{"id":3184,"date":"2019-07-30T18:35:59","date_gmt":"2019-07-30T18:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/?post_type=part&#038;p=3184"},"modified":"2019-07-30T18:35:59","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T18:35:59","slug":"chapter-14-groundwater","status":"publish","type":"part","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/part\/chapter-14-groundwater\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 14 Groundwater","rendered":"Chapter 14 Groundwater"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Learning Objectives<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\nAfter reading this chapter, completing the exercises within it, and answering the questions at the end, you should be able to:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Explain the concepts of porosity and permeability and the importance of these to groundwater storage and movement<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Describe the relative porosities and permeabilities of some common geological materials<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Define aquifers, aquitards, confining layers, and the differences between confined and unconfined aquifers<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Explain the concepts of hydraulic head, the water table, potentiometric surface, and hydraulic gradient, and apply the Darcy equation for estimating groundwater flow<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Describe the flow of groundwater from recharge areas to discharge areas<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Describe the nature of groundwater flow in karst systems<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Explain how wells are used to extract groundwater and the implications of over-pumping a well<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Describe how observation wells are used to monitor groundwater levels and the importance of protecting groundwater resources<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Distinguish between natural and anthropogenic contamination of groundwater<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Describe some of the ways that groundwater can become contaminated, and how contamination can be minimized<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_850\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"400\"]<a href=\"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2015\/08\/limestone-cave-on-Quadra-Island.jpg\"><img class=\"wp-image-850\" alt=\"Figure 14.1 A spring flowing from a limestone cave on Quadra Island, B.C. [SE] \" src=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2016\/07\/limestone-cave-on-Quadra-Island.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a> Figure 14.1 A spring flowing from a limestone cave on Quadra Island, B.C. [SE][\/caption]As we saw in Chapter 13, fresh water makes up only 3% of the water on Earth. Approximately two-thirds of that is glacial ice and most of the rest is groundwater. We can\u2019t live without water, and it\u2019s easy to see that groundwater represents a critically important component of our water supply. Groundwater is not as easily accessed as surface water, but it is also not as easily contaminated as surface water. If more than 7 billion of us want to continue living comfortably here on Earth, we have to take great care of our groundwater and learn how to use it sustainably.","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Learning Objectives<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p>After reading this chapter, completing the exercises within it, and answering the questions at the end, you should be able to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Explain the concepts of porosity and permeability and the importance of these to groundwater storage and movement<\/li>\n<li>Describe the relative porosities and permeabilities of some common geological materials<\/li>\n<li>Define aquifers, aquitards, confining layers, and the differences between confined and unconfined aquifers<\/li>\n<li>Explain the concepts of hydraulic head, the water table, potentiometric surface, and hydraulic gradient, and apply the Darcy equation for estimating groundwater flow<\/li>\n<li>Describe the flow of groundwater from recharge areas to discharge areas<\/li>\n<li>Describe the nature of groundwater flow in karst systems<\/li>\n<li>Explain how wells are used to extract groundwater and the implications of over-pumping a well<\/li>\n<li>Describe how observation wells are used to monitor groundwater levels and the importance of protecting groundwater resources<\/li>\n<li>Distinguish between natural and anthropogenic contamination of groundwater<\/li>\n<li>Describe some of the ways that groundwater can become contaminated, and how contamination can be minimized<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_850\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-850\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2015\/08\/limestone-cave-on-Quadra-Island.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-850\" alt=\"Figure 14.1 A spring flowing from a limestone cave on Quadra Island, B.C. [SE]\" src=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2016\/07\/limestone-cave-on-Quadra-Island.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-850\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 14.1 A spring flowing from a limestone cave on Quadra Island, B.C. [SE]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As we saw in Chapter 13, fresh water makes up only 3% of the water on Earth. Approximately two-thirds of that is glacial ice and most of the rest is groundwater. We can\u2019t live without water, and it\u2019s easy to see that groundwater represents a critically important component of our water supply. Groundwater is not as easily accessed as surface water, but it is also not as easily contaminated as surface water. If more than 7 billion of us want to continue living comfortably here on Earth, we have to take great care of our groundwater and learn how to use it sustainably.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"menu_order":14,"template":"","meta":{"pb_part_invisible":false,"pb_part_invisible_string":""},"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-3184","part","type-part","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/part"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3185,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3184\/revisions\/3185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=3184"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=3184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}