Final Mini Project of Civil A 11TH Batch PDF

A MINI PROJECT REPORT
ON
GROUND WATER – SOIL – PLANT – ATMOSPHERE INTERACTION

A Project report submitted to
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, ANANTAPUR
In partial fulfilment of the requirements
For the award of the degree of
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Submitted by
A.CHAITHANYA (152U1A0104)
K.SAI SAKETH (152U1A0135)
K.KISHORE (152U1A0141)
D.SAI GANESH (152U1A0122)
B.MANI KUMAR (152U1A0109)
Under the guidance of
Mr. P.SIVA KUMAR, M.TECH,

Assistant Professor, Department Of Civil Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering
GEETHANJALI INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE &TECHNOLOGY

[Recognized by A.I.C.T.E & Affiliated to J.N.T.U., Anantapur]
3rd Mile, Bombay Highway, Gangavaram (v), Kovur (M), SPSR Nellore-524137 (A.P), India
(2015-2019)
GEETHANJALI INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE &TECHNOLOGY
[Recognized by A.I.C.T.E & Affiliated to J.N.T.U., Anantapur]
3rd Mile, Bombay Highway, Gangavaram (v), Kovur (M), SPSR Nellore-
524 137 (A.P), India
Department of Civil Engineering
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the Project Report entitled “Ground water – Soil – Plant - Atmosphere
Interaction” has been submitted by
in partial fulfilments of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Technology in Civil
Engineering is record of bonafied work carried out by them under my guidance and
supervision. The results embodied in this report have not been submitted to any other
university for the award of degree.
INTERNAL GUIDE Head Of The Department
Mr. P.SIVA KUMAR, Ms. I.RAJESWARI.
Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor,
Dept of Civil Engineering, Dept of Civil Engineering,
External Viva-Voce held on
Internal Examiner External Examiner

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We consider its our privilege to express our gratitude and respect to all those who guided,
inspired and helped us in completion of the project we are thankful to all those
encouragement and timely help made us to achieve the desired goal.
We would like to thank our guide Mr. P.SIVA KUMAR, Assistant professor, Department of
civil engineering, for her technical guidance, constant encouragement and support in carrying
out our project.
We express our heartfelt thanks to Ms. I.RAJESWARI, Associate professor, Head of the
department of civil engineering, GIST, Gangavaram, for his kind encouragement in
completion of this project work and being a great teacher inspired to complete our course of
action successfully.
We proudly thank to our beloved principal, Dr. G. SUBBARAO, M.Tech,Ph.D for his constant
encouragement and moral support to complete our course.
We also express our gratitude to the secretary, Mr. N.SUDHAKAR REDDY, for his
encouragement and moral support to complete our course.
Finally we would like to thank all the teachers who taught various subjects for the past four
years and for giving us sufficient knowledge and inspiration to evolve ourselves better and
efficient graduates.
We thank one and all who have helped us directly or indirectly in completing this mini
project work successfully and proficiently.
TEAM MEMBERS
DECLARATION
Whereby declare that the project report entitled “GROUND WATER-
SOIL-PLANT-ATMOSPHERE-INTERACTION”, is a original and
independent record of work submitted by us to JNTU , Anantapur, under
the valuable guidance of Mr.P. SIVA KUMAR Assistant Professor,
Department of CIVIL ENGINEERING, GEETHANJALI INSTITUTE OF
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Gangavaram(v), Kovur(m), Nellore, for
the award of BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY in CIVIL ENGINEERING
and has not been submitted either in part or in full for the award of any
Degree or Diploma.
TEAM MEMBERS
CONTENTS
S.NO Description Page no.
ABSTRACT
CHAPTER-1 GROUNDWATER 1-8
CHAPTER-2 LITERATURE REVIEW 9-11
CHAPTER-3 METHADOLOGY
3.1 SOIL 12-16
3.2 Groundwater-Soil-Plant Interaction 16-18
3.3 Groundwater-Plant Interaction 18-22
3.4 Groundwater-Atmosphere Interaction 23-25
CHAPTER-4 CASE STUDY
Case Study of Groundwater in Delhi 26-29
**CONCLUSION** 30
**REFERENCE ** 31
ABSTRACT
This is study of interaction between “GROUNDWATER-SOIL-PLANT-ATMOSPHERE

INTERACTION” .In this water is always on the moving condition. From the time the earth was
formed, it has been endlessly circulating through the hydrologic cycle. Groundwater is an
important part of this continuous cycle as water evaporates, forms clouds, and returns to earth as
precipitation. Surface water evaporates from by energy of the sun. The water vapor then forms
clouds in the sky depending on the temperature and weather conditions, the water vapor
condenses and falls to the earth as different types of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, hail). Some
precipitation moves from high areas to low areas on the earth’s surface and into surfaces water
bodies. This is known as surface runoff. Other precipitation seeps into the ground and is stored as
groundwater .when water from the earths soil, plant and water bodies turns into water vapor, the
process is called evaporation .This invisible vapor ,most of which comes from the world’s
oceans, travels into to the atmosphere and condenses, forming clouds .this is called condensation
.In this we observe how much the plant and soil absorbs the water.
CHAPTER-1
GROUNDWATER:
INTRODUCTION :
Groundwater is fresh water (from rain or melting ice and snow) that soaks into the soil and is
stored in the tiny spaces (pores) between rocks and particles of soil. Groundwater accounts for
nearly 95 percent of the nation’s fresh water resources. It can stay underground for hundreds of
thousands of years, or it can come to the surface and help fill rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, and
wetlands. Groundwater can also come to the surface as a spring or be pumped from a well. Both of
these are common ways we get groundwater to drink. About 50 percent of our municipal,
domestic, and agricultural water supply is groundwater
How does the ground store water?
Groundwater is stored in the tiny open spaces between rock and sand, soil, and gravel. How well
loosely arranged rock (such as sand and gravel) holds water depends on the size of the rock
particles. Layers of loosely arranged particles of uniform size (such as sand) tend to hold more
water than layers of rock with materials of different sizes. This is because smaller rock materials
settle in the spaces between larger rock materials, decreasing the amount of open space that can
hold water. Porosity (how well rock material holds water) is also affected by the shape of rock
particles. Round particles will pack more tightly than particles with sharp edges. Material with
angular-shaped edges has more open space and can hold more water. Groundwater is found in two
zones. The unsaturated zone, immediately below the land surface, contains water and air in the
open spaces, or pores. The saturated zone, a zone in which all the pores and rock fractures are
filled with water, underlies the unsaturated zone. The top of the saturated zone is called the water
table (Diagram 1). The water table may be just below or hundreds of feet below the land surface.
Department of Civil Engineering, GIST Page 1

How does water circulate?
Surface water and groundwater are part of the hydrologic cycle, the constant movement of
waterabove, on, and below the earth’s surface (Diagram 2). The cycle has no beginning and no
end, but you
can understand it best by tracing it from precipitation. Precipitation occurs in several forms,
including rain, snow, and hail. Rain, for example, wets the ground surface. As more rain falls,
water begins to filter into the ground. How fast water soaks into, or infiltrates the soil depends on
soil type, land use, and the intensity and length of the storm. Water infiltrates faster into soils that
are mostly sand than into those that are mostly clay or silt. Almost no water filters into paved
areas. Rain that cannot be absorbed into the ground collects on the surface, forming runoff streams.
When the soil is completely saturated, additional water moves slowly down through the
unsaturated zone to the saturated zone, replenishing or recharging the groundwater. Water then
moves through the saturated zone to groundwater discharge areas. Evaporation occurs when water
from such surfaces as oceans, rivers, and ice is converted to vapour. Evaporation, together with
transpiration from plants, rises above the Earth’s surface, condenses, and forms clouds. Water from
both runoff and from groundwater discharge moves toward streams and rivers and may eventually
reach the ocean. Oceans are the largest surface water bodies that contribute to evaporation.
How is groundwater contaminated?
Groundwater can become contaminated in many ways. If surface water that recharges an
aquifer is polluted, the groundwater will also become contaminated. Contaminated groundwater
can then affect the quality of surface water at discharge areas. Groundwater can also become
contaminated when liquid hazardous substances soak down through the soil into groundwater.
Contaminants that can dissolve in groundwater will move along with the water, potentially to wells
used for drinking water. If there is a continuous source of contamination entering moving

groundwater, an area of contaminated groundwater, called a plume, can form (Diagram 3). A
combination of moving groundwater and a continuous source of contamination can, therefore,
pollute very large volumes and areas of groundwater. Some plumes at Superfund sites are several
miles long. More than 88 percent of current Superfund sites have some groundwater
contamination.
How do liquids contaminate groundwater?
Some hazardous substances dissolve very slowly in water. When these substances seep
into groundwater faster than they can dissolve, some of the contaminants will stay in liquid
form. If the liquid is less dense than water, it will float on top of the water table, like oil on water.
Pollutants in this form are called light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs). If the liquid is more
dense than water, the pollutants are called dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs). DNAPLs
sink to form pools at the bottom of an aquifer. These pools continue to contaminate the aquifer as
they slowly dissolve and are carried away by moving groundwater. As DNAPLs flow downward
through an aquifer, tiny globs of liquid become trapped in the spaces between soil particles. This
form of groundwater contamination is called residual contamination.
What affects groundwater contamination?
Many processes can affect how contamination spreads and what happens to it in the
groundwater, potentially making the contaminant more or less harmful, or toxic. Some of the most
important processes affecting hazardous substances in groundwater are advection, sorption, and
biological degradation.
Advection occurs when contaminants move with the groundwater. This is the main form of
contaminant migration in groundwater.
Sorption occurs when contaminants attach themselves to soil particles. Sorption slows the
movement of contaminants in groundwater, but also makes it harder to clean up contamination.

Biological degradation happens when microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, use
hazardous substances as a food and energy source. In the process, contaminants break down and
hazardous substances often become less harmful.
Why is cleaning up groundwater so hard?
Cleaning up contaminated groundwater often takes longer than expected because groundwater
systems are complicated and the contaminants are invisible to the naked eye. This makes it more
difficult to find contaminants and to design a treatment system that either destroys the
contaminants in the ground or takes them to the surface for cleanup. Groundwater contamination is
the reason for most of Superfund’s long-term cleanup actions. Diagram 4 illustrates groundwater
treatment in action.
Aquifer:
An aquiferis a geologic formation ,group of formations ,or part of a formation which contains
sufficient saturated ,permeable material to yield significant quantities of water to wells and springs
.
 Aquifers provide two important functions:
(1) They transmit ground water from areas of recharge to areas of discharge, and
(2) They provide a storage medium for useable quantities of ground water
The amount of water a material can hold depends upon its porosity. The size and degree of
interconnection of those openings (permeability) determine the materials’ ability to transmit fluid.
Types of Aquifers Most aquifers are of large areal extent and may be visualized as underground
storage reservoirs. Water enters a reservoir from natural or artificial recharge; it flows out under
the action of gravity or is extracted by wells. Ordinarily, the annual volume of water removed or
replaced represents only a small fraction of the total storage capacity. Aquifers may be classed as

unconfined or confined, 9 depending on the presence or absence of a water table, while a leaky
aquifer represents a combination of the two types.
Unconfined Aquifer:
An unconfined aquifer is one in which a water table varies in undulating form and in slope,
depending on areas of recharge and discharge, pumpage from wells, and permeability. Rises and
falls in the water table correspond to changes in the volume of water in storage within an aquifer.
Contour maps and profiles of the water table can be prepared from elevations of water in wells
that tap the aquifer to determine the quantities of water available and their distribution and
movement. A special case of an unconfined aquifer involves perched water bodies
. This occurs wherever a groundwater body is separated from the main groundwater by a relatively
impermeable stratum of small areal extent and by the zone of aeration above the main body of
groundwater. Clay lenses in sedimentary deposits often have shallow perched water bodies
overlying them. Wells tapping these sources yield only temporary or small quantities of water.
Confined Aquifer:
Confined aquifers, also known as artesian or pressure aquifers, occur where groundwater is
confined under pressure greater than atmospheric by overlying relatively impermeable strata. In a
well penetrating such an aquifer, the water level will rise above the bottom of the confining bed, as
shown by the artesian and flowing wells Water enters a confined aquifer in an area where the
confining bed rises to the surface; where the confining bed ends underground, the aquifer becomes
unconfined. A region supplying water to a confined area is known as a recharge area; water may
also enter by leakage through a confining bed. Rises and falls of water in wells penetrating
confined aquifers result primarily from changes in pressure rather than changes in storage
volumes. Hence, confined aquifers display only small changes in storage and serve primarily as
conduits for conveying water from recharge areas to locations of natural or artificial
Leaky Aquifer:
Aquifers that are completely confined or unconfined occur less frequently than do leaky, or semi-
confined, aquifers. These are a common feature in alluvial valleys, plains, or former lake basins
where a permeable stratum is overlain or underlain by a semi-pervious aquitard or semi confining
layer. Pumping from a well in a leaky aquifer removes water in two ways: by horizontal flow
within the aquifer and by vertical flow through the aquitard into the aquifer.
Aquitard:
An aquitard is a partly permeable geologic formation. It transmits water at such a slow rate that the
yield is insufficient. Pumping by wells is not possible. For example, sand lenses in a clay
formation will form an aquitard.

Aquifuge:
An aquifuge is a geologic formation which doesn’t have interconnected pores. It is neither porous
nor permeable. Thus, it can neither store water nor transmit it. Examples of aquifuge are rocks like
basalt, granite, etc. without fissures.
Aquiclude:
An aquiclude is composed of rock or sediment that acts as a barrier to groundwater flow.
Aquicludes are made up of low porosity and low permeability rock/sediment such as shale or clay.
Aquicludes have normally good storage capacity but low transmitting capacity.
Hydrological Cycle:
Hydrological cycle is the cyclic movement of water containing basic continuous processes like
evaporation, precipitation and runoff as Runoff – > Evaporation – > Precipitation – > Runoff.
This is a continuous cycle which starts with evaporation from the water bodies such as oceans.
Components of Hydrological Cycles and its definitions:

The components of hydrological cycle
 Runoff
 Precipitation
 Evaporation
 Condensation
 Transpiration
 Evapotranspiration
 Infiltration

Runoff: it is the water flowing over the land making its way towards rivers, lakes, oceans etc. as surface
or subsurface flow.
1. Surface runoff: it is the running water over the land and which ultimately discharge
water to the sea.
2. Sub surface run off: The water getting infiltrated into pervious soil mass, making its
way towards rivers and lakes can be termed as sub surface run off.
Precipitation: It is the fall of moisture from atmosphere to the earth’s surface in any form.
Example: rain, hail, snow, sleet, glaze, drizzle, snowflakes.
Evaporation: it is the conversion of natural liquids like water into gaseous form like air.
Condensation: It is the conversion of a vapor or gas to a liquid.
Transpiration: it is the evaporation taking place from any plant or greenery. Example, water
droplet on a leaf getting evaporated into atmosphere
Evapotranspiration: it is the combination of evaporation and transpiration.
Infiltration: it is the process of filtration of water to the inner layers of soil based on its structure
and nature. Pervious soils go through more infiltration than impervious. Infiltration in soils like
sand, gravel and coarser material is more and for finer soil particles like clay and silt, infiltration is
less.
Infiltration is inversely proportional to runoff. In a soil, if infiltration is less, then runoff is more,
similarly more infiltration gives less runoff. Example: bitumen roads has more runoff than metallic
red mud roads
Water balance Equation:
Sum of inflow waters = sum of outflow waters Out of three processes like precipitation, runoff and
evaporation, Inflow is precipitation. Runoff and evaporation comes under outflow, however it can
be written as
Precipitation – runoff = Evaporation

That gives Precipitation (P) = Evaporation (E) + Runoff (R)
Process of hydrological cycle:
Process of hydrological cycle starts with oceans. Water in oceans, gets evaporated due to heat
energy provided by solar radiation and forms water vapor. This water vapor moves upwards to
higher altitudes forming clouds. Most of the clouds condense and precipitate in any form like rain,
hail, snow, sleet. And a part of clouds is driven to land by winds. Precipitation, while falling to the
ground, some part of it evaporates back to atmosphere.
Portion of water that reaches the ground, enters the earth’s surface infiltrating various strata of soil
and enhancing the moisture content as well as water table. Vegetation sends a portion of water
from earth’s surface back to atmosphere through the process of transpiration. Once water
percolates and infiltrates the earth’s surface, runoff is formed over the land, flowing through the
contours of land heading towards river and lakes and finally joins into oceans after many years.
Some amount of water is retained as depression storage.
Further again the process of this hydrological cycle continues by blowing of cool air over
ocean, carrying water molecules, forming into water vapor then clouds getting condensed and
precipitates as rainfall. Similarly, then water gets percolated into soil, increasing water table then
formation of runoff waters heading towards water bodies. Thus the cyclic process continues.
Depression Storage: it is the part of precipitation required to fill depression zones of land.
Interception: Part of precipitation required to wet the surface of soil, buildings and all pervious
surfaces.

CHAPTER-2
REVIEW ON LITERATURE:
Literature review :
A critical review of data on field‐scale dispersion in aquifers
Lynn W Gelhar, Claire Welty, Kenneth R Rehfeldt

Water resources research 28 (7), 1955-1974, 1992
A critical review of dispersivity observations from 59 different field sites was developed by
compiling extensive tabulations of information on aquifer type, hydraulic properties, flow
configuration, type of monitoring network, tracer, method of data interpretation, overall scale of
observation and longitudinal, horizontal transverse and vertical transverse dispersivities from
original sources. Overall, the data indicate a trend of systematic increase of the longitudinal
dispersivity with observation scale but the trend is much less clear when the reliability of the data
is considered. The longitudinal dispersivities ranged from 10−2 to 104 m for scales ranging from
10−1 to 105 m, but the largest scale for high reliability data was only 250 m. When the data are
classified according to porous versus fractured media there does not appear to be any significant
difference between these aquifer types. At a given scale, the longitudinal dispersivity values are
found to range over 2–3 orders of magnitude and the higher reliability data tend to fall in the lower
portion of this range. It is not appropriate to represent the longitudinal dispersivity data by a single
universal line. The variations in dispersivity reflect the influence of differing degrees of aquifer
heterogeneity at different sites. The data on transverse dispersivities are more limited but clearly
indicate that vertical transverse dispersivities are typically an order of magnitude smaller than
horizontal transverse dispersivities. Reanalyses of data from several of the field sites show that
improved interpretations most often lead to smaller dispersivities. Overall, it is concluded that
longitudinal dispersivities in the lower part of the indicated range are more likely to be realistic for
field applications.
Empirical equations for some soil hydraulic properties
Roger B Clapp, George M Hornberger

The soil moisture characteristic may be modeled as a power curve combined with a short parabolic
section near saturation to represent gradual air entry. This two‐part function—together with a
power function relating soil moisture and hydraulic conductivity—is used to derive a formula for
the wetting front suction required by the Green‐Ampt equation. Representative parameters for the
moisture characteristic, the wetting front suction, and the sorptivity, a parameter in the infiltration
equation derived by Philip (1957), are computed by using the desorption data of Holtan et al.
(1968). Average values of the parameters, and associated standard deviations, are calculated for 11

soil textural classes. The results of this study indicate that the exponent of the moisture
characteristic power curve can be predicted reasonably well from soil texture and that gradual air
entry may have a considerable effect on a soil's wetting front suction.
The magnitude of hydraulic redistribution by plant roots: a review and

synthesis of empirical and modeling studies
Rebecca B Neumann, Zoe G Cardon

New Phytologist 194 (2), 337-352, 2012
Hydraulic redistribution (HR)–the movement of water from moist to dry soil through plant roots–
occurs worldwide within a range of different ecosystems and plant species. The proposed
ecological and hydrologic impacts of HR include increasing dry‐season transpiration and
photosynthetic rates, prolonging the life span of fine roots and maintaining root–soil contact in dry
soils, and moving rainwater down into deeper soil layers where it does not evaporate. In this
review, we compile estimates of the magnitude of HR from ecosystems .
Challenges in humid land ecohydrology: Interactions of water table and

unsaturated zone with climate, soil, and vegetation
Ignacio Rodriguez‐Iturbe, Paolo D'Odorico, Francesco Laio, Luca Ridolfi,

Stefania Tamea
Water Resources Research 43 (9), 2007
Soil water content is a key determinant of the health of terrestrial ecosystems. It plays a
fundamental role in the feedbacks between the Earth and the atmosphere, as well as in all aspects
of vegetation growth and composition. The dynamics of soil water in humid areas, and especially
in wetlands, presents particularly challenging features for its quantitative description, since it needs
to be linked to the intertwined stochastic fluctuations of the water table and the soil moisture of the
unsaturated zone.
Models of water transport in the soil‐plant system: A review
Fred J Molz
Although the study of plants (botany) is one of the oldest sciences, relatively detailed quantitative
theories of water transport in plant tissue have lagged behind those describing water transport in
soils and other geologic materials which constitute the saturated and unsaturated zones. Many
existing texts deal with various aspects of water transport in these earth materials, but little or
nothing is devoted to the analogous transport of water in plant roots and tissue at a similar
quantitative level. Yet the soil‐root‐stem water pathway is a major component of the subsurface
hydrologic system. Evidently there is a need for both engineering and agricultural hydrologists to

further develop their quantitative understanding of water movement in plant and soil‐plant
systems. Modern quantitative theories of water transport in plants can be traced to concepts
developed and disseminated effectively in landmark papers by Gradmann and van den Honert in
1928 and 1948 respectively. The material reviewed in this paper, while more advanced, is based on
these concepts. Emphasis is placed on water movement in soil containing roots and on a general
approach to water transport in living plant tissue. Detailed quantitative studies of water extraction
by plant roots date back to studies by Gardner published in 1960.Several such functions are listed
in a table, and their applications, relative advantages, and limitations are discussed in the text. In a
series of papers published in 1958, Philip developed the first detailed quantitative description of
water transport in plant tissue.
Phreatophytic vegetation and groundwater fluctuations: a review of current

research and application of ecosystem response modeling with an emphasis on
Great Basin vegetation
Elke Naumburg, Ricardo Mata-Gonzalez, Rachael G Hunter, Terry Mclendon,

David W Martin
Environmental Management 35 (6), 726-740, 2005
Although changes in depth to groundwater occur naturally, anthropogenic alterations may

exacerbate these fluctuations and, thus, affect vegetation reliant on groundwater. These effects
include changes in physiology, structure, and community dynamics, particularly in arid regions
where groundwater can be an important water source for many plants. To properly manage
ecosystems subject to changes in depth to groundwater, plant responses to both rising and falling
groundwater tables must be understood. However, most research has focused exclusively on
riparian ecosystems, ignoring regions where groundwater is available to a wider range of species.
Here, we review responses of riparian and other species to changes in groundwater levels in arid
environments. Although decreasing water tables often result in plant water stress and reduced live
biomass, the converse is not necessarily true for rising water tables. Initially, rising water tables
kill flooded roots because most species cannot tolerate the associated low oxygen levels. Thus,
flooded plants can also experience water stress. Ultimately, individual species responses to either
scenario depend on drought and flooding tolerance and the change in root system size and water
uptake capacity. However, additional environmental and biological factors can play important
roles in the severity of vegetation response to altered groundwater tables. Using the reviewed
information, we created two conceptual models to highlight vegetation dynamics in areas with
groundwater fluctuations. These models use flow charts to identify key vegetation and ecosystem
properties and their responses to changes in groundwater tables to predict community responses.

CHAPTER-3
METHADOLOGY:
3.1 SOIL:
Introduction:
The word Soil is derived from Latin word “Solum” which means earthy materials in which plants
grows.
Soil can be defined as the solid material on the Earth’s surface that results from the interaction of
weathering and biological activity on the parent material or underlying hard rock.
Soils are formed by weathering of rocks due to mechanical disintegration or chemical

decomposition. When a rock exposed to atmosphere for an appreciable time .it disintegrates or
decomposes into small particles and thus soil is formed .
The science which deals with the study of soil is called “Pedology” or “Edaphology”.
We depend on soil for food production from crops, but our dependence on the soil goes much
deeper than that.
 Soil is such a vital part of every ecosystem on Earth that it is often called "the great
integrator.
 "Soils hold nutrients and water for plants and animals.
 They filter and clean water that passes through them. They can change the chemistry of
water and the amount that recharges the groundwater or returns to the atmosphere to form
rain.
 The foods we eat and most of the materials we use for paper, buildings, and clothing are
dependent on soils.
Soils play an important role in the amount and types of gases in the atmosphere. They store and
transfer heat, affect the temperature of the atmosphere, and control the activities of plants and other
organisms living in the soil."
Yet arable soil covers only a small fraction of the Earth's surface—about 10% . This thin layer of
soil is called the pedosphere. Soil formation is a grindingly slow process. To produce one inch of
soil can take 500 years
Soil profile:The soil profile is one of the most important concepts in soil science. ... The soil
profile is defined as a vertical section of the soil from the ground surface downwards to where
the soil meets the underlying rock.

Soil is made up of distinct horizontal layers; these layers are called horizons. They range from
rich, organic upper layers (humus and topsoil) to underlying rocky layers ( subsoil, regolith and
bedrock).
A soil consists of three horizontal layers. They are true soil at the top, sub soil and bedrock. Each
horizon is different from other by its own physical and chemical composition and organic contents
produced during the process of soil formation.
Types of soil:
Soil will have different texture and composition depending on where it is located. Soil in
riverbanks is often soft, dense, and clay-like, while other soil may be sandy and loose. Soil color
also varies widely, depending on mineral content. Some soil is more acidic while other soil is
more basic (this is dependent on the mixture of nutrients). There is a world wide classification
system used to sort soils around the world into different categories.
On the basis of genesis, colour, composition and location, the soils of Indiahave been classified
into:
(i) Alluvial soils
(ii) Black soils
(iii) Red and Yellow soils
(iv) Laterite soils
(v) Arid soils
(vi) Saline soils
(vii) Peaty soils
(viii) Forest soils.
Alluvial Soils:
Alluvial soils are widespread in the northern plains and the river valleys. These soils cover about
40 per cent of the total area of the country. They are depositional soils, transported and deposited
by rivers and streams.
The alluvial soils vary in nature from sandy loam to clay. They are generally rich in potash but
poor in phosphorous. In the Upper and Middle Ganga plain, two different types of alluvial soils
have developed, viz. Khadar and Bhangar. Khadar is the new alluvium and is deposited by floods
annually, which enriches the soil by depositing fine silts. Bhangarrepresents a system of older
alluvium, deposited away from the flood plains.The color of the alluvial soils varies from the light
grey to ash grey. Its shades depend on the depth of the deposition, the texture of the materials, and
the time taken for attaining maturity.

Black Soil:
Black soil covers most of the Deccan Plateau which includes parts of Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and some parts of Tamil Nadu.They swell and become sticky
when wet and shrink when dried. So, during the dry season, these soil develop wide cracks. Thus,
there occurs a kind of ‘self ploughing’. Because of this character of slow absorption and loss of
moisture, the black soil retains the moisture for a very long time, which helps the crops, especially,
the rain fed ones, to sustain even during the dry season. Chemically, the black soils are rich in
lime, iron, magnesia and alumina. They also contain potash. But they lack in phosphorous,
nitrogen and organic matter. The colour of the soil ranges from deep black to grey.
Red and Yellow Soil:
Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern
part of the Deccan Plateau. Along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghat, long stretch of area is
occupied by red loamy soil. Yellow and red soils are also found in parts of Odisha and Chattisgarh
and in the southern parts of the middle Ganga plain. The soil develops a reddish colour due to a
wide diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks. It looks yellow when it occurs in a
hydrated form. The fine-grained red and yellow soils are normally fertile, whereas coarse-grained
soils found in dry upland areas are poor in fertility. They are generally poor in nitrogen,
phosphorous and humus.
Laterite Soil :
Laterite has been derived from the Latin word ‘Later’ which means brick. The laterite soils
develop in areas with high temperature and high rainfall. These are the result of intense leaching
due to tropical rains. With rain, lime and silica are leached away, and soils rich in iron oxide and
aluminium compound are left behind. Red laterite soils in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala
are more suitable for tree crops like cashewnut. Laterite soils are widely cut as bricks for use in
house construction. These soils have mainly developed in the higher areas of the Peninsular
plateau. The laterite soils are commonly found in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh
and the hilly areas of Odisha and Assam.
Arid Soils :
Arid soils range from red to brown in colour. They are generally sandy in structure and saline in
nature. In some areas, the salt content is so high that common salt is obtained by evaporating the
saline water. Due to the dry climate, high temperature and accelerated evaporation, they lac
content is normal. Lower horizons of the soil are occupied by ‘kankar’ layers because of the
increasing calcium content downwards. The ‘Kankar’ layer formation in the bottom horizons
restricts the infiltration of water, and as such when irrigation is made available, the soil moisture is
readily available for a sustainable plant growth. Arid soils are characteristically developed in
western Rajasthan, which exhibit characteristic arid topography. These soils are poor and contain
little humus and organic matter.
Saline Soils:

They are also known as Usara soils. Saline soils contain a larger proportion of sodium, potassium
and magnesium, and thus, they are infertile, and do not support any vegetative growth. They have
more salts, largely because of dry climate and poor drainage. They occur in arid and semi-arid
regions, and in waterlogged and swampy areas. Their structure ranges from sandy to loamy. They
lack in nitrogen and calcium. Saline soils are more widespread in western Gujarat, deltas of the
eastern coast and in Sunderban areas of West Bengal. In the Rann of Kuchchh, the Southwest
Monsoon brings salt particles and deposits there as a crust. Seawater intrusions in the deltas
promote the occurrence of saline soils.
Peaty Soils :
They are found in the areas of heavy rainfall and high humidity, where there is a good growth of
vegetation. Thus, large quantity of dead organic matter accumulates in these areas, and this gives a
rich humus and organic content to the soil. Organic matter in these soils may go even up to 40-50
per cent.
Forest Soils:
As the name suggests, forest soils are formed in the forest areas where sufficient rainfall is
available. The soils vary in structure and texture depending on the mountain environment where
they are formed. They are loamy and silty on valley sides and coarse-grained in the upper slopes.
In the snow-bound areas of the Himalayas, they experience denudation, and are acidic with low
humus content. The soils found in the lower valleys are fertile.
Permeability :
Soil permeability is the property of the soil to transmit water and air and is one of the most
important qualities to consider for fish culture
A pond built in impermeable soil will lose little water through seepage The more permeable the
soil, the greater the seepage. Some soil is so permeable and seepage so great that itis not possible
to build a pond without special construction techniques. You will learn about the techniques in a
later volume in this series.

Soils are generally made up of layers and soil quality often varies greatly from one layer to
another. Before pond construction, it is important to determine the relative position of the
permeable and impermeable layers. The design of a pond should be planned to avoid
having a permeable layer at the bottom to preventexcessive water loss into the subsoil by seepage
3.2 Groundwater-Soil-Plant Interaction :

Both soil and water are essential for plant growth. The soil provides a structural base to the plants
and allows the root system (the foundation of the plant) to spread and get a strong hold. The pores
of the soil within the root zone hold moisture which clings to the soil particles by surface tension
in the driest state or may fill up the pores partially or fully saturating with it useful nutrients
dissolved in water, essential for the growth of the plants. The roots of most plants also require
oxygen for respiration. Hence, full saturation of the soil pores leads to restricted root growth for
these plants. (There are exceptions, though, like the rice plant, in which the supply of oxygen to the
roots is made from the leaves through aerenchyma cells which are continuous from the leaves to
the roots).
Since irrigation practice is essentially, an adequate and timely supply of water to the plant root
zone for optimum crop yield, the study of the inter relation ship between soil pores, its water-
holding capacity and plant water absorption rate is fundamentally important.

Soil water system :
Soil is a heterogeneous mass consisting of a three phase system of solid, liquid and gas. Mineral
matter, consisting of sand, silt and clay and organic matter form the largest fraction of soil and
serves as a framework (matrix) with numerous pores of various proportions. The void space within
the solid particles is called the soil pore space. Decayed organic matter derived from the plant and
animal remains are dispersed within the pore space. The soil air is totally expelled from soil when
water is present in excess amount than can be stored.
On the other extreme, when the total soil is dry as in a hot region without any supply of water
either naturally by rain or artificially by irrigation, the water molecules surround the soil particles
as a thin film. The roots of the plants in such a soil state need to exert at least an equal amount of
force for extracting water from the soil mass for their growth
Classification of soil water :
As stated earlier, water may occur in the soil pores in varying proportions. Some of the definitions
related to the water held in the soil pores are as follows:
• Gravitational water: A soil sample saturated with water and left to drain the excess out by
gravity holds on to a certain amount of water. The volume of water that could easily drain off is
termed as the gravitational water. This water is not available for plants use as it drains off rapidly
from the root zone.
• Capillary water: the water content retained in the soil after the gravitational water has drained
off from the soil is known as the capillary water. This water is held in the soil by surface tension.
Plant roots gradually absorb the capillary water and thus constitute the principle source of water
for plant growth.
• Hygroscopic water: the water that an oven dry sample of soil absorbs when exposed to moist air
is termed as hygroscopic water. It is held as a very thin film over the surface of the soil particles
and is under tremendous negative (gauge) pressure. This water is not available to plants
Soil water constants :
For a particular soil, certain soil water proportions are defined which dictate whether the water is
available or not for plant growth. These are called the soil water constants, which are described
below.
• Saturation capacity: this is the total water content of the soil when all the pores of the soil are
filled with water. It is also termed as the maximum water holding capacity of the soil. At saturation
capacity, the soil moisture tension is almost equal to zero.
• Field capacity: this is the water retained by an initially saturated soil against the force of gravity.
Hence, as the gravitational water gets drained off from the soil, it is said to reach the field capacity.
At field capacity, the macro-pores of the soil are drained off, but water is retained in the

micropores. Though the soil moisture tension at field capacity varies from soil to soil, it is
normally between 1/10 (for clayey soils) to 1/3 (for sandy soils) atmospheres.
• Permanent wilting point: plant roots are able to extract water from a soil matrix, which is
saturated up to field capacity. However, as the water extraction proceeds, the moisture content
diminishes and the negative (gauge) pressure increases. At one point, the plant cannot extract any
further water and thus wilts.
Two stages of wilting points are recognized and they are:
• Temporary wilting point: this denotes the soil water content at which the plant wilts at day time,
but recovers during right or when water is added to the soil.
• Ultimate wilting point: at such a soil water content, the plant wilts and fails to regain life even
after addition of water to soil.
It must be noted that the above water contents are expressed as percentage of water held in the soil
pores, compared to a fully saturated soil. Figure 2 explains graphically, the various soil constants;
the full pie represents the volume of voids in soil
3.3 Groundwater-Plant Interaction:

Introduction :
Plants are one of six big groups of living things. Plants include familiar types such
as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of
plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant (living) species of plants. Fungi and
non-green algae are not classified as plants.

A plant needs sunlight, carbon dioxide, minerals and water to make food by photosynthesis. A
green substance in plants called chlorophyll traps the energy from the Sun needed to make food.
Chlorophyll is mostly found in leaves, inside plastids, which are inside the leaf cells. The leaf can
be thought of as a food factory. Leaves of plants vary in shape and size, but they are always the
plant organ best suited to capture solar energy. Once the food is made in the leaf, it is transported
to the other parts of the plant such as stems and roots.
The word "plant" can also mean the action of putting something in the ground. For
example, farmers plant seeds in the field.
Photosynthesis is a process that is taken place by the leaves on the plant. The leaves are the only
parts of a plant that can do this process (as they adapted). This is also known as how the plant gets
its food.
What is transpiration?
In actively growing plants, water is continuously evaporating from the surface of leaf cells exposed
to air. This water is replaced by additional absorption of water from the soil. Liquid water extends
through the plant from the soil water to the leaf cell surfaces where it is converted from a liquid
into a gas through the process of evaporation. The cohesive properties of water (hydrogen bonding
between adjacent water molecules) allow the column of water to be ‘pulled’ up through the plant
as water molecules are evaporating at the leaf surface.
Why do plants transpire?

Evaporative cooling:
As water evaporates or converts from a liquid to a gas at the leaf cell and atmosphere
interface, energy is released. This exothermic process uses energy to break the strong hydrogen
bonds between liquid water molecules; the energy used to do so is taken from the leaf and given to
the water molecules that have converted to highly energetic gas molecules. These gas molecules
and their associated energy are released into the atmosphere, cooling the plant.
Accessing nutrients from the soil:

The water that enters the root contains dissolved nutrients vital to plant growth. It is thought that
transpiration enhances nutrient uptake into plants.
Carbon dioxide entry:

When a plant is transpiring, its stomata are open,allowing gas exchange between the atmosphere
and the leaf. Open stomata allow water vapor to leave the leaf but also allow carbon dioxide (CO 2)
to enter.
Carbon dioxide is needed for photosynthesis to operate. Unfortunately, much
more water leaves the leaf than CO2 enters for three reasons:
1) H2O molecules are smaller than CO2 molecules and so they move to
their destination faster.
2) CO2 is only about 0.036% of the atmosphere (and rising!) so the gradient for its entry into
the plant is much smaller than the gradient for H 2O moving from a hydrated leaf into a dry
atmosphere.
3) CO2 has a much longer distance to travel to reach its destination in the chloroplast from the
atmosphere compared to H2O which only has to move from the leaf cell surface to the atmosphere.
This disproportionate exchange of CO2 and H2O leads to a paradox. The larger the
stomatal opening, the easier it is for carbon dioxide to enter the leaf to drive photosynthesis;
however, this large opening will also allow the leaf to lose large quantities of water and face the
risk of dehydration or water-deficit stress. Plants
that are able to keep their stomata slightly open, will lose fewer water molecules
for every CO2 molecule that enters and thus will have greater water use efficiency
(water lost/CO2 gained). Plants with greater water use efficiencies are better able
to withstand periods when water in the soil is low.
Water uptake:
Although only less than 5% of the water taken up by roots remains in the plant, that water is vital
for plant structure and function. The water is important for driving biochemical processes, but also
it creates turgor so that the plant can stand without bones.
Important Definitions
1. Root Zone: The soil root zone is the area of the soil around the plant that comes in contact
with the plant root (Figure 4).
2. Soil Moisture tension: In soils partially saturated with water there is moisture tension,
which is equal in magnitude but opposite in sign to the soil water pressure. Moisture tension is
equal to the pressure that must be applied to the soil water to bring it to a hydraulic
equilibrium, through a porous permeable wall or membrane, with a pool of water of the same
composition.
3. Wilts: Wilting is drooping of plants. Plants bend or hang downwards through tiredness or
weakness due to lack of water.

Water absorption by plants:
Water is absorbed mostly through the roots of plants, though an insignificant absorption is
also done through the leaves. Plants normally have a higher concentration of roots close to the
soil surface and the density decreases with depth as shown in Figure 3.
In a normal soil with good aeration, a greater portion of the roots of most plants remain within
0.45m to 0.60m of surface soil layers and most of the water needs of plants are met from this zone.
As the available water from this zone decreases, plants extract more water from lower depths.
When the water content of the upper soil layers reach wilting point, all the water needs of plants
are met from lower layers. Since there exists few roots in lower layers, the water extract from
lower layers may not be adequate to prevent wilting, although sufficient water may be available
there.

When the top layers of the root zone are kept moist by frequent application of water
through irrigation, plants extract most of the water (about 40 percent) from the upper quarter of
their root zone. In the lower quarter of root zone the water extracted by the plant meets about 30
percent of its water needs. Further below, the third quarter of the root zone extracts about 20
percent and the lowermost quarter of root zone extracts the remaining about 10 percent of the
plants water. It may be noted that the water extracted from the soil by the roots of a plant moves
upwards and essentially is lost to the atmosphere as water vapours mainly through the leaves. This
process, called transpiration, results in losing almost 95percent of water sucked up. Only about
5percent of water pumped up by the root system is used by the plant for metabolic purpose and
increasing the plant body weight.
Importance of water in plant growth

During the life cycle of a plant water, among other essential elements like air and fertilizers, plays
a vital role, some of the important ones being:
• Water maintains the turgidity of the plant cells, thus keeping the plant erect. Water accounts
for the largest part of the body weight of an actively growing plant and it constitutes 85 to
90 percent of the body weight of young plants and 20 to 50 percent of older or mature
plants.
• Water provides both oxygen and hydrogen required for carbohydrate synthesis during the
photosynthesis process.
• Water acts as a solvent of plant nutrients and helps in the uptake of nutrients from soil.
• Food manufactured in the green parts of a plant gets distributed throughout the plant body as
a solution in water.
• Transpiration is a vital process in plants and does so at a maximum rate (called the potential
evapo transpiration rate) when water is available in adequate amount. If soil moisture is not
sufficient, then the transpiration rate is curtailed, seriously affecting plant growth and yield.

3.4 Groundwater-Atmosphere Interaction:
Introduction:
 The envelope of air that completely surrounds the earth is known as atmosphere.
 The atmosphere extends to about 1000 km from the surface of the earth. But 99% of the total
mass of the atmosphere is found within 32 km.
 This is because the atmosphere is held by the gravitational pull of the earth.
Composition of the Atmosphere:

(i) Nitrogen - 78% (ii) Oxygen - 21% (iii) Argon -0.93% (iv) Carbondioxide - 0.03% (v)Neon -
0.0018% (vi) Helium - 0.0005% (vii) Ozone - 0.0006% (viii) Hydrogen - 0.00005%
 Carbon dioxide is present in small quantity in the atmosphere.

 It is an important constituent of air because it has the ability to absorb heat and thus keep the
atmosphere warm, thereby, balancing the heat of the earth.
 Water Vapour is the most significant component of the atmosphere as far as its effect on
weather is concerned although its quantity varies considerably from practically none (0) to up
to about 4% by volume.
 Water Vapour is the source of all clouds and precipitation(rain, hail storm etc.). Water vapour,
like carbon dioxide, has the ability to absorb heat energy. It also reflect incoming insolation.
 Dust intercepts and reflect incoming insolation.
 The polluted particles present in the air not only absorb larger amount of insolation but also
greatly absorb the terrestrial radiation.
 Dust in the atmosphere contributes to the red and orange colour of sunrise and sunset.
Layers of the Atmosphere:

There are five distinct layers of the atmosphere –
(a) Troposphere
(b) Stratosphere
(c) Mesosphere
(d) Thermosphere and
(e) Exosphere

Troposhere:
 This is the first layer of the atmosphere. It extends to a height of 18 km at the equator and 8
km at the poles.
 It contains more than 90% of gases in the atmosphere.
 Since most of the water vapour form clouds in this layer, all weather changes occur in the
troposphere("tropo" means "change").
 The height at which the temperature stops decreasing is called tropopause. Here the
temperature may be as low as -58 degree Celsius.
Stratosphere
 This is the second layer of the atmosphere. It extends from the tropopause to about 50 km.
 Temperature increases due to the absorption of the ultraviolet radiations of the Sun
by Ozone present in this layer. The temperature slowly increases to 4 degree celsius.
 At about 50 km the temperature begins to fall again.This marks the end of the stratosphere. The
end of the stratosphere is called the Stratopause.
Mesosphere
 Above the stratosphere lies the Mesosphere.
 The mesosphere extends to a heigh of 80 km.
 Here the temperature decreases again, falling as low as -90 degree celsius.
 The end of this layer is known as the mesopause.
Thermosphere
 The thermosphere lies above the mesosphere.
 This layer extends to a height of about 640 km.
 In this layer temperature rises dramatically, reaching upto 1480 degree celsius.

 This increase in temperature is due to the fact that the gas molecules in this layer absorb the X-
rays and Ultraviolet radiation of the Sun.
 This results in the break up of the gas molecules into positively and negatively charged
particles or ions. Thus, this layer is also known as the ionosphere.
Exosphere
 This layer lies above the thermosphere.
 The exosphere extends beyond the thermosphere upto 960km.
 It gradually merges with interplanetary space.
 The temperatures in this layer range from about 300 degree Celsius to 1650 degree Celsius.
 This layer contains only traces of gases like oxygen, nitrogen, argon and helium because the
lack of gravity allows the gas molecules to escape easily into space.

CHAPTER-4
Case study of ground water in DELHI.
This chapter analyses the groundwater table data derived from various wells across Delhi for the
2007–2011 period in order to examine the fluctuation in the groundwater table. Due to the
inconsistency in data coverage, data for only one pre-monsoon month (May) was analysed. It was
found that the depth to the groundwater table increased during 2007–2010 for all of the districts
except the northeast district. Nevertheless, this trend changed in 2011 due to the groundwater
recharge and heavy rains in 2010. Parameters influencing the groundwater availability (e.g.,
population growth and density, urbanization etc.) indicate that Delhi may soon face a groundwater
crisis if efforts to retard population in flux into Delhi is not checked. This could be done by
improving economy and infrastructure in the adjoining states thus making Delhi less attractive for
the migrating population. In addition, the practice of apartmentisation (converting single or double
story homes into multiple apartments) should be slowed down or permitted wisely by bearing in
mind future ground water sustainability
. Urbanization and development works cause an increase in built-up area leaving less area as
permeable land that is able to recharge the groundwater table.
Due to the lack of a municipal water supply for the increased population, many households,
particularly rapidly developing multi-story apartments, have set up their own tube wells to extract
groundwater to meet their water demands. Such a practice has caused a decline in the groundwater
table over a long period of time. With uncertainties both in the development practices and in the
arrival of the monsoon, the declining groundwater table can lead to a crisis
This chapter discusses fluctuations in the groundwater table in the context of the population
growth and suggests incorporating the groundwater availability as an increasingly important factor
in all developmental plans for the city.
Study Area
The study area includes the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, India. Delhi is currently a
pseudo-state, unlike other regular states of India, and is governed by both the federal government
and the state government. The total geographical area of Delhi is about 1483 Km 2 Its
geographical coordinates are centered approximately at 28.38° North latitude and 77.13° East
longitude. The responsibility of providing water for various purposes (domestic, agricultural,
industrial, recreational.) rests with the state government. Both the surface and the groundwater
resources are used to meet the water demand of Delhites. Delhi receives about 755 mm of annual
rainfall (average for the 1981–2005 period; rainwaterharvesting.org), about 80 % of which falls
during the monsoon period (June through September). Administratively, Delhi is divided into nine
districts (Central, North, South, East, Northeast, Southwest, New, Northwest, and West delhi.

Methods
The objective of this study was to examine the variation in the groundwater table in different
districts of Delhi. Ideally, the study required the groundwater data for a longer period, for example,
since 1980, but the actual data were not available by the time this chapter was written. The author
is continuing his efforts to acquire data for a longer period. Figure 14.3 shows the depth-to-
groundwater data in 1960 and 2001 showing significant fall in the water table.

Delhi’s Water Demand
A significant number of Delhi homes are unofficially connected to the municipal water supply and
therefore do not pay their water bills. For unknown reasons, Delhi’s Water Department does not
enforce monitoring of unofficial/unmetered connections. Figure 14.4 shows the growth in metered
and unmetered connections. The unmetered connections are more common in rural or semi-urban
areas of Delhi. Under such a situation, it is hard to estimate the actual water usage.
Data Analysis
The depth to the groundwater table, averaged for each district during the month of May is shown
in Fig. 14.5a, b for each year during the 2007–2011 period.

Table 14.1 shows the statistical characteristics (min, max, average, standard deviation, and the
coefficient of variation) of this fluctuation
Table 14.1
Statistical characteristics of variation in groundwater table measured in pre-monsoon time during
2007–2011 period for Delhi, India
District No. of Fluctuation in ground water table

wells
Minimum Maximum Average Standard Coeff. Of
(m) (m) (m) deviation variation (%)
Central 2 0.90 9.26 4.83 3.71 76.8

Delhi
East Delhi 14 2.40 13.07 7.39 2.86 38.7
New Delhi 23 0.96 44.1 14.90 7.21 48.4
North Delhi 11 1.88 14.77 4.71 2.21 46.9
Northeast 5 1.65 8.05 5.49 1.90 34.6

Delhi
Northwest 39 0.8 27.08 6.87 4.26 62.0

Delhi
South Delhi 38 1.99 66.70 34.11 20.05 58.8
Southwest 43 2.16 59.5 17.31 11.75 67.9

Delhi
West Delhi 12 1.8 33.5 9.13 7.77 85.1
The data thus collected were analysed to study the fluctuation of the groundwater table over time
and seek suggestions to improve the groundwater availability for Delhi
As shown in Table 14.1, the depth to the groundwater table measured in May (a pre-monsoon
month) during 2007–2011 ranged between 4.83 and 34.11 m across different districts. These
depths could be classified into four categories – Low (0–10 m), Medium (10–20 m), High (20–
30 m) and Very High (greater than 30 m). According to this criterion, six districts (Central, East,
North, Northeast, Northwest, and West Delhi) had Low depths, two districts (New Delhi,
Southwest Delhi) had Medium depths, and One district (South Delhi) had Very High depth (from
the surface) of the groundwater table.

CONCLUSION
As demand for water increases, water managers and planners need to look widely for ways to
improve water management and augment water supplies. The Committee on Ground Water
Recharge concludes that artificial recharge can be one option in an integrated strategy to
optimize total water resource management, and it believes that with pretreatment, soil-aquifer
treatment, and posttreatment as appropriate for the source and site, impaired-quality water can be
used as a source for artificial recharge of ground water aquifers. and we want to increase the
plants as they absorb water and water evaporates from plants and reach the atmosphere and if the
soil is permeable it will increase the ground water

REFERANCE
1. Central Ground Water Board (n.d) http://www.cgwb.gov.in/gw_profiles/st_delhi.html.

Accessed 11 Aug 2015
2. Dash JP, Sarangi A, Singh DK (2010) Spatial variability of groundwater depth and quality
parameters in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Environ Manage 45:640–650 Cross
3. Maria A. Role of ground water in Delhi’s water supply, 2006. In: Urban groundwater
management and sustainability series. NATO science series, 74., Springer, pp 459–
470Google Scholar
4. Rodell M, Velicogna I, Famigliatti JS (2009) Satellite based estimates of groundwater

depletion in India. Nature 460:999–1002 CrossRef Google Scholar
5. Rohilla SK (2012) Water, city, and urban planning-assessing the role of groundwater in
urban development and planning in Delhi. CSH Occassional Paper N0. 31Google Scholar
6. Shekhar S, Purohit R, Kaushik YB (n.d.) Groundwater management in NCT

Delhi. www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in. Accessed 15 June 2014
7. Singh V (2007) Delhi master plan 2021. Rupa and Co., New Delh Google Scholar

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A MINI PROJECT REPORT

GROUND WATER – SOIL – PLANT – ATMOSPHERE INTERACTION

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, ANANTAPUR

In partial fulfilment of the requirements

For the award of the degree of

Under the guidance of

Mr. P.SIVA KUMAR, M.TECH,

Department of Civil Engineering

GEETHANJALI INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE &TECHNOLOGY

524 137 (A.P), India

Department of Civil Engineering

INTERNAL GUIDE Head Of The Department

Mr. P.SIVA KUMAR, Ms. I.RAJESWARI.

Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor,

Dept of Civil Engineering, Dept of Civil Engineering,

External Viva-Voce held on

Internal Examiner External Examiner

S.NO Description Page no.

CHAPTER-1 GROUNDWATER 1-8

CHAPTER-2 LITERATURE REVIEW 9-11

3.1 SOIL 12-16

3.2 Groundwater-Soil-Plant Interaction 16-18

3.3 Groundwater-Plant Interaction 18-22

3.4 Groundwater-Atmosphere Interaction 23-25

CHAPTER-4 CASE STUDY

Case Study of Groundwater in Delhi 26-29

This is study of interaction between “GROUNDWATER-SOIL-PLANT-ATMOSPHERE

How does the ground store water?

Department of Civil Engineering, GIST Page 1

How is groundwater contaminated?

Department of Civil Engineering, GIST Page 2

How do liquids contaminate groundwater?

What affects groundwater contamination?

Department of Civil Engineering, GIST Page 3

Why is cleaning up groundwater so hard?

 Aquifers provide two important functions:

Department of Civil Engineering, GIST Page 4

Department of Civil Engineering, GIST Page 5

Components of Hydrological Cycles and its definitions:

Department of Civil Engineering, GIST Page 6

Condensation: It is the conversion of a vapor or gas to a liquid.

Evapotranspiration: it is the combination of evaporation and transpiration.

Water balance Equation:

Precipitation – runoff = Evaporation

Department of Civil Engineering, GIST Page 7

Process of hydrological cycle:

Department of Civil Engineering, GIST Page 8

Lynn W Gelhar, Claire Welty, Kenneth R Rehfeldt

Empirical equations for some soil hydraulic properties

Roger B Clapp, George M Hornberger

Department of Civil Engineering, GIST Page 9

The magnitude of hydraulic redistribution by plant roots: a review and

Rebecca B Neumann, Zoe G Cardon

Challenges in humid land ecohydrology: Interactions of water table and

Ignacio Rodriguez‐Iturbe, Paolo D'Odorico, Francesco Laio, Luca Ridolfi,

Models of water transport in the soil‐plant system: A review

Department of Civil Engineering, GIST Page 10

Phreatophytic vegetation and groundwater fluctuations: a review of current

Elke Naumburg, Ricardo Mata-Gonzalez, Rachael G Hunter, Terry Mclendon,

Although changes in depth to groundwater occur naturally, anthropogenic alterations may

Department of Civil Engineering, GIST Page 11

Soils are formed by weathering of rocks due to mechanical disintegration or chemical

Department of Civil Engineering, GIST Page 12