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 Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality researchers estimated 53.2 years as the typical time of travel for one mile in the Sparta, that is, 99.3 feet per year. (10) In calculating typical velocity, they used average values for hydraulic conductivity (the ease with which water flows through the aquifer), hydraulic gradient (head loss per distance of flow) and porosity (percentage of volume through which water can move). The values are averages and do not take into account the facts that discontinuous units differ in flow rates and direction; or that localized areas differ in hydraulic conductivity, hydraulic gradient, and porosity; or that pumping results in increased ground water velocity in areas where (and to the extent that) the hydraulic gradient has been increased by that pumping. Figure 7 is a Louisiana Geological Survey graph depicting typical travel time in Louisiana aquifers.
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