<p>Aquifers are detected by boreholes or by water divining. Water divining is a very unscientific method which so far has no rational explanation, yet is often successful. I put this down to the fact that Britain is such a wet country that wherever you drill a borehole you are almost bound to discover water sooner or later. Perhaps a more scientific explanation for the success of water diviners may yet be found.</p>

<p>An aquifer needs an underlying area of impermeable or semi-permeable rock overlain by strata which are sufficiently fractured or granular that vast quantities of water can pass through them and be stored. Therefore, once you know the geology of a given area you can make a pretty good guess as to where water will be found. However, as your example shows,it is difficult to be absolutely certain where you will strike water,especially where you are dealing with limestone rock. With limestone it is possible to have a dry borehole when there is a substantial underground stream only yards away. Cavities in limestone erode in a random and unpredictable way.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-07T13:20:10.087Z
2019-09-07T13:20:10.087Z
Michael Walsby
<p>Aquifers are relatively permeable zones of material that transmit water. Common aquifer materials include layers of unconsolidated sedimentary rock, like sands and gravels; and poorly cemented “bedrock” units like sandstone. Interconnected solution cavities in limestone, called karst, are common in some areas. Calling something an “aquifer” generally infers that the unit is capable of producing enough water via a well to be of interest to humans. </p>

<p>Aquifers are typically delineated using geologic and geophysical logs of boreholes from wells and test holes. These kinds of logs are typically required to be provided to a specified public agency for future use by others. Using these logs, a geologist can create cross sections of an area to evaluate the extent and thickness of these units. This is done keeping in mind the geometry of how these were originally deposited, such as linear streams, sheet-like sands, etc.  </p>

<p>Surface geophysical techniques can also be used to assess subsurface conditions, but typically require “ground truth.” I remember asking a geophysicist what his data were telling him about an area, and he said, “I won’t know until you put some drill holes in.” It wasn’t as bad/funny as it seem. He could help color in between the data points, but first he needed to know what the specific geophysical response he was seeing meant as far as real rock present in the subsurface.</p>

<p>It should be rare to hit an aquifer zone unknowingly, as you described. It’s possible they hit a permeable fault zone, which can be tricky to know about beforehand. But I need to mention that engineers are notorious for keeping geologists out of the loop until a problem arises. They often don’t want to pay for upfront studies, the kind that geologists use to assess such things.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-09T15:21:23.680Z
2019-09-09T15:21:23.680Z
Daniel
<p>Recently a line from a <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/aquifer-was-not-detected-earlier-metro-engineers/articleshow/70939474.cms" rel="nofollow noreferrer">news article</a> about an aquifer in the path of a tunnel boring machine for Metro networks caught my attention:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Ahead of tunnelling, the builders conduct hydrogeology, a study of water flow in aquifers and characterization of
  aquifers. During our study, the aquifer wasn’t identified,” said an engineer.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This led me to wonder how aquifers and underground water flow are detected, studied and mapped out. I searched the net but couldn't find anything relevant.</p>

<p>So, <strong>how are aquifers detected and their courses mapped?</strong></p>

<hydrology><hydrogeology><underground-water>
How are aquifers found and traced?
William R. Ebenezer
# How are aquifers found and traced?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-09-07)

Recently a line from a [news article](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/aquifer-was-not-detected-earlier-metro-engineers/articleshow/70939474.cms) about an aquifer in the path of a tunnel boring machine for Metro networks caught my attention:

> Ahead of tunnelling, the builders conduct hydrogeology, a study of water flow in aquifers and characterization of
> aquifers. During our study, the aquifer wasn’t identified,” said an engineer.

This led me to wonder how aquifers and underground water flow are detected, studied and mapped out. I searched the net but couldn't find anything relevant.

So, **how are aquifers detected and their courses mapped?**

**Tags:** hydrology, hydrogeology, underground-water


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-09-09. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Aquifers are relatively permeable zones of material that transmit water. Common aquifer materials include layers of unconsolidated sedimentary rock, like sands and gravels; and poorly cemented “bedrock” units like sandstone. Interconnected solution cavities in limestone, called karst, are common in some areas. Calling something an “aquifer” generally infers that the unit is capable of producing enough water via a well to be of interest to humans.

Aquifers are typically delineated using geologic and geophysical logs of boreholes from wells and test holes. These kinds of logs are typically required to be provided to a specified public agency for future use by others. Using these logs, a geologist can create cross sections of an area to evaluate the extent and thickness of these units. This is done keeping in mind the geometry of how these were originally deposited, such as linear streams, sheet-like sands, etc.

Surface geophysical techniques can also be used to assess subsurface conditions, but typically require “ground truth.” I remember asking a geophysicist what his data were telling him about an area, and he said, “I won’t know until you put some drill holes in.” It wasn’t as bad/funny as it seem. He could help color in between the data points, but first he needed to know what the specific geophysical response he was seeing meant as far as real rock present in the subsurface.

It should be rare to hit an aquifer zone unknowingly, as you described. It’s possible they hit a permeable fault zone, which can be tricky to know about beforehand. But I need to mention that engineers are notorious for keeping geologists out of the loop until a problem arises. They often don’t want to pay for upfront studies, the kind that geologists use to assess such things.


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### Answer by username_1 on 2019-09-07. Score: 1

Aquifers are detected by boreholes or by water divining. Water divining is a very unscientific method which so far has no rational explanation, yet is often successful. I put this down to the fact that Britain is such a wet country that wherever you drill a borehole you are almost bound to discover water sooner or later. Perhaps a more scientific explanation for the success of water diviners may yet be found.

An aquifer needs an underlying area of impermeable or semi-permeable rock overlain by strata which are sufficiently fractured or granular that vast quantities of water can pass through them and be stored. Therefore, once you know the geology of a given area you can make a pretty good guess as to where water will be found. However, as your example shows,it is difficult to be absolutely certain where you will strike water,especially where you are dealing with limestone rock. With limestone it is possible to have a dry borehole when there is a substantial underground stream only yards away. Cavities in limestone erode in a random and unpredictable way.


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