A new method of evaluation of the response of a water table to artificial recharge is presented. The solution is formulated in the form of a simple numerical model. The model has several advantages over the traditional methods of mounding prediction. The effect of the unsaturated zone, which modifies the recharge rate as compared with the infiltration rate, is considered. Mounding is calculated for a variable recharge rate induced by a variable infiltration rate. Also, the effect of in-transit water in reducing the tillable pore space above a rising water table is considered. The validity of the model results is illustrated using several sets of field data collected in the Ghazvin Plain (Iran). Sample calculations proved that the model predicts mounding more accurately than the traditional methods and, therefore, more realistic recommendations for the design and operation of artificial recharge schemes are possible using the model.