The primary groundwater study objective is to evaluate, by groundwater instrumentation, the amount and rate of water moving within the groundwater reservoir and its relation to the hydrologic balance of the basin.
The groundwater reservoir must be outlined in three dimensions, and its reservoir constants evaluated. Thus the geologic framework of the basin must be established and the hydraulic properties of the reservoir materials involved must be calculated by well-hydraulic methods.
Water-table observation wells set in the various reservoir materials within the basin will show the change of groundwater stage in relation to the hydrologic balance and outline the phreatic divides. Piezometer tubes will show the limits of the 'effective' groundwater reservoir within any time period, the pressure gradients and direction of groundwater movement within the various components of the groundwater reservoir.
The parameters may be combined to provide a groundwater budget for any period limited by the assumptions involved.
Stevenson, D.R. (1971): Collection and compilation of groundwater data in the Marmot Creek experimental basin, 23-9-W5; Alberta Research Council, ARC/AGS Open File Report 1971-11, 103 p.