On the Prediction of Ground-Water Mound Formation in Response to Transient Recharge from a Circular Basin

An analytical solution of the linearized Boussinesq equation is developed to predict the formation of a ground-water mound in an aquifer system in response to localized time-varying recharge. The recharge is applied from a centrally located circular basin. The solution is obtained using an eigenvalue-eigenfunction method. The solution for a constant recharge rate is shown as a special case of the solution for a time-varying recharge rate. Application of the solution to predict ground-water mound formation is demonstrated by a numerical example. Effects of variation in the rate of reachrge, size of recharge basin and the saturated hydraulic conductivity on the growth of the water-table are also investigated.