilitation using proper methods and materials can usually restore or may even increase the original
specific capacity.
Well Rehabilitation
If the well performance or capacity decreases with combined increase in drawdown, a check of possible
increase in entrance or general lowering of the groundwater table in the recharge area is needed. If no
external influences are recognizable, the well data from old and recent tests should be compared. Such
comparison will give insights to possible cause(s) of loss of performance and help in planning of appropriate
rehabilitation method(s) or procedures required. Such rehabilitation procedures can be outlined as follows:
(i) Television/photographic survey and reconstruction: This is more or less a general preliminary
procedure aimed at deciding on the possible cause(s) of loss of well performance and the possible
subsequent repair or reconstruction needed. Such survey may detect possible sanding-up, area of
poor casing connection, incomplete gravel packs, corroded/incrusted section within the well etc.
(ii) For sanding-up: sand deposit in a well can be carefully removed with the help of a simple valve
auger. Alternatively, a carefully operated airlift pump or compressed air-based flushing can be
employed to bail out the sand. Finally, washing-in of fines can also be prevented by proper
development of the well.
(iii) For corrosion: Corrosion can be minimized be selection of non-metallic well screens or one of
corrosion resistant metal (such as stainless steel) and by provision of cathode protection in the
case of electrochemical corrosion. One of such cathode protection is by introduction of a metal
low on the electrochemical scale that will be corroded instead of the well casing or screen.
Finally, if the damaged screen have sufficient diameter, it may be possible to install/insert gravel
packed liner/screen inside the screen, to prevent sand pumping. However, it should be noted that
most of repair works of screen pipes diminish the entrance area and increase the entrance
resistance consequently; the screen length is subjected to higher stress. Therefore, the discharge
rate has to be diminished.
(iv) For incrustation: Subsequent to chemical analysis of the water aimed at determining the nature of
incrusted deposits, blocked screens can be cleaned mechanically by brushing or shooting a string
of vibratory explosives in the well, as well as chemically using acids depending on the nature of
installation/construction materials. Such chemical treatments include the addition of HCl acid or
sulfamic acid (H2NSO3H) to the well, followed by subsequent mechanical treatment with a surge
plunger or an intensive agitation and cleaning (flushing) development. To include the entire
screen area and the gravel pack for chemical treatment, the amount of the acid/chemical should be
greater than the volume of the screen pipe. Furthermore, for the case of screens blocked by slime-
forming organisms, treatment with chlorine gas or Na/Ca-hypochlorite solutions is recommended
for cleaning.