DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, AKOKA-YABA, LAGOS

CEG 503 – SURFACE WATER HYDROLOGY (2.0)

2017/2018 FIRST SEMESTER

ACADEMIC FELLOW/LECTURER
OLUFEMI ODUMOSU, B.Sc; M.Eng.Sc
olufemiodumosu@yahoo.com

COURSE NOTES LECTURE 3

INFILTRATION
Introduction

In a simple observation when rain falls, it is noted that part of it goes directly
into the ground surface while the rest goes off as surface runoff. In same
way, when rain or irrigation water is supplied to a field, it seeps directly into
the soil.

This process is called Infiltration which is simply the process of the

movement of water on the ground surface entering into a porous substance
of the soil under gravitational effects.

Infiltration rate in soil science is a measure of the rate at which soil is able to
absorb rainfall or irrigation. The rate of Infiltration is measured in millimeters
per hour or inches per hour. Infiltration rate decreases with the increase in
soil saturation.

Infiltration, as it occurs in the water cycle, is the process by which the water
on top of the ground enters into the soil. Infiltration is necessary for the
sustaining of plant life. Some of the water not used by plants moves deeper
into the ground water level.

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3.1 Infiltration

Infiltration is the process by which water enters the soil from the ground
surface. The process of infiltration can continue only if there is room
available for additional water in the soil. The available volume for additional
water in the soil depends on the porosity of the soil, the rate at which
previously infiltrated water can move away from the surface through the
soil in an unsaturated flow and the depth of the unsaturated soil.

Soil characteristics influencing infiltration include porosity and conductivity

in terms of the ability of the soil to transport water.

Coarse textured soils have a large effective porosity and allow water to
infiltrate quickly, while clay has a limited infiltration capacity.

Infiltration occurs when an unsaturated zone exists beneath the top soil
layer. If the subsoil is fully saturated, e.g. during long rainfall events, the
infiltration capacity and infiltration rate are zero.

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3.2 Concept of Infiltration:

It is a process in which the water enters into the soil surface. It is different
from the term Percolation because percolation means movement of water
in the soil mass. From the definition it follows that the process of infiltration
will stop unless percolation removes infiltrated water. Thus although the
two phenomenon viz. infiltration and percolation are different they are
closely related.

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.

The typical infiltration curves for soils with different land uses such as in
bare soil, soil with grass cover and soil covered with grain crop are shown in
Fig. 3.1.

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This trend of infiltration process is observed not only because of filling up
surface capillary pores with water but also due to changes in the soil such as
dispersion of aggregates, puddling of the surface layer, impact of the rain
drops, swelling of colloids, closing of soil cracks, type of vegetal cover etc.

3.3 Physical Process of Infiltration

Infiltration is caused by two forces: gravity and capillary action. While

smaller pores offer greater resistance to gravity, very small pores pull water
through capillary action in addition to and even against the force of gravity.

The rate of infiltration is determined by soil characteristics including ease of

entry, storage capacity, and transmission rate through the soil.

The soil texture and structure, vegetation types and cover, water content of
the soil, soil temperature, and rainfall intensity all play a role in controlling
infiltration rate and capacity.

For example, coarse-grained sandy soils have large spaces between each
grain and allow water to infiltrate quickly.

Vegetation creates more porous soils by protecting the soil from raindrop
impact, which can close natural gaps between soil particles, loosening soil
through root action and enhancing the presence of soil organism like
termites, worms and small mammals that have a direct impact on soil bulk
densities. This is why forested areas have the highest infiltration rates of any
vegetative types.

The top layer of leaf litter that is not decomposed protects the soil from the
pounding action of rain; without this the soil can become far less permeable.

During rainfall, 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.

Once water has infiltrated the soil it remains in the soil, percolates down to
the ground water table, or becomes part of the subsurface runoff process.

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The process of infiltration can continue only if there is room available for
additional water at the soil surface. The available volume for additional
water in the soil depends on the porosity of the soil and the rate at which
previously infiltrated water can move away from the surface through the
soil.

Previously infiltrated water fills the available storage spaces and reduces the
capillary forces drawing water into the pores. Clay particles in the soil may
swell as they become wet and thereby reduce the size of the pores.

In areas where the ground is not protected by a layer of forest litter,

raindrops can detach soil particles from the surface and wash fine particles
into surface pores where they can impede the infiltration process.

3.4 Factors Affecting Infiltration:

The main factors that influence the infiltration are:

 the soil type (texture, structure, hydrodynamic characteristics)
 the soil coverage
 the topography and morphology of slopes;
 the flow supply (rain intensity, irrigation flow);
 the initial condition of soil humidity.

(i) Soil Texture and Structure:

It is already made clear that the water cannot continue to enter soil more
rapidly than it is transmitted downward. The conditions at the surface,
therefore, cannot increase infiltration unless the transmission capacity of
the soil profile is adequate.

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.

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(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 penetrates 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. The opposite is observed
under the hot temperature in the tropical environment.

(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.

3.6 Infiltration Calculation Methods

Infiltration is a component of the general mass balance hydrologic budget.

There are several ways to estimate the volume and/or the rate of infiltration
of water into a soil.

The rigorous standard that fully couples groundwater to surface water

through a non-homogeneous soil is the numerical solution of Richards'
equation.

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A newer method that allows full groundwater and surface water coupling in
homogeneous soil layers, and that is related to the Richards equation is the
Finite water-content vadose zone flow method.

In the case of uniform initial soil water content and a deep well-drained soil,
there are some excellent approximate methods to solve for the infiltration
flux for a single rainfall event. Among these are the Green and Ampt
method, Parlange et al.

Beyond these methods there are a host of empirical methods such as, SCS
method, Horton's method, etc., that are little more than curve fitting
exercises.

3.6.1 Horton's equation

Horton came up with an equation that satisfies our intuitive notions on
Infiltration:

where f is the infiltration capacity (in in/hr),

f0 is the initial infiltration capacity,
fc is the final infiltration capacity, and
k is an empirical constant that says something about how long it takes for
rain to force the soil from its initial to its final infiltration capacity.
This has since been experimentally shown to be an effective gauge of
infiltration.

3.7 Infiltration Speed or Velocity

The infiltration rate is the velocity or speed at which water enters into the
soil in other words the infiltration rate of a soil is the velocity at which water
can seep into it.

It is usually measured by the depth in mm of the water layer that can enter
the soil in one hour or commonly measured by the depth in mm of the water
layer that the soil can absorb in an hour.

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An infiltration rate of 15 mm/hour means that a water layer of 15 mm on the
soil surface, will take one hour to infiltrate.
A range of values for infiltration rates is given below:
 Low infiltration rate less than 15 mm/hour
 medium infiltration rate 15 to 50 mm/hour
 high infiltration rate more than 50 mm/hour

3.7.1 Factors influencing the Infiltration rate

The infiltration rate of a soil depends on factors that are constant, such as
the soil texture. It also depends on factors that vary, such as the soil
moisture content.

i. Soil Texture
Coarse textured soils have mainly large particles in between which there are
large pores.
On the other hand, fine textured soils have mainly small particles in between
which there are small pores.
In coarse soils, the rain or irrigation water enters and moves more easily into
larger pores; it takes less time for the water to infiltrate into the soil. In
other words, infiltration rate is higher for coarse textured soils than for fine
textured soils.

ii. The soil moisture content

The water infiltrates faster (higher infiltration rate) when the soil is dry, than
when it is wet. As a consequence, when irrigation water is applied to a field,
the water at first infiltrates easily, but as the soil becomes wet, the
infiltration rate decreases.

iii. The soil structure

Generally speaking, water infiltrates quickly (high infiltration rate) into
granular soils but very slowly (low infiltration rate) into massive and
compact soils.

3.8 Infiltration Indexes

Various infiltration indices give rates of infiltration in different ways to help

assessment of the water lost by way of infiltration.
The important among them are the following:

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3.8.1 Infiltration Capacity:
The Infiltration Capacity is the maximum rate at which water can be
absorbed by a given soil per unit area under given conditions

If the rate of arrival of water at the soil surface, that is rainfall rate is less
than the infiltration capacity, at that given moment, all of the water will
infiltrate.

If the water arrives at the soil surface, at a rate that exceeds the infiltration
capacity, water ponding begins and is followed by runoff over the ground
surface.

Infiltration capacity rapidly declines during the early part of a storm and
then tends towards an approximately constant value after a couple of hours
for the remainder of the event.

The actual rate of infiltration will be less than infiltration capacity unless the
net rainfall rate that reaches the ground after fulfilling retention (i.e.,
interception + depression storage) is equal or more than infiltration
capacity. The infiltration capacity goes on reducing as the soil profile
becomes saturated.

The Infiltration Capacity is affected by:

i) soil type and properties
ii) ground cover, like vegetation, pavement, etc. and
iii) climate conditions as frost.

Horton gave the following mathematical expression to find out the value of
Infiltration Capacity at any time:

fp = fc + (fo – fc) e-Kt

where fp is infiltration capacity.

fo is infiltration rate at the beginning of storm.
fc is constant infiltration rate which is achieved after the soil profile becomes
saturated.
e is base of natural logarithms (Napierian base).
t is time from beginning of rainfall and
K is a constant.

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It should be noted that this equation can be applied only when rate of net
rainfall reaching the surface is more than infiltration capacity throughout
the storm rainfall.

3.8.2 ф Index:
The ф index is that portion of average rate of rainfall during any storm which
gets lost by the processes of interception, depression storage and
infiltration taken together. It can, therefore, be defined as that rate of
average rainfall during any storm beyond which the volume of remaining
rainfall equals the volume of direct surface runoff. The index can be
calculated from a hyetograph (time versus intensity of rainfall graph) of the
storm in such a way that the rainfall volume in excess of this rate will equal
the volume of the storm runoff.

If the rainfall intensity throughout the storm remains equal to or more than
ф index then the ф index represents basin recharge because ф index
represents sum total of infiltration, interception and depression storage.

3.8.3 W Index:
This index gives the average rate of infiltration for that time period of the
storm rainfall during which rainfall intensity is greater than W. Thus it can be
said to be refinement over ф index which apart from infiltration also
includes interception and depression storage.

The W index can be obtained from the following equation:

W = P-Q-S/t

where
W is average rate of infiltration
P is total storm rainfall corresponding to t
Q is total storm run-off.
t is time during which rainfall intensity is more than W and
S is effective surface retention.
W = ф average rate of retention
where retention includes interception and depression storage.
For all practical purposes ф index can be taken to represent average rate of
infiltration. Since ф and indices assume average rate of infiltration which in
fact is less than initial infiltration rate and more than ultimate infiltration rate
their utility is limited to major flood producing storms.

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Such storms generally occur on wet soil and storms are of such intensity and
duration that the infiltration rate could be very nearly taken to be constant
for whole storm or majority period of storm. Obviously for short isolated
storms ф and W indices are not useful.

3.9 Measurement of Infiltration:

Infiltration can be measured by two methods namely:

3.9.1 Indirect Methods:
This involves artificial application of water over a sample area. The
mechanism used for the purpose is called Infiltrometer. There are two types
of Infiltrometer viz., Flooding type and Rain Simulators.

(a) Flooding type Infiltrometer:

It consists of about 25 cm diameter 50 to 65 cm long cylinder. The cylinder is
sunk into the ground to a depth of 40 to 50 cm. The water is then applied
through graduated burettes to maintain a constant head of water. The
readings on burette at fixed interval of time give the rate and amount of
water infiltrated into the soil. To eliminate the effect of surrounding dry soil
on the Infiltrometer sometimes two concentric rings, one of same size and
another bigger diameter say 35 cm are sunk into the ground.

These rings are, however, sunk up to a minimum depth just necessary to

avoid leakage from the rings. The space between both the rings is filled up
to the same level and maintained at constant level by two different
burettes. The burette reading feeding the inner ring gives rate and amount
of infiltration. This method is now superseded by rain simulator.
(b) Rain Simulator:
In this method special sprinklers are mounted on both the sides of 2m X 4m
experimental plot. The nozzle of these sprinklers directs the spray of water
in an inclined fashion to cover the plot fully and to reach a height of about 2
m above the ground. This arrangement ensures application of water in the
form of likely rainfall.
The intensities of simulated rainfall can be changed by closing and opening
the nozzles. The Infiltrometer starts working with what is called a rainfall
calibration run. For this run a plastic or a metal sheet is placed over the plot
so that all the water reaching the ground can be measured without loss of
water. This gives the average rate of rainfall.

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After this the test run begins. This run is allowed to continue till the run-off
becomes constant. The difference between simulated rainfall rate and
measured run-off rate gives the value of fc (fc is constant infiltration rate
which has established itself after the soil is saturated). To eliminate border
effect about 0.5 m wide strip all-round the plot is also sprayed with water
separately.

This method suffers from the following drawbacks:

(i) It is difficult to simulate size of rain drops.
(ii) The velocity of fall achieved by the water drops does not represent
correct rainfall conditions.
(iii) The experiment value of infiltration rate tends to be higher than that
achieved under natural conditions.
(iv) The Infiltrometer values can be used to compute run-off from a small
watershed only because of the limited area on which the infiltration rate has
been computed.

3.9.2 Direct Method:

It consists of analysis of run-off hydrograph resulting from a natural rainfall
over a basin under consideration.

(a) Measurement of Infiltration by Hydrograph Analysis:

The theoretical analysis of run-off hydrograph has the advantage that it
takes into consideration rainfall pattern, length of overland flow, slope of
basin, soil type, vegetative cover, depression storage, surface detention as
they tend to occur in actual.

However, on a large watershed distribution of rainfall is generally not

known in detail to warrant laborious theoretical methods of hydrograph
analysis. For practical application it is convenient to separate showers of
each storm rainfall into a series of blocks and consider resulting run-off
hydrograph independently by transposing recession curves or calculating
average infiltration rate.

3.10 Suitability of Method of Infiltration Measurement:

The various methods of measurement of infiltration direct and indirect

cannot be used on all sizes of watersheds with sufficient accuracy to assess
resulting run-off.

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The commonly adopted methods on various sizes of watersheds are the
following:

(i) Small Watersheds:

On small watersheds Infiltrometer values and storm hydrograph analysis
method gives satisfactory results.

(ii) Large Watersheds:

In case of large watersheds it is considered convenient to develop standard
infiltration-rate curves by studying number of storms on a typical
representative watershed considering different land uses.

Another method of practical importance in both cases is adoption of ф index

which gives average rate throughout the storm. It is well suited for
estimating peak run-off from a major storm on wet soils.

3.11 Soil Composition

Soil is composed of all kinds of particles of different sizes, most of which

originate from the degradation of rocks are mineral particles, with some
originate from residues of plants or animals which are organic matter. The
soil particles seem to touch each other, but in reality have spaces in
between. These spaces are called pores.

When the soil is "dry", the pores are mainly filled with air. After irrigation or
rainfall, the pores are mainly filled with water. Living material is found in the
soil. It can be live roots as well as beetles, worms, larvae etc. and they help
to aerate the soil and thus create favourable growing conditions for the
plant roots.

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3.12 Soil Profile

If a pit is dug in the soil, at least 1 m deep, various layers, different in colour
and composition can be seen. These layers are called horizons. This
succession of horizons is called the profile of the soil.

A very general and simplified soil profile can be described as follows:

a. TopSoil or the plough layer (20 to 30 cm thick): is rich in organic matter
and contains many live roots. This layer is subject to land preparation (e.g.
ploughing, harrowing etc.) and often has a dark colour (brown to black).

b. The Deep Plough Layer: contains much less organic matter and live roots.
This layer is hardly affected by normal land preparation activities. The colour
is lighter, often grey, and sometimes mottled with yellowish or reddish
spots.

c. The Subsoil Layer: hardly any organic matter or live roots are to be found.
This layer is not very important for plant growth as only a few roots will
reach it.

d. The Parent Rock Layer: consists of rock, from the degradation of which
the soil was formed. This rock is sometimes called parent material.
The depth of the different layers varies widely: some layers may be missing
altogether.

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3.13 Soil Texture

The mineral particles of the soil differ widely in size and can be classified as
follows:
 Gravel larger than 1.00mm
 Sand is between 0.5mm to 1.00mm
 Silt is between 0.002mm to 0.5mm
 Clay is less than 0.002mm

The amount of sand, silt and clay present in the soil determines the soil
texture.

In coarse textured soils: sand is predominant called sandy soils.

In medium textured soils: silt is predominant called loamy soils.
In fine textured soils: clay is predominant called clayey soils.

3.14 Soil Structure

Soil structure refers to the grouping of soil particles (sand, silt, clay, organic
matter and fertilizers) into porous compounds. These are called aggregates.
Soil structure also refers to the arrangement of these aggregates separated
by pores and cracks. The basic types of aggregate arrangements are
typically granular, blocky, prismatic, and massive structure.

3.15 Soil Moisture Content

The Soil Moisture Content indicates the amount of water present in the soil.
It is commonly expressed as the amount of water (in mm of water depth)
present in a depth of one metre of soil. For example: when an amount of
water (in mm of water depth) of 150 mm is present in a depth of one metre
of soil, the soil moisture content is 150 mm/m.

The soil moisture content can also be expressed in percentage of volume. In

the example above, 1 m3 of soil (e.g. with a depth of 1 m, and a surface area
of 1 m2) contains 0.150 m3 of water (e.g. with a depth of 150 mm = 0.150 m
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and a surface area of 1 m2). This results in a soil moisture content in volume
percent of:

Thus, a moisture content of 100 mm/m corresponds to a moisture content of

10 volume percent.

It should be noted that the amount of water stored in the soil is not
constant with time, but may vary.

3.16 Saturation

During a rain shower or irrigation application, the soil pores will fill with
water. If all soil pores are filled with water the soil is said to be saturated.
There is no air left in the soil. It is easy to determine in the field if a soil is
saturated. If a handful of saturated soil is squeezed, some (muddy) water
will run between the fingers.
Plants need air and water in the soil. At saturation, no air is present and the
plant will suffer. Many crops cannot withstand saturated soil conditions for
a period of more than 2-5 days. Rice is one of the exceptions to this rule. The
period of saturation of the topsoil usually does not last long.

3.17 Drainage

After the rain or the irrigation has stopped, part of the water present in the
larger pores will move downward. This process is called drainage or
percolation.

The water drained from the pores is replaced by air. In coarse textured
usually sandy soils, drainage is completed within a period of a few hours. In
fine textured clayey soils, drainage may take some 2-3 days.

3.18 Field Capacity

After the drainage has stopped, the large soil pores are filled with both air
and water while the smaller pores are still full of water. At this stage, the soil
is said to be at field capacity. At field capacity, the water and air contents of
the soil are considered to be ideal for crop growth.

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3.19 Permanent Wilting Point

Little by little, the water stored in the soil is taken up by the plant roots or
evaporated from the topsoil into the atmosphere. If no additional water is
supplied to the soil, it gradually dries out.

The dryer the soil becomes, the more tightly the remaining water is retained
and the more difficult it is for the plant roots to extract it. At a certain stage,
the uptake of water is not sufficient to meet the plant's needs. The plant
loses freshness and wilts; the leaves change colour from green to yellow
and if not taken care of, the plant finally dies.

The soil water content at the stage where the plant dies, is called permanent
wilting point. The soil still contains some water, but it is too difficult for the
roots to suck it from the soil.

3.20 Available Water Content

The soil can be compared to a water reservoir for the plants. When the soil is
saturated, the reservoir is full. However, some water drains rapidly below
the rootzone before the plant can use it.

When this water has drained away, the soil is at field capacity. The plant
roots draw water from what remains in the reservoir.
When the soil reaches permanent wilting point, the remaining water is no
longer available to the plant.

The amount of water actually available to the plant is the amount of water
stored in the soil at field capacity minus the water that will remain in the soil
at permanent wilting point.

Available Water Content = Water content at Field Capacity - Water content at

Permanent Wilting Point

The available water content depends greatly on the soil texture and
structure.

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The Field Capacity, Permanent Wilting Point (PWP) and Available Water
Content are called the soil moisture characteristics. They are constant for a
given soil, but vary widely from one type of soil to another.

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