Chapter 3 Problems caused by groundwater

This chapter discusses a wide range of groundwater problems experienced by engineering works and examines some of the geotechnical mechanisms behind such problems, and some of their potential solutions. All in-ground engineering works interact with groundwater, either in terms of the effect of groundwater inflows, groundwater pressures or the change in behaviour of geological materials due to groundwater effects. For most construction projects, the groundwater itself and its effects are most commonly an impediment to construction and are thus viewed as ‘problems’. This chapter explores some of these problems by means of examples from literature and from the authors’ considerable experience, with many illustrated by figures.