INFILTRATION and PERCOLATION:

Processes and…

Measurements

Prepared by:
SHIELA MAE S.
RUIVIVAR
BSCE 4B
What is INFILTRATION?

Infiltration is the movement of water

INTO the soil surface
Infiltration is the process by which water
on the ground surface enters the soil.
Infiltration rate in soil science is a
measure of the rate at which soil is able
to absorb rainfall or irrigation. It is
measured in inches per hour or
millimeters per hour. The rate decreases
as the soil becomes saturated. If the
precipitation rate exceeds the infiltration
rate, runoff will usually occur unless there
is some physical barrier. It is related to
the saturated hydraulic conductivity of
the near-surface soil. The rate of
infiltration can be measured using an
infiltrometer.
Processes of infiltration:

•Entry through
the soil surface
(infiltration)

•Storage in the
soil profile (soil
moisture)

•Transmission
through the soil
profile
(percolation)
What is PERCOLATION?

Percolation is the movement of water

WITHIN the soil matrix.
Processes of percolation:

•Once the water infiltrates into the

ground, the downward movement of
water through the soil profile may
begin.
•The percolating water may move as a
saturated front - under the influence of
gravity.
•Or, it may move as unsaturated
flow mostly due to capillary forces.
•The vertical percolation of the water
into various levels or zones allows for
storage in the subsurface.

•This stored subsurface water is held

and released as either evaporation,
transpiration, or as streamflow
eventually reaching the watershed
outlet.
What factors affect infiltration?
• Flow influences
– Head (ponding)
– Viscosity (function of temperature)
– Water quality
– Soil chemistry
– Soil and water temperature
– Air entrapment

• Soil surface conditions

– Land use
– Vegetation cover
– Roughness and slope
– Cracking and crusting
– Surface sealing, swelling
• Hydrophobicity
– Dryness
– Heat
– Plant chemicals
– Aromatic oils
– Other chemicals
– Fire

•Subsurface conditions
-Soil
• Hydrologic group (A B C D)
• Texture
• Porosity
• Depth
• Shrink and swell
• Layering
• Spatial variability
• Structure
• Subsurface conditions
– Root system
– Water table depth
– Subsurface drainage
– Water release relationship
– Hydraulic conductivity
How do we measure infiltration?

• Single ring infiltrometer

– Constant head (ponded depth)
– Results tend to be higher than that
due to rainfall
– Method described in lab notes
– Point scale
Infiltrometer ring
• Average infiltration method
– Small basins or plots
– Use storms with bursts of rain
– Compute the amount of rain in the burst
– Separate the runoff volume due to the burst
– Difference is infiltrated volume

• Soil surveys
– Usually report infiltration ranges for various soil
types

– Example rates
• Sand 124 mm/hr
• Sandy loam 50 mm/hr
• Loam 13.2 mm/hr
• Silt loam 1.05 mm/hr
• Light clay 0.44 mm/hr
• Rainfall simulators
– Needle drip systems
– Stand pipes
– Sprinkler nozzles
– Rotating boom

• All measure input of water and

output of water (runoff)- difference
is the amount infiltrated

• Plot scale

• Need lots of water, vehicles, plot

boundaries
Thank You! 