INVOLVING UNDERGRADUATESIN THE DETERMINATION

OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SURFACE WATER AND GROUNDWATER

by

ISIORHO, Solomon A. (PhD) Dept. of Geosciences

Indiana University - Purdue University Ft. Wayne (IPFW), Fort Wayne, IN 46805

isiorho@ipfw.edu.

Talk Outline• Introduction

• Reason/Purpose

• Area

• Methods

• Results & Discussions

• Conclusion

Reason/Purpose

• Groundwater is usually the unknown• Understanding the relationship between surface

water and groundwater is important in studies that involve rivers, lakes or wetlands.

• Teach and involve undergraduates in the field studies to increase their interest and to ensure that the relationship between surface water is carried out on a routine basis.

Measuring recharge/discharge

• Physical methods– Stream gauging and seepage meters

• Chemical– Chemical and isotope for hydrograph separation &

determining groundwater flow direction

• Thermal (Silliman & Booth, 1993)

– For detecting groundwater flow

http://cgrg.geog.uvic.ca/abstracts/vanDetectionIt.htmlRetrieved May 5, 2005

http://www.if.uidaho.edu/~johnson/ifiwrri/sr3/swgw.html

Glacial Geology of Allen County, Indiana

• Allen County

Geomorphology of

Indiana

Study Area• IPFW

Location• Well field

• Wetland

• Creek

Methods

• Several holes (wells) (2 -12 feet depth) were dug near a creek– (routinely used in wetlands, hydrogeology, Intro Lab)

• Three 5-foot 2" ID PVC pipes are installed along the bank of the creek.

• Water temperature and water levels in the wells are monitored on a semi regular basis.– The three 5-foot PVC pipes, 12-foot deep well, and the creek water

levels are monitored for five months.• A Water level calculator is prepared by an Undergrad.

Results

• Water level measurements

• Relationships between wells

Drawing from http://www.if.uidaho.edu/~johnson/ifiwrri/sr3/swgw.html

Comparing Waters temperatures with Air temperatures

• Correlation (R=0.836) between Air temp and Creek (River) water temp is slightly higher than Air temp and Well Water temp (R=0.763)

Air, Creek & Well Temp

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Dates of Measurements

Te

mp

in

oC

Air temp

12Well temp

River temp

Water levels in PVC Pipes• Correlation between pipes 1 & 2 is (r) = 0.379; • Pipes 1 & 3 is (r) = 0.010 & • Between pipes 2 & 3 is (r) = 0.765

Water levels in PVC Pipes

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 2 21

Twenty measurements (Dec 04 - April 05)

Wat

er le

vels

fro

m to

p o

f PV

C

Pip

es

PVC#1WL

PVC#2WL

PVC#3WL

Relationship between depth of PVC pipe

Below Ground Level (BGL) and water level in the pipes • The deep PVC pipe (31" below ground level (BGL)) had a

water level of 56 inches, the intermediate PVC pipe (27" BGL) has 43 inches of water and the shallowest (23" BGL) has 33 inches of water…..upwelling condition & groundwater discharge

• The correlation (r) between the length of PVC BGL and water is very high (r =0.997) and this can be used to model the water level in PVC pipes with the depth. However, the correlation coefficient between the water level in the deepest PVC to the creek's water level is very low (r = 0.114).

Limited Water Chemistry• Table 1 pH Temp Conductivity Water Depth• Well A (12') 10.65 6.3 -180 12‘ • PVCs (river) 9.6 20.4 -156 see table below• Well C (6') 9.5 52.8 -170 56"

• Table 2• Top of pipe to Water Pipe below ground level

• PVC #1 4.2” 30• PVC #2 13.5” 34• PVC #3 23.5” 37

Groundwater level Calculator• Water level calculator developed by an

undergrad.... Zack Long

Water Level Calculator 4-21-05.exe

Conclusion

• Undergrads are capable of doing field work and the relationship between surface water and groundwater can be determined easily using simple three PVC pipes and this measurement should be done routinely in studies that involve rivers, lakes or wetlands.