BAE 438G/CE 460- Fundamentals of Groundwater Hydrology

Course Description:

The first course in the physics of saturated flow in porous media. Topics include ground-water occurrence, Darcian flow, well hydraulics, flow nets, and layered systems flow. The basic concepts of pollutant movement and unsaturated flow are introduced and case studies are analyzed. Prerec: ME 330 or CE 341 or consent of instructor.

Text: Applied Hydrogeology by C.W. Fetter

Basic knowledge required:

Water runs downhill
Unit conversions
Mathematical manipulation of an equation
How to read and plot a graph (xy, semilog, log)
Basic integration and differentiation

Learning Outcomes: At the completion of the course, the student will be able to:

Access information and equations from texts on groundwater
Estimate groundwater recharge from stream elevation data
Describe the differences between confined and unconfined aquifer systems
Draw a flownet
Predict steady-state groundwater flow between a source and sink
Predict the transient drawdown of a water table subject to groundwater withdrawal
Determine aquifer properties from pumping test data
Describe anomalies in pumping test data
Understand basic water chemistry
Predict the steady-state movement of a contaminant plume
Determine and describe the zone of influence of a pumping well
Understand basic carbonate equilibrium
Describe major aquifer systems in Kentucky and the US

Grading Policies

Our accreditation association and policy of the Graduate School require that there be different assignments and grading criteria for undergraduate students and graduate students in 400G and 500-level courses.  For that reason, you will find differences in course requirements and/or grading criteria in this class, posted on this syllabus.                

Grading Scale:

The university guidelines state that the minimum punishment for cheating/plagiarism is an "E".

The class relies heavily on your ability to utilize the text by Fetter to solve problems. You will be graded on your ability to identify the problem, describe a solution procedure, locate the appropriate equations in Fetter, and calculate the answer. All exams are comprehensive and open book (not open notes).

Make-up exams will be prepared for students missing an exam because of a University excused absence. There will be no other make-up exams.

Project:

Throughout the semester we are going to develop our skills to analyze ground-water problems. Since communication will be an essential part of any job you may accept after graduation, I think it is appropriate to have a writing exercise. I would like you to write a creative, short story describing a ground-water problem. The story may include people, aliens, monsters, cartoon characters, courtroom scenes, villains, etc. The project must include the description of a groundwater problem and the equations to support any conclusions that you derive from your story. The entire scenario should be fabricated, but should include correct fundamentals of groundwater hydrology. I don't think a story can be developed and resolved in less than four pages. I do not want to read more than 20 pages. You will be graded on writing ability, story content, creativity, and accuracy of your ground-water analysis. The project is due on December 11.

Graduate Student Project: 

Graduate students are expected to consult with the instructor regarding the research and preparation of a graduate student project. By the second week of classes, the student and instructor will agree on a specific theme for the project.  The student has the responsibility to obtain background materials, perform the analyses, and prepare the report.  At least bi-weekly, the student is to report progress to the instructor.  The student will be graded on preparation skills, writing ability, and content of the report.

General Comments:

Homework problems will be distributed. It is your responsibility to complete the work. In addition, there are answered problems in the text to work and many of the examples in the text are excellent. I expect you to work in groups to complete and discuss homework. I do not recommend that you do this in other courses as it can be considered cheating if you are receiving a grade. You don't have to do the homework, but students that do the homework tend to do better on the exams.

Quizzes will be given at the end of most class periods that do not contain a pre-test or test. The quiz will generally cover material discussed during that particular class. The quizzes will be graded on a 0-2 scale. A score of 2 will be given to students that understand the material, a score of 1 will be given to students that have some idea of the material, and score of 0 will be given to students that missed the quiz. Try to bring books and calculators to each lecture.

I have a policy of giving a pre-test during the lecture period prior to the test date. I highly recommend that you not miss any of the pre-tests since they give you an indication of the types of problems that may be on the actual test. These are worked in class with immediate feedback from me concerning any questions.

I believe that the Fetter text is one of the best groundwater texts available. You should be able to get an A in the course without listening to me. If you read the text, attend class regularly, work through the example problems, work the homework problems, and understand the pre-tests, you should have little trouble with the course.

Class notes can be found at "http://www.bae.uky.edu/~sworkman/AEN438G/topics.htm"