Chapter 2 Engineering geological principles of groundwater

Theories for groundwater flow provide the means for quantitively predicting the movement, pressure, temperature and chemical quality of groundwater with time. The raw data these theories require to achieve a prediction are as important as the theories themselves. Engineering geologists must consider the ground and its water for any site to identify what data are required for the safe construction and future functionality of the project in hand. When making such decisions it is of immense value to know what these theories can deliver and how they use the data selected to make their predictions. This chapter describes and explains the basic concepts behind commonly used theories for groundwater flow, to provide a sound basis for deciding what data their predictions require for assuring the construction and working life of a project, and for assessing the reliability of predictions they make based on the data they have used.