SOIL PERMEABILITY

Permeability is the property of soil to transmit water and air. The more permeable the soil, the greater
the filtration. Some soils are so permeable and seepage so intense that special construction techniques
are required to build on them.

Soils are typically made up of layers , and soil

quality often varies considerably from layer to
layer. Before construction, it is important to
determine the relative position of the permeable
and impermeable layers. The presence of a
permeable layer must be avoided to prevent
excessive water loss to the subsoil due to
filtration.
Factors affecting soil permeability

Many factors affect soil permeability. Sometimes these are extremely localized factors, such as cracks
and gullies, and it is difficult to find representative permeability values from real measurements. A
serious study of soil profiles provides an essential verification of these measurements. Observations on
soil texture, structure, consistency, color and color spots, layering, visible pores and depth of
impermeable layers such as bedrock and clay layer, form the basis for deciding whether Permeability
measurements are likely to be representative.

The soil is made up of several horizons, and each of them generally has different physical and chemical
properties. To determine the permeability of the soil as a whole, each horizon must be studied
separately.

Soil permeability is related to its texture and structure.

The size of soil pores is of great importance with respect to the rate of filtration (movement of water into
the soil) and the rate of percolation (movement of water through the soil). The size and number of pores
are closely related to the texture and structure of the soil and also influence its permeability.

Variation of permeability depending on soil texture

As a general rule, as shown below, the finer the soil texture, the slower the permeability:

Floor Texture Permeability

Clay soils Fine
Moderately fine Very slow
Silty soils
Moderately thick to
sandy very fast
Gross
soils

Example
Average permeability for different soil textures in cm/hour

Sandy 5.0
sandy loam 2.5
Frank 1.3
Clay loam 0.8
Silty clay 0.25
Clayey 0.05

Variation of permeability depending on soil structure

The structure can considerably modify the permeability rates shown above as follows:

Structure type Permeability 1

Laminate - Large overlap Of
 - Slight overlap
very slow
In block
to
Prismatic
very fast
Granular
1
It may vary according to the degree to which the structure is developed.

There is a general practice of altering soil structure to reduce permeability , for example in irrigated
agriculture by pudding of rice fields, and in civil engineering by compaction * by mechanical means of
earthen dams.

Soil permeability classes

Soil permeability is usually measured based on Example

the rate of water flow through it over a given
period. It is generally expressed either as a
permeability rate in centimeters per hour (cm/h),
millimeters per hour (mm/h), or centimeters per
day (cm/d), or as a permeability coefficient in
meters per second. (m/s) or in centimeters per
second (cm/s).

For agricultural and conservation purposes, soil permeability classes are based on permeability rates, and
for civil engineering , they are based on permeability coefficient (see Tables 15 and 16).

For pond siting and dike construction, the coefficient of permeability is almost always used to determine the
suitability of a specific soil horizon:

 Dams without an impermeable clay core can be built in soils whose permeability coefficient is less than
K = 1 x 10 -4 m/s;
 Pond bottoms can be built in soils with a permeability coefficient less than K = 5 x 10 -6 m/s.

Measuring soil permeability in the laboratory

When you take an undisturbed sample to a testing laboratory to measure permeability, a column of soil is
taken and subjected to certain conditions, such as water saturation and a constant water head. You will
receive the result in the form of permeability rate (see Table 15) or permeability coefficient (see Table 16).

TABLE 15 TABLE 16
Soil permeability classes for agriculture and their Soil permeability classes for civil engineering works
conservation Permeability
Permeability classes Permeability index 1 Classes coefficient (K in m/s)
of the soils cm/hour cm/day soil permeability Lower Upper
less than limit limit
Very slow Slow less than 3
0.13 Permeable 2 x 10 -7
2 x 10 -1
Slow 0.13 - 0.3 3 - 12 Semipermeable 1x 10-11
1 x 10 -5
Moderately slow 0.5 - 2.0 12 - 48 Raincoat 1 x 10-11 5 x 10 -7
Moderate 2.0 - 6.3 48 - 151
Moderately fast 6.3 - 12.7 151 - 305
fast 12.7 - 25 305 - 600
Very fast over 25 over 600
1
Saturated samples under a constant hydrostatic
head of 1.27 cm.

Measurement of soil permeability in the field

To measure soil permeability in the field, you can use one of the following tests:

 The visual evaluation of the permeability rate of the soil horizon;

 A simple field test to estimate soil permeability;
 A more precise field test to measure permeability rates.

Visual assessment of the permeability rate of soil horizons

The permeability of the different soil horizons can be evaluated by visually studying certain soil
characteristics, which, as soil scientists have shown, are closely related to permeability classes. The most
important factor in evaluating soil permeability is the structure , its type, degree and characteristics of
aggregation, such as the relationship between the length of the horizontal and vertical axes of the
aggregates and the direction and degree of overlap.

Although neither soil texture nor color patches alone are reliable clues, these soil properties can also help
estimate permeability when considered in conjunction with structural characteristics . To visually assess the
permeability of soil horizons, do the following:

 Examine an undisturbed soil profile in a pit;

 Determine the soil horizons present;
 Using Table 17A , evaluate the permeability class that corresponds to each horizon and carefully study the
structural characteristics of the soil;
 Confirm your results using the other soil properties listed in Table 17B ;
 The amplitude of variation of permeability rates can be found in Table 15 .

TABLE 17A
Visual indicators of permeability: structural characteristics of the soil

TABLE 17B
Visual indicators of permeability: texture, physical behavior and color of the soil
Simple field test to estimate soil permeability

 Dig a hole up to waist height;  In the early morning fill it with water to the
brim;
  At night, some of the water will have seeped
into the ground;

 Refill the hole with water to the brim and

cover it with boards or leafy branches;

 If the next morning most of the water remains

in the hole, the permeability of the soil is
suitable for building.

 Repeat this test in different places as many

times as necessary according to the quality of
the soil.

More accurate field test to measure permeability rates

 Carefully examine the drawings you made
when studying the soil profiles;
Note : To estimate permeability, you can also use
the visual method (see Tables 17A and 17B ).
 Based on texture and structure, determine the
soil horizons that appear to have the slowest
permeability ;
  Mark with a colored pencil on your drawings
the soil horizons that appear to have the
slowest permeability;

Note : Water seeps into the soil both horizontally

and vertically, but you only have to worry about
vertical seepage.

 Dig a hole approximately 30 cm in diameter  Completely cover the walls of the hole with
until you reach the least permeable upper wet heavy clay or cover them with a sheet of
horizon; plastic material, if available, to waterproof
them;

 Pour water into the hole until it reaches about

10 cm deep.

 At first the water will leak out quite quickly and you will need to replenish it as it disappears. Filtration will
decrease when the soil pores become saturated with water. You will then be able to measure the
permeability of the soil horizon at the bottom of the hole;
 Make sure that the water contained in the  Place a measuring stick into the water and
hole is about 10 cm deep as before. If not, note the exact depth of the water in
add water until reaching that depth; millimeters (mm);

 Check the water level in the hole every hour,

for several hours. Record the filtration rate
per hour. If the water filters too quickly, add
water until the 10 cm level is reached again.
Measure the depth of the water very
carefully;
  When the measurements per hour are almost
equal, the permeability rate is constant and
you can stop measuring;
 If there are large differences in filtration per
hour, continue adding water into the hole to
maintain the depth of 10 cm until the
filtration rate remains almost the same;

Note : A soil horizon with a permeability suitable

for the bottom of a pond must also have a
thickness of at least 0.7 to 1 m, unless lower
horizons with suitable permeability and thickness
exist.

 Now compare your results with the following

values:

Permeability rate in
Horizon suitability for pond bottom
mm/h
Less than 2 Acceptable infiltration: suitable soil
Rapid infiltration: the soil is suitable ONLY if the infiltration is due to the soil
2-5
structure which will disappear when the pond is filled
Excessive infiltration: soil not suitable unless infiltration can be reduced as
5-20
described below

If the permeability rate is greater than 5 mm/h , this may be because the soil structure has developed
strongly. In such cases, try to reduce the permeability rate by destroying the structure as follows:

 Prune the soil at the bottom of the hole as  Repeat the previous permeability test until
deeply as possible; you can measure a nearly constant filtration
value (see previous two pages).

 If this new permeability rate does not exceed 4 mm/h. You can consider this soil horizon to be suitable for
the bottom of the pond. However, it will be necessary to plow the bottom of the pond before filling it with
water;
  If this new permeability rate exceeds 4 mm/h, this may be due to the presence of a permeable soil
horizon below the horizon in which the test was carried out. These permeable layers are often found
between layers of soil that are semi-permeable or even impermeable.

 Check it out with the following essay...

 Dig a new 30 cm diameter hole from

the top least permeable layer (A) to
the next least permeable layer (B);
 Repeat the permeability test until
an almost constant filtration value is
obtained.
 If this permeability rate does not
exceed 3 mm/h, you can consider
this soil horizon suitable for the
bottom of the pond. However,
remember that such a slow
permeability must be found in a
layer no less than 0.7 to 1 m thick to
ensure that seepage through the
bottom is limited.

Note : When constructing the pond, you do not need to remove a shallow permeable layer if a deeper
layer of impermeable soil exists to hold the water. However, pond dikes must be built to the deepest
impermeable layer to form a closed basin and prevent horizontal seepage.

Determination of permeability coefficients

To obtain a more accurate measurement of soil permeability, you can perform the following field test
which will give you a value for the permeability coefficient:

 Using a drill bit, drill a hole approximately 1 m  Fill the hole with water to the brim (B/C);
deep (A) in the ground at the location where
you want to determine the permeability
coefficient;
  For at least 20 minutes (B/C), refill the hole to
the brim every five minutes to ensure the soil is
completely saturated;

 Add water to the edge of the hole and begin

measuring the speed at which the surface of the
water falls, using a watch to measure time and a
ruler graduated in centimeters to measure the
distance (P) between the surface of the water
and the edge of the hole. hole (D). Stop
measuring when the speed is almost constant;

Example
The speed becomes constant

 Accurately measure the total depth of the hole (H) and its diameter (D). Express all measurements in
meters (m):

H = 1.15m and D=12cm or 0.12m

 For each of the two preceding consecutive time/distance measurements, calculate the permeability
coefficient K using the following formula:

K= (D÷2) x In (h 1 ÷ h 2 ) / 2 (t 2 - t 1 )

Where (D ÷ 2) is the radius of the hole or half its diameter in meters;

In refers to the natural logarithm;
h 1 and h 2 are the two consecutive water depths in meters, h 1 at the beginning and h 2 at the end of the time
interval;
(t 2 - t 1 ) expresses the time interval between two consecutive measurements, in seconds.

Note : h values can be easily calculated as the differences between the total depth of the hole (H) and
successive P values. To obtain K in m/s, take care to express all measurements in meters and seconds.
  Now compare the values of K (in m/s) with the Table 16 .

Example

If (D ÷ 2) = 0.12 m ÷ 2 = 0.06 m and H = 1.15 m, the calculations of the different values of K are made
progressively according to the formula (see Table 18 ).

Note : To get the natural logarithm of (h

1 ÷ h 2 ), you will need to use a table of logarithms or a pocket
calculator.
Also remember that 10 - 6 = 0.000001 and 6.8 x 10 -6 = 0.000006.

Note : Remember that the negative exponent of 10 reflects the decimal place that must be given to the
multiplicand:

K=2X 10 -3 =0.002 m/s

K = 5 X 10 -7 = 0.0000005 m/s

If you want to compare the value of K (m/s) with permeability rates (cm/day) multiply K by 8,640,000 or 864
x 10 4

K = 1 x 10 -5 m/s = 86.4 cm/day

TABLE 18
Successive steps for calculating permeability coefficients
based on field measurements
(for test drilling with H = 1.15 m and D = 0.12 m)

NOTE: the formula to calculate the permeability coefficient is K = [(D ÷ 2) x In (h 1 ÷ h 2 )] / 2 (t 2 - t 1 )

or A ÷ B.