WSP06416

• File Number: 8027
• Description: Section D General Correspondence - Federal Agencies - USDA - Agricultural Research-Service
• State: CO
• Basin: Statewide
• Date: 8/1/1975
• Author: USDA
• Title: Field Observations of Transient Ground Water Mounds Produced by Artificial Recharge into an Unconfined Aquifer
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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period of rise in the hydrograph. However, if the mound volume is small J:ela-
tive to the drainable volume held in the vadose zone beneath the pond, contin-
ued drainage after spreading has ceased can greatly influence the falling hydro-
graph.
Although the assumption of a uniform value for V equal to that obtained by
the well test gives reasonable theoretical estimates of the hydrograph directly
beneath the pond, its use in the evaluation of water table elevations away from
the plot boundaries leads to error. A separate estimate of V is required where
the water table is moving up into drained soil or the equilibrium capi1laJ:Y
fringe.
The assumption that the initial shape of the falling mound was that of a
disk was not too restrictive. If these mounds are plotted to 1:1 scale, their
relief appears slight (12).
In summary, narrowing the discrepancy between theory and field observation
appears to depend more on improved field definition of flow and storage J:espon-
ses within the vadose zone and below the water table at individual recharge
sites than on any further refinements in the flow theory and its mathematical
treatment.

LITERATURE CITED

(1) Baumann, P.
1952. Ground water movement controlled through spreading. Amer. Soc. Civ.
Engin. Trans. 117: 1024-1074.

(2) Bianchi, W. C., and Haskell, E. E., Jr.
1966. Air in the vadose zone as it affects water movements beneath a re-
charge basin. Water Resources Res. 2: 315-322.

(3) Bittinger, M. W., and Trelease, F. J.
1965. The development and dissipation of a ground-water mound beneath a
spreading basin. Amer. Soc. Agr. Engin. Trans. 15: 103-106.

(4) Bouwer, Herman.
1962. Analyzing ground-water mounds by resistance network. Amer. Soc.
Civ. Engin. Proc. 88(IR3): 15-36.

(5)

1965. Limitation of Dupuit-Forschheimer assumption in recharge and seep-
age. Amer. Soc. Agr. Engin. Trans. 8: 512-515.

(6) Carslaw, H. S., and Jaeger, J. C.
1959. Conduction of heat in solids. Ed. 2, 510 pp. Oxford University
Press, London.

(7) Dupuit, J.
1863. Etudes theoriques et pratiques sur Ie mouvement des eaux dans 1es
canau decouverts et a travers les terrains permeables. Ed. 2, 304
pp. Dunod, Paris.

(8) Ferris, J. C., Knowles, D. B., Brown, R. H., and Stallman, R. W.
1962. Theory of aquifer tests. U.S. Geol. Survey Water Supply Paper 1536-
E, 174 pp.

15

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