UNIVERSITY OF

LUZON
Dagupan City, Pangasinan

College of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Civil Engineering

Second Semester A.Y. 2017- 2018

IRRIGATION
CE 514

Submitted to:
Engr. Geronimo A. Carvajal
Submitted by:
Calimlim, Blessie
Distor, Jerome
Montemayor, Jovit
 Santiago,Lyan Ruth R.

Flow of
Water into
and
 throu
gh
Soils
FLOW OF WATER INTO AND THROUGH SOIL

HOW DOES WATER MOVE THROUGH SOIL?

In the basic water cycle, water falls on the land in some type of precipitation
(rain or snow). It either is soaked into the ground or runs off into a body of
water – stormwater or natural. Eventually, it returns to the atmosphere.

FLOW OF WATER THROUGH SOILS MAY EITHER

Laminar Flow
Laminar flow, flows parallel with no disruption between the layers.
Turbulent Flow
Fluid flow in which the fluid undergoes irregular fluctuations, or mixing. The
speed of the fluid at a point is continuously undergoing changes in magnitude
and direction, which results in swirling and eddying as the bulk of the fluid
moves in a specific direction.

SOIL WATER MOVEMENT

Saturated Flow - When the soil is saturated, all the pores are filled and
conducting, so that conductivity is maximal. Water flow caused by gravity's
pull.
Unsaturated Flow - In unsaturated soil, some of the pores become air-filled
and the conductivity decreases.

Water Vapour Movement -

FACTORS AFFECTING WATER

FLOW IN SOIL
Texture: Finer the texture, more is
the pore space and also surface area,
greater is the retention of water
Structure: Well-aggregated porous
structure favors better porosity, which in turn enhance water retention
Organic matter: Higher the organic matter more is the water retention in the
soil
Density of soil: Higher the density of soil, lower is the moisture content
Temperature: Cooler the
temperature, higher is the
moisture retention
Salt content: More the salt
content in the soil less is the
water available to the plant
 ENERGY IN FLOWING WATER

Kinetic Energy - due to velocity

Strain Energy - due to pressure
Potential Energy - due to elevation with respect to datum

Also known as:

Velocity Head - due to the bulk motion
of a fluid
Elevation Head - due to the fluid's
weight the gravitational force acting on
a column of fluid
Pressure Head - static pressure

BERNOULLI'S EQUATION

-use to define the flow of water through soil masses

Total Energy = Velocity Energy + Pressure Energy + Elevation Energy

Total Head = Pressure Head + Elevation Head

DARCY'S LAW
-the rate of flow or the discharge per unit time is proportional to the hydraulic
gradient.

-an equation that describe the flow of fluid through a porous medium.
v = ki
q = vA
q = kiA
where:

v - discharge velocity of water through soil (m/s)

k - coefficient of permeability (m/s)

i - hydraulic gradient (headloss/flow length)

A - cross sectional area of a specimen

q - flow rate
*Darcy’s law is valid as long as the flow is laminar. It is applied to soil
fraction finer than fine gravels.

PIEZOMETER
A piezometer is either a device used to measure liquid pressure in a system by
measuring the height to which a column of the liquid rises against gravity, or
a device which measures the pressure (more precisely, the piezometric head)
of groundwater at a specific point.
A piezometer is designed to measure static pressures, and thus differs from a
pitot tube by not being pointed into the fluid flow.

Piezometers are used for measuring pore pressures in ground.

TYPES OF PIEZOMETERS

ELECTRIC PIEZOMETERS
Electric piezometers consist of a deflecting diaphragm and a porous filter
separated by a small reservoir of water. Deflections of the diaphragm are
detected using a vibrating wire or a strain gauge and are converted to an
equivalent pressure using a suitable
calibration.

HYDRAULIC PIEZOMETERS
Hydraulic piezometers consist of a
porous filter enclosing a reservoir
of water, which is separated from a
pressure gauge by flexible, water
filled tubes. The tubes are used to
circulate water through the system,
removing air and ensuring that the
reservoir remains full of water.

Pressure at point A can be

computed by measuring the height
to which the liquid rises in the glass tube. The pressure at point A is given by
p = wh, where w is the specific weight of the liquid.
Gauge pressure at

point A = ρ x g x h
Where,
ρ = Density of liquid
g = Acceleration due to gravity
h = Rise of liquid in Piezometer glass tube

Absolute pressure at

Point A = Pa + ρ x g x h
Where, Pa is the atmospheric pressure

SOIL PERMEABILITY MEASUREMENT

WHAT IS SOIL PERMEABILITY?

 The permeability of a soil is the ability of water to move through it (permeate it). It
depends on the physical and chemical properties of the soil, notably particle size
distribution (the range of particle sizes present), pore space, pore size and the
continuity of the spaces.

 The formal name is hydraulic conductivity, which refers to the ability of a soil to
conduct water. Hydraulic conductivity, or K, is measured in cm/hour – that is, how
far water will move through soil in a given time.

Soil permeability is a characteristic property of soil, and studying it helps to erect better
structures, construct stable foundations, and performs agricultural activities. Permeability
of soil depends upon various factors, and important related aspects.

 Permeability can be defined as the ability of a porous mass to allow

passage of water through the medium. Understanding permeability means
understanding the structure of the soil and how water passes through
different layers. Soil, as we know, has a layered structure, and water
 pressure at the surface would not be same at the middle portion.
Determination of permeability enables engineers and agriculturists to study
fluid-flow characteristics through a soil mass and thus helps in improving
workability of the soil. As water is an essential ingredient for engineering
and agricultural, work in the determination of permeability helps in
retaining optimum water content so that best possible results are achieved
in the minimum time.

HOW TO FIND THE PERMEABILITY OF A SOIL?

 The pumping test and percolation test can be used in the field to provide
information about the permeability of soils. The pumping test is an active way to
determine permeability whereas the percolation test is a passive way to find out
permeability of a soil sample under consideration. The percolation test can be
performed easily, and it does not cost much as well.

Determination of Permeability

 Soil or any porous material has pores or voids that allow movement of air and
water through it. Through these voids, water travels and reaches the bottom of the
porous material. If the voids in a soil mass are more, it will allow water to pass
through easily and hence possess high permeability. On the other hand, a tightly
packed soil mass will have less space between its constituent particles, which will
not allow much water to pass through it and thus will have less permeability. Based
on the above logic, gravel will have higher permeability than clay because gravel is
a coarse aggregate and its constituent materials are loosely packed.

 To determine the flow of a fluid through a porous media, i.e. permeability of a

porous mass, Darcy's Law is used. Darcy's Law is derived from the popular
Navier-Stokes equation, which basically makes use of Newton's Second Law to
study fluid substances. Darcy's Law includes using the viscosity of fluid, pressure
drop, and rate of discharge. The formula used to determine permeability.

Factors Affecting Permeability of Soil

 Studying soil permeability is important because of the following reasons:

○ Underground seepage study is an important aspect of all the Civil

Engineering works because once a foundation is laid, you don't
want the soil mass holding your foundation to leak water.

○ It aids in the determination of geostatic stresses and the effect of

water pressure on earth structures.
 ○ It gives a beforehand idea about settlement of a foundation and
volumetric changes in soil layers when subjected to fluids or water.

 Before constructing a structure, it is always helpful to know the amount of water

that can be discharged through a soil mass, and calculating permeability is the best
way to know the discharge quantity .

 There are numerous factors that affect the permeability of a soil mass. Important
factors are mentioned below:

○ Chemical components of the interacting fluid, if not water, and its

temperature.

Porosity of the soil mass under consideration, soil compaction also impacts
permeability of soil.

 Permeability from particle size of soil grain size, particle shape, and degree of
packing of soil mass constituents

Permeability and Agriculture

In agricultural terms, permeability helps in determining the amount of water

soaked in by the soil- whether rainfall soaks into the ground or runs off to the nearest
stream. If the soil is not permeable and allows water to stay on its surface, it will affect
plant growth. Water management techniques should be applied to avoid water-logging
of agricultural soils. Controlled traffic and zero tillage are the best ways to reduce
surface accumulation of water. Improving water entryways and water storage
techniques near the field are also good practices to reduce the effect of water-logging
on crops. Cover crops have helped farmers and agriculturists to improve permeability
of soil and reduce soil surface strength as well.

WATER FLOW IN UNSATURATED SOIL

How water flow in soil ?

Hydraulic Conductivity: Since some of the volume of a soil is occupied
by soil particles, water does not flow through a soil as easily as it does through an open
pipe. The ease of water movement is known as the hydraulic conductivity of the soil. ...
As soils dry out, water in the largest pores is lost first.

Water movement in soils is quite simple and easy to understand in some ways and
quite complex and difficult to grasp in others. An object that is free to move tends to move
spontaneously from a state of higher potential energy to one of lower potential energy. So
it is with water. A unit volume or mass of water tends to move from an area of higher
potential energy to one of lower potential energy.

What is unsaturated soil?

Unsaturated soil known also as partially saturated soil .Water flow when larger pores in
soil are filled with air is said to be unsaturated. Smaller pores hold and transmit water.

Contribution of hydraulic head or the gravitational component to total potential

becomes progressively less .Negligible effect of solute potential is due to the fact that both
solutes and water are moving.

Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is a measure of how water flows through a soil

profile when the soil is not saturated with water. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of
a soil is important when evaluating the movement of pesticides and nutrients through the
soil at different water contents. In this method we start out with soil in a column and
saturate it with water just as in the saturated hydraulic conductivity method.

Unsaturated soil zone

The unsaturated zone is the part of the subsurface between the land surface and the
groundwater table. The definition of an unsaturated zone is that the water content is below
saturation (for the specific soil). Hence, ‘unsaturated’ means that the pore spaces between
the soil grain particles or the pore space in cracks and fissures are partially filled with
water, partially with air. The unsaturated zone can be from meters to hundred of meters
deep.

If an unsaturated zone exists below the ground surface the water infiltrating through the
top soil will flow vertically through the unsaturated zone before the water recharges the
saturated zone. From the unsaturated zone, the water is lost by i) plant uptake
(transpiration), ii) direct soil evaporation and iii) recharge. In the unsaturated zone, the
driving force for the flow of water is the vertical gradient of the hydraulic head (consisting
of gravity and capillary forces), and the soil characteristics (unsaturated hydraulic
conductivity).
The vertical flow through an unsaturated soil is solved numerically using the Richards
Equation. This equation is developed by combining the Darcy’s law with the law of
conservation of mass and the result is a partial differential equation for one-dimensional
vertical flow in unsaturated soil.

SOIL MOISTURE AND STORAGE AVAILABILITY

A soil is at saturation or near saturation following a heavy irrigation or rainfall in

which most or all of the spaces between soil particles are filled by water. The force of
gravity is greater than the force with which soil particles hold water, so between saturation
and field capacity (see below), water is free to drain through the soil by the force of
gravity.

Field capacity (FC) is the amount of water that a soil can hold against drainage by
gravity.

Permanent wilting point (PWP) is the moisture content in a soil at which plants
permanently wilt and will not recover.

Available water (AW) is the water content that the soil can hold between field capacity
and wilting point.

Readily available water (RAW) is that portion of available water that the crop can use
without affecting its evapotranspiration and growth. This portion is often indicated as a
fraction of available water (p) and is dependent primarily on the type of crop and
evaporative demand. A p value of 0.5 is commonly used. Shallow rooted crops such as
most vegetables, however, require high moisture levels for acceptable yields, so p is about
0.3. Deeper rooted crops will generally tolerate higher depletions, so p = 0.6 to 0.7. During
critical stages of growth (for example, flowering in corn), less depletion should be allowed
than at other stages.

Soil moisture is typically measured as a percent of dry weight of soil, or as a volume

percentage. Expression as a volume percentage or depth of water per unit depth of soil is
most common and convenient in irrigation management.

The most useful measurement gives available water-holding capacity (AW) as a depth of
water per unit depth of soil expressed as mm of water per meter of soil depth (mm/m) or
inches of water per foot of soil depth (in/ft).

Soil Moistur

The total available water (TAW) for a crop

with root zone depth (D) is the product of the
available water-holding capacity (AW) per unit
of soil depth and the root depth in the same units, or:

TAW = D AW

The readily available water in the root zone (RAW) is:

RAW = p TAW
p = percent of allowable depletion not resulting in crop stress

Field Capacity

Although there are several lab methods for determining field capacity, it may be faster and
more practical to estimate as follows:
(1) select a recently irrigated plot with no plants on it or make a small basin and fill with
water;

(2) cover the saturated soil with canvas or plastic to prevent evaporation; and

(3) take samples after the soil has drained to field capacity. The time required is usually
one day in coarse-textured soils, two days in medium-textured soils, and three to four days
in fine-textured soils. Samples of the soil taken after the indicated time period will be
approximately at field capacity. Table 2.5 can then be used to understand the concept of
field capacity for different soil textures by the "feel" method.

Soil intake characteristics

Soils that take up water rapidly will wet the root zone rapidly after the onset of
irrigation, and thus irrigations will usually be of short duration. The rate at which soils take
water is called the soil intake rate, and the rate at which water goes into the soil is
the infiltration rate. The intake rate of a soil will affect such management and design
factors as irrigation durations, flow rates to be used, and dimensions of the system.

Factors Affecting Intake Rates

The most important factors influencing the infiltration rate of water into the soil are:

1. Soil texture and structure. The coarser the texture and the more highly structured, the
higher the infiltration rates.
2. Soil surface conditions. Orientation of soil particles and compaction: after water
moves over a soil surface, soil particles are rearranged and the soil surface tends to seal.

3. Soil moisture content and moisture gradients. Generally, the drier the soil, the faster
the infiltration rate.

4. Time since the start of irrigation. Infiltration rate decreases with time until the basic
intake rate is reached.

5. Salt content in the water and soil. Soils high in soluble salts will typically exhibit
higher intake rates than soils from which salts have been leached.

6. High levels of sodium on the soil's exchange sites will severely affect infiltration if
structure collapses.

Infiltration rate, as used in border irrigation and sometimes in furrow irrigation, has
the units of velocity (l/t) and is the depth of water entering the soil profile per unit time. It
can also be thought of as the volume of water absorbed by a unit area per unit time. The
metric units commonly used to express infiltration rate are mm/hr or mm/mint In furrow
irrigation, where infiltration rate is expressed as a depth per unit time, an equivalent depth
is usually implied since movement is horizontal as well as vertical. The depth is obtained
by dividing the volume rate of infiltration per unit of furrow length by the product of unit
length and furrow spacing. In furrow irrigation, infiltration rate is commonly expressed as
the volume absorbed by a unit length of furrow in a unit time.

ABSORPTION AND MOVEMENT OF WATER IN SOIL

The movement of water from the soil surface into and through the soil is called water
intake. It is the expression of several factors including infiltration and percolation.

Infiltration:

Infiltration is the term applied to the process of water entry into the soil generally (but not
necessarily) through the soil surface and vertically downward. This process is of great
practical importance since its rate determines the amount of run-off over the soil surface.

In other words, infiltration refers to the entry and downward movement of water in to the
soil surface. Infiltration is a surface characteristic of a soil.

Infiltration rate:
It is the rate at which the water enters from the surface to the soil. Initially the infiltration
rate is more but afterwards it decreases because the soil gets wet. According to the rate of
entry of water from surface to the soil, infiltration rate is grouped in to four categories.

1. Very Slow: soils with less than 0.25cm per hour e.g. - very clay soils.
2. Slow: infiltration rate of 0.25cm to 1.25cm per hour e.g. Soils with high clay.
3. Moderate: infiltration rate of 1.25 to 2.5cm per hour. e.g. - sandy loam/ silt loam soils.
4. Rapid: infiltration rate is more than 2.5cm per hour e.g. deep/sandy silt loam soils.

Factors affecting the rate of infiltration:

 Compactness of soil surface: A compact soil surface permits less infiltration

whereas more infiltration occurs from loose soil surface.
 Impact of rain drop: the force (speed) with which the rain drop falls on the ground is
said to be impact of rain drop. Ordinary size varies from 0.5 to 4mm in diameter.
The speed of raindrop is 30ft per second and force is 14 times its own weight. When
impact of raindrop is more then it causes sealing and closing of pores (capillaries)
especially in easily dispensable soils resulting in infiltration rate
 Soil cover: Soil surface with vegetative cover has more infiltration rate than bare soil
because sealing of capillary is not observed.
 Soil Wetness: If soil is wet, infiltration is less. In dry soil, infiltration is more.
 Soil temperature: Warm soil absorbs more water than cold soils.
 Soil texture: In coarse textured soils, infiltration rate is more as compared to heavy
soils. In coarse textured soil, the numbers of macro-pores are more. In clayey soils, the
cracking caused by drying also increases infiltration in the initial stages until the soil
again swells and decreases infiltration.
 Depth of soil: Shallow soils permit less water to enter into soil than too deep soils.

A coarse surface textured, high water stable aggregates, more organic matter in the surface
soil and greater number of micro pores, all help to increase infiltration. As it is a dynamic
and quite variable character of soil, it can be controlled by management practices.
Cultivation practices that loosen the surface soil make it more receptive for infiltration e.g.
course organic matter mulches increases infiltration.

Permeability:

It is defined as the characteristic that determines how fast air and water move through the
soil describes what is known as permeability.

Once the water has entered into the top layer, its subsequent slow or rapid movement
within the soil indicates its rapid or slow permeability. The permeability basically depends
upon pore size distribution in the soil. Larger the number of macro pores (non-capillary
pores), the greater is the permeability. The movement of water becomes slow in subsoil
layers due to their compactness and low organic matter content but with deep-rooted
plants, there is an increased permeability even in such sub soil layers. Permeability
increases with the increasing fine texture.

Permeability depends up on:

 Number of micro pores: More the number of macro pores higher is the permeability.
 Soil aggregates: Larger the size of capillary pores, greater is the permeability.
 Depth of soil: Permeability decreases with the depth, as the sub soil layers are more
compact and have less organic matter
 Coarseness of soil texture: In coarse textured soil, permeability is more, however
fine textured soil is less.
 Salt concentration: Salt concentration affects permeability adversely. If the sodium
is high in water; it would cause ready dispersion of soil and thus reduces permeability.
 Soil moisture status: Permeability decreases as the soil becomes drier and increases
when soil becomes wet.
 Organic matter content: more organic matter in the soil results in more
permeability.

The permeability is considered slow, if it is less than 2.5 cm per hour, moderate if it is
about 5.0 cm per hour. Like infiltration, permeability can be also controlled to a extent by
suitable management practices. Continuous tillage reduces permeability, while the growth
of deep-rooted crops like pulses or legumes, grasses and tress increases permeability. The
permeability of soil varies with its moisture status and usually decreases as the soil
becomes drier because air enters in to soil and reduces the permeability.

Percolation:

The down ward movement of water through saturated or nearly saturated soil due to the
forces of gravity is known as percolation. Percolation occurs when water is under pressure
or when the tension is smaller than about 1/3 atmosphere.

Percolating water goes deep into the soil until it meets the free water table. Percolation
studies are important for two reasons-

1)Percolating water is only source of recharge of ground water, which can be again be
profitably used through springs and wells for irrigation.

2)Percolating water carries plant nutrients like Calcium, Magnesium deep into lower
layers and depositing them beyond the reach of roots of common field crops. In sandy or
open textured soils, there is a rapid loss of water through percolation.

Percolation depends up on:

(i) Climate: If the rainfall is more than evaporation, then there will be appreciable
amount of percolation. In dry region, percolation is almost negligible.
(ii) Nature of soil: sandy soils permit more percolation as these occupy large number of
macro-pores. The macro-pores serve as the main channels of the gravitational flow.
However, clayey soil permits less water to percolate.

Capillary movement:

Once the flow due to gravitational forces has been ceased (stopped), the water moves in
the form of thin or capillary film from a wet region to dry region. This type movement goes
through the finer or micro-pores and it continues until the thickness of moisture film
surrounding the soil particles is equal to both the regions (wet and dry regions). Capillary
may be in all directions i.e. it may be downward, lateral or upwards from a low tension to
high-tension area, since thicker film have lower tension; water from thicker film around
the soil particles flows to thinner film. The greater the difference between the thicknesses
of the film, the quicker is the capillary movement up to certain point and as difference
narrows, the movement of water film also becomes slow and may cease (stop).

NON- HOMOGENEOUS ANISOTROPIC SOIL

Anisotropy, which is the opposite of “isotropy,” is a term used to denote preferential flow
direction in soils and other geologic materials. If soil consisted of perfectly spherical
grains, flow rates would be isotropic – the same in all directions, other factors being equal.
Soil doesn’t consist of perfectly spherical grains, however.
It’s commonly understood that flow of air and water through soils is greatly influenced by
grain size, but grain shape is also key. Clay minerals have a platy crystaline habit and tend
to lie flat in alluvial deposits. Sand and silt grains made of micas or metamorphic rock
fragments with slatey cleavage tend to land flat side down when deposited.
In soils, there is usually a substantial decrease in vertical hydraulic conductivity going
from the A (topsoil) to the B (subsoil) horizon. Soil-forming processes create weathering
products such as clay, sesquioxides (iron and aluminum oxyhydroxides), carbonates, and
silicates that accumulate in the B horizon. Roots and burrowing soil fauna increase
conductivity in the A horizon.
Depending on the physical properties of the soil, preferential flow could occur in any
direction, but the tendency is for higher horizontal rates. For many layered soils, the
hydraulic conductivity perpendicular to the soil layers is slower than the conductivity
parallel to soil layers. The lateral conductivity is determined by the layer with highest
conductivity, while the vertical conductivity is controlled by the layer with lowest
hydraulic conductivity (Zaslavsky and Rogowski, 1969; Todd, 1980).
Zaslavsky and Rogowski (1969) found the combined effects of slope and soil anisotropy
caused subsurface lateral flow in both saturated and unsaturated conditions. Subsurface
lateral flow has important water quality ramifications by limiting the vertical absorptive
capacity of the soil.
Steenhuis and Muck (1988) studied the downslope movement of chlorine and nitrate
during runoff events and found “interflow,” a type of subsurface lateral flow that occurs
when the soil moisture is between field capacity and saturation, to be an important
transport process and a necessary precursor to surface runoff. The interflow was set up by
a reduction in hydraulic conductivity in an underlying layer. Instead of allowing steady
infiltration to the deeper soil, the anisotropic properties of the subhorizon promoted
saturated flow in the upper, more permeable soil. Rapid subsurface lateral flow and its
associated runoff may be capable of transporting a variety of pollutants, for example: road
salt, fertilizers, pesticides, animal wastes, engine fluids from salvage yards, and leachate
from on-site waste disposal systems.
Mechanisms of Anisotropy
Todd (1980) noted that, especially for unconsolidated undisturbed alluvial material,
anisotropic behavior is the norm. Two reasons for anisotropy in unconsolidated sediments
include: i)individual particles are rarely spherical. When they settle out of the water
column, they land with their flat sides down.
Sheet silicate minerals (phyllosilicates) such as micas and most clay minerals have a platy
crystalline habit, and would tend to land on their flat sides); and ii) alluvium tends to exist
in layers of different grain sizes that reflect changes in the flow regime or sediment source
during deposition. Each layer has its own unique hydraulic conductivity.
For a set of horizontal layers, if one layer has a relatively low hydraulic conductivity,
vertical flow is restricted, but horizontal flow is rapid through overlying layers with
relatively high hydraulic conductivity. Hydraulic conductivities in layered sediments tend
to be higher in the horizontal direction (Todd, 1980).
Soil-forming process, including leaching of materials downward by infiltrating water,
upward migration of materials by capillary draw, and faunal turbation by earthworms and
other animals produce “horizons” that may have different hydraulic behavior than the
horizons above or below. Generally, layered soils will have higher hydraulic
conductivities in the lateral direction than in the vertical direction (Zaslavsky and
Rogowski, 1969), although this is not always true (Hammermeister et al., 1982a; Dabney
and Selim, 1987).
Soil “B” horizons are zones of accumulation where translocated materials are deposited
onto mineral grain surfaces and into pores, effectively reducing the hydraulic conductivity
of that soil layer (Whipkey and Kirkby, 1978). Argillic horizons are B horizons where the
accumulated material is clay; spodic horizons are B horizons where the accumulated
material is humus and amorphous compounds of iron and aluminum; calcic horizons form
as the result of precipitation of calcite mobilized from calcite-rich materials above or
below the calcic horizon. All of these B horizons can potentially restrict the downward
infiltration of water and cause saturated conditions near the soil surface.
Soil structure, i.e., the pattern and size of soil aggregates, soil texture, and depth are key
variables in determining anisotropic flow in soil profiles. The weight of overlying
materials, or “geostatic pressure,” further tends to reduce porosity and hydraulic
conductivity with depth (Whipkey and Kirkby, 1987).
Layered soils do not always have higher hydraulic conductivity in the horizontal direction
as opposed to the vertical direction (Bouma et al., 1982). Hammermeister et al. (1982a, b)
found soil “A” horizons on Oregon forested hillslopes having higher hydraulic
conductivity in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction, presumably due to
faunal turbation and vertically-oriented root channels. In their study, surface lateral flow
was caused by saturation of soil horizons immediately overlying a dense till parent
material. The till acted as an aquitard. Changes in lithology are often associated with
anisotropic flow of roundwater.
Some soils, such as Vertisols, and Mollisols develop large, continuous cracks due to
shrinking and swelling of expansible clays, such as smectite. Such soils may have very
high vertical hydraulic conductivity, compared to horizontal conductivity (Dabney and
Selim, 1987). This situation can be potentially hazardous by threatening groundwater
quality if contaminants are introduced to the soil.

Hydrologic Implications
Anisotropy and Hillslope Hydrology
Chorley (1978) took issue with the Hortonian model (Horton, 1941) of overland flow. The
Hortonian runoff model essentially says that when the rate of precipitation exceeds the
infiltration capacity of the soil, overland flow will occur (precipitation-infiltration capacity
= overland runoff). Instead, Chorley formulated a more elaborate model of hillslope
hydrology that accounted for layered profiles with flow restricting layers, subsurface
lateral flow or throughflow,” and the focusing of infiltrating water to the bottom of the hill
(F
Because of downhill drainage, footslopes tend to have higher antecedent moisture than
higher backslope and summit positions. He also noted that hydraulic conductivities in
coarse soils were faster when the soils were at least 80% saturated and capillary forces
were negligible. This is a significant departure from the Hortonian model, since Chorley’s
scenario can lead to rapid, saturated flow in select areasof a watershed, even though
precipitation rates never exceeded the infiltration rates of the soil. These limited areas
prone to surface runoff include: i) footslope positions near surface water bodies, ii)
concavities where streamlines converge near the land surface (Fig. 2), and iii) areas of thin
soil cover, where infiltration is limited by an underlying impermeable formation.
The “concavities” mentioned above include both profile concavities and contour (lateral)
concavities. On a topographic map, contour concavities appear bay-like or
horseshoe-shaped. Both profile and lateral concavities force flowlines to converge at an
area that becomes more saturated than the rest of the landscape. Anisotropic behavior, with
horizontal hydraulic conductivity (Kx) greater than vertical hydraulic conductivity (Ky),
enhances the process of subsurface lateral flow and partial area saturation (Fig. 3).
Zaslavsky and Rogowsky (1969) and Burt and Trudgill (1985) presented a model for the
combined effects of hill slope angle and soil anisotropy (Figure 3). The angle of the
flowline through the soil (beta) can be calculated from the land surface slope angle (alpha),
the lateral hydraulic conductivity (Kx), and the vertical conductivity (Ky) using the
equation:

[tan β = 1/U tan α],

where U = Kx/Ky, Kx/Ky > 1 (Figure 3). This relationship indicates that as the slope
becomes steeper and U becomes greater, i.e., Kx/Ky gets greater, the flowlines run more
shallow and parallel to the land surface.
Measuring Anisotropy
One laboratory tool used to measure anisotropy is the permeameter. Permeameters work
reasonably well in estimating hydraulic conductivity in “undisturbed” soil cores (Freeze
and Cherry, 1979). The “constant head” permeameter determines K in coarser-textured
soils from the volume of water (Q) that flows through the soil core over a period of time. A
constant hydraulic gradient (H) is maintained over a soil core of known length (L) and
cross-sectional area (A), so that K = QL/AH.
A “falling head” permeameter uses a variable hydraulic gradient to determine “K,” and is
recommended over the constant-head permeameter for fine-textured soils. I have
personally used the constant head permeameter to observe hydraulic conductivities Kx,
Ky, and Kz in oriented soil cores taken from a single hillsope and found that K varied over
almost two orders of magnitude, with considerable variance within replicates.
Conclusion
Anisotropy needs to be accounted for in a variety of land-use decisions. It is a factor in
watershed response to snowmelt and precipitation events, contaminant migration, and
aquifer performance. Commonly used hyrologic models, such as the Theis method for
predicting aquifer drawdowns assume homogenous and isotropic conditions. Such models
should be used cautiously, with anisotropy evaluated as much as practicable.
Anisotropy is not a static quality; rather, it may change over time. Burt and Trudgill (1985)
suggested soil formation and anisotropy were linked in a positive feedback relationship:
infiltration causes soil horizonation, horizonation causes anisotropy, anisotropy alters the
direction of soil water flow, and water flow redistributes solutes.
Reneau et al (1989) described the development of clogging mats in septic systems, which
altered the hydraulic behavior of the filter fields.
Land use professionals need to be aware of such processes which naturally, or artificially
alter the hydrologic character of earthen materials. Regulators need to understand things
can change over time, and hydrologic evaluation need to be periodically updated.