FIRST

SECOND
(from Domenico and Schwartz 1990):
Unconsolidated Sedimentary Materials
Material

Hydraulic Conductivity
(m/sec)

Gravel

3x10-4 to 3x10-2

Coarse sand

9x10-7 to 6x10-3

Medium sand

9x10-7 to 5x10-4

Fine sand

2x10-7 to 2x10-4

Silt, loess

1x10-9 to 2x10-5

Till

1x10-12 to 2x10-6

Clay

1x10-11 to 4.7x10-9

Unweathered marine clay

8x10-13 to 2x10-9

Sedimentary Rocks
Rock Type

Hydraulic Conductivity
(m/sec)

Karst and reef limestone

1x10-6 to 2x10-2

Limestone, dolomite

1x10-9 to 6x10-6

Sandstone

3x10-10 to 6x10-6

Siltstone

1x10-11 to 1.4x10-8

Salt

1x10-12 to 1x10-10

Anhydrite

4x10-13 to 2x10-8

Shale

1x10-13 to 2x10-9

Crystalline Rocks
Material

Hydraulic Conductivity
(m/sec)

Permeable basalt

4x10-7 to 2x10-2

Fractured igneous and metamorphic rock

8x10-9 to 3x10-4

Weathered granite

3.3x10-6 to 5.2x10-5

Weathered gabbro

5.5x10-7 to 3.8x10-6

Basalt

2x10-11 to 4.2x10-7

Unfractured igneous and metamorphic rock

3x10-14 to 2x10-10

To Convert

Multiply By

To Obtain

m/sec

100

cm/sec

m/sec

2.12x10

m/sec

3.2808

THIRD

gal/day/ft2
ft/sec

FOURTH
TABLE 5.1 Range of Saturated Hydraulic
Conductivity of Various Soil Materials

Saturated Hydraulic
Conductivity, K (m/yr)
Soil Type
Unconsolidated deposits
Gravel
Clean sand
Silty sand
Silt, loess
Glacial till
Unweathered marine clay

1 104 - 1 107
1 102 - 1 105
1 101 - 1 104
1 10-2 - 1 102
1 10-5 - 1 101
1 10-5 - 1 10-2

Rocks
Shale
1 10-6 - 1 10-2
Unfractured metamorphic and
1 10-7 - 1 10-3
igneous rocks
Sandstone
1 10-3 - 1 101
Limestone and dolomite
1 10-2 - 1 101
Fractured metamorphic and
1 10-1 - 1 103
igneous rocks
Permeable basalt
1 101 - 1 105
Karst limestone
1 101 - 1 105

Source: Adapted from Freeze and Cherry (1979).

FIFTH
TABLE 5.3 Estimated Saturated Hydraulic
Conductivities for Fine-Grained Materials

Saturated
Hydraulic Conductivity,
Grain-Size
Class

K (103 m/yr)

Clay

<0.0001

Silt, clayey

0.1 - 0.4

Silt,
slightly
sandy

0.5

Silt,
moderately
sandy

0.8 - 0.9

Silt, very
sandy

1.0 -1.2

Sandy silt

1.2

Silty sand

1.4

Source: EPA (1986).