INFILTRATIO

N
• Infiltration is the process by which
precipitation or water on the ground surface
enters the soil and moves into rocks through
cracks and pore spaces. 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.
Rainwater that soaks into the ground
and may reach the groundwater table.
During the rain infiltration loss occurs quickly
almost exclusively from the water that has
reached the ground surface. The water infiltrating
into the soil moves downward through larger soil
pores under the force of gravity. The smaller
surface pores take in water by capillarity. The
downward moving water is also sucked in by
capillary pores.
The gravitational water moves towards the ground
water following the path of least resistance. When
the capillary pores at the surface are filled and
intake capacity reduced infiltration rate decreases.
As a trend the rate of infiltration is high in the
beginning. It decreases rapidly in the initial stages
and then slowly till it approaches a nearly constant
rate in about 30 to 90 minutes depending upon
the type of soil.
Base flow:  Where Groundwater
Meets Surface Water
• Base flow is the portion of stream flow that comes from
subsurface flow: water infiltrated but returned to the
surface in a stream channel.
• Streams run even when it hasn’t rained.
• Base flow is very important for fish, invertebrates,
aquatic plants and other life during dry spells.
Factors
Affecting
Infiltration
 (i) Soil Texture and
Structure:
The continuity of non-capillary or
large pores provides easy paths
for percolating water. If the
subsoil formation has coarse
texture the water may infiltrate
into the soil so quickly that no
water will be left for runoff even if
rainfall is quite heavy. On the
contrary clayey soils after soaking
some water in the initial stages of
the rainfall may swell
considerably. It makes the soil
almost watertight and infiltration
may get reduced to practically
negligible extent.
(ii) Conditions at Soil
Surface:
Even if the subsoil has excellent under drainage
but at the surface soil pores are sealed due to
turbid water or by in wash of fine soil particles it
may prevent entry of water into the soil and
infiltration rate will be low.
(iii) Soil-Moisture
Content:
When the soil is fairly dry the rate of infiltration
into the soil is quite high. The infiltration rate
diminishes as the soil-moisture storage capacity is
exhausted. After this infiltration rate equals
transmission rate. The rate of infiltration in early
phases of a rainfall will be less if the soil pores are
still filled from previous rain storm.
(iv) Type of Vegetative
Cover:
Vegetative cover affects surface entry of water
significantly. The vegetation or mulches protect
the soil surface from impact of rain drops. The
lengthy and extensive root system penetrate the
soil and increases its porosity. Organic matter from
crops promotes a crumbly by structure and
improves soil permeability. Forest canopy protects
soil surface whereas row crops provide less
protection to soil.
(v) Soil Temperature

If saturated soil mass gets frozen due to severe

low temperature it becomes nearly impermeable.
It affects the infiltration.
(vi) Human Activities
on Soil Surface:
If the soil surface gets compacted due to
construction of roads, operation of tractors and
other farm implements and machinery the
porosity of the soil is decreased. As a result bigger
pores are almost eliminated making soil
impermeable. It reduces the infiltration rates
appreciably.
The effect of
infiltration is to:
1) reduces flood magnitude
2) delays the time of arrival of water to the
channel
3) reduce the soil erosion
4) recharge to the ground water reservoir
5) fill the soil pores with water to its field-
capacity, which subsequently supply water to
the plants
6) avail the ground water during the non-rain
periods in the channels
7) help to supply water to plants
Measurements
of Infiltration
Measurements of
Infiltration:
1. FIELD MEASUREMENT METHOD
a) Single Tube Infiltrometer
b) Double Tube Infiltrometer
2. RAINFALL SIMULATOR
3. RAINFALL RUN-OFF ANALYSIS
 Single Tube
Itlnfiltrometer
consists of a hallow metal
cylinder 30 cm in diameter and
60 cm long driven into the
ground such that 10 cm of it
projects above ground level.
Water is poured at the top such
that a head of 7 cm within the
infiltrometer is maintained above
ground level. A graduated jar or

burette is used to add water, to give directly the volume of

water added over time.
- Measures a combination of the horizontal and vertical flow
 Double Tube
To lnfiltrometer
overcome the objections of
a single ring infiltrometer a
set two concentric hollow
cylinders of same length are
used. Water is added to both
the rings to maintain the
same height. Reading of the
burette for the inner cylinder
is taken as infiltration
capacity of the soil. The outer
cylinder is maintained to
prevent spreading of water
from the inner one.
 Field Tests

24 inch double ring infiltrometer with Mariotte Tubes  http://www.hilbec.com/STORMWATER.htm

Infiltration is measured in the field with bottomless rings.

Mariotte Tubes allow for measurement of liquid flow during the infiltration
test by providing a constant water level in the 24 inch Infiltration Rings
Double-ring
Infiltrometer

• Two rings eliminates overestimating the hydraulic

conductivity
• Outer ring contributes to lateral flow , so
• Inner ring is contributing mostly to downward flow.
•Water from Mariotte bottles to rings via tap at base of
bottles. Ring water height equals that of the base of the
bubble tube.
•When water moves into the soil, reducing the height of ring
water to below that of the bubble tube, more water is fed into
Estimation
Estimates 1: Horton’s
Equation
Horton: The infiltration capacity decreases exponentially with
time and ultimately reaches a constant rate
Infiltration capacity
•Where ft is the infiltration rate at time t;
•f0 is the initial infiltration rate or maximum infiltration
rate;
•fc is the constant or equilibrium infiltration rate after the
soil has been saturated or minimum infiltration rate;
NOTE e is a number, ~ 2.718
•k is the decay constant specific to the soil.
•the f’s have units in/hr and k is a time constant hr -1
 Horton’s Infiltration Model for soil capacity
Infiltration starts at a constant rate, f0, and is decreasing 
exponentially with time, t. After some time when the soil 
saturation level reaches a critical value, the rate of infiltration 
will level off to the rate fc.
 Estimates index

Infiltration Volume = total rainfall volume – runoff

volume as measured in the rain gages and at the outlet
gage, respectively.
F assumes infiltration volume resulted from a constant
infiltration rate. It assumes a high initial infiltration is
balanced by a low later infiltration.
 Example: Guessing   

We will find F in this problem by guessing a value for F ,

calculating the total runoff that would result, and
comparing our answer to the known runoff.