Water table fluctuations due to canal seepage and time varying recharge

Transient water table variation in an unconfined horizontal aquifer, lying between two canals located at different elevations above the impermeable barrier and receiving time varying recharge, is predicted by obtaining an analytical solution to the linearized Boussinesq equation. The proposed solution is for the generalized form of time varying recharge and has been obtained by applying an indigenously devised transformation to the flow governing equation. The solution for constant rate of recharge, a special case of the proposed solution, is compared with the existing analytical solution and almost identical values of water table rise are obtained. The effect of constant recharge, exponentially decreasing recharge and a combination of constant and exponentially decreasing recharge on the water table rise is analyzed with the help of a numerical example.