The paper investigates the steady-state rise of the groundwater table upstream of a shallow tunnel due to the obstruction of the groundwater low in the direction normal to the tunnel axis, using a steady-state finite-element groundwater low model. Based on the parametric results of the analyses, the paper proposes a simplified method which gives reasonably accurate predictions of the magnitude of the water table rise via a closed-form analytical expression. It is shown that the predicted magnitude of the steady-state water table rise is proportional to the tunnel height and to the original hydraulic gradient in the direction normal to the tunnel axis. The predicted rise of the water table also depends on the depth of the tunnel below the original groundwater table. For uniform ground permeability, the predicted steady-state rise is independent of the hydraulic parameters of the aquifer. It is obvious, however, that the time required for the water table to rise and eventually reach the steady state condition is dependent on the permeability and storability characteristics of the aquifer. For typical values of the hydraulic gradient (2-5%), the predicted water table rise is in the order of % of the tunnel height for tunnels located just below the water table.