Percolation is the movement of water through soil pores or permeable rock. It is a natural process that is important for ensuring surface and groundwater quality. Soil can hold different amounts of water depending on saturation, field capacity, permanent wilting point, and unavailable water. Water content can be measured gravimetrically or volumetrically. Cultural practices like tillage or compaction can indirectly impact soil's water holding capacity and the amount of plant available water. A percolation test involves saturating a hole and measuring the rate at which water drains to determine the soil's infiltration rate.
Percolation is the movement of water through soil pores or permeable rock. It is a natural process that is important for ensuring surface and groundwater quality. Soil can hold different amounts of water depending on saturation, field capacity, permanent wilting point, and unavailable water. Water content can be measured gravimetrically or volumetrically. Cultural practices like tillage or compaction can indirectly impact soil's water holding capacity and the amount of plant available water. A percolation test involves saturating a hole and measuring the rate at which water drains to determine the soil's infiltration rate.
Percolation is the movement of water through soil pores or permeable rock. It is a natural process that is important for ensuring surface and groundwater quality. Soil can hold different amounts of water depending on saturation, field capacity, permanent wilting point, and unavailable water. Water content can be measured gravimetrically or volumetrically. Cultural practices like tillage or compaction can indirectly impact soil's water holding capacity and the amount of plant available water. A percolation test involves saturating a hole and measuring the rate at which water drains to determine the soil's infiltration rate.
Percolation is the movement of water through soil pores or permeable rock. It is a natural process that is important for ensuring surface and groundwater quality. Soil can hold different amounts of water depending on saturation, field capacity, permanent wilting point, and unavailable water. Water content can be measured gravimetrically or volumetrically. Cultural practices like tillage or compaction can indirectly impact soil's water holding capacity and the amount of plant available water. A percolation test involves saturating a hole and measuring the rate at which water drains to determine the soil's infiltration rate.
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Occurrence and Measurement
comes from the Latin word “percolare” which
means to strain through. is defined as the slow movement of water through the pores in soil or permeable rock. is a natural phenomenon scientists and water managers can calculate and use to ensure surface and groundwater are free from contaminants and pollutants and also ensure water intended for human consumption is potable. Water content - amount of water held in soil - can be quantified on both a gravimetric (g water/ g soil) and volumetric (ml water/ml soil) basis Different Water Contents • Saturation • Field capacity • Permanent wilting point • Unavailable water Saturation is the soil water content when all pores are filled with water. The water content in the soil at saturation is equal to the percent porosity.
Field capacity is the soil water content after the
soil has been saturated and allowed to drain freely for about 24 to 48 hours. Free drainage occurs because of the force of gravity pulling on the water. Permanent wilting point is the soil water content when plants have extracted all the water they can. At the permanent wilting point, a plant will wilt and not recover.
Unavailable water is the soil water content that
is strongly attached to soil particles and aggregates, and cannot be extracted by plants. This water is held as films coating soil particles. Several terms are used to describe the water held between these different water contents.
Gravitational water -amount of water held by
the soil between saturation and field capacity.
Water holding capacity -amount of water held
between field capacity and wilting point.
Plant available water -is that portion of the
water holding capacity that can be absorbed by a plant. Water in the form of precipitation or irrigation infiltrates the soil surface. All pores at the soil surface are filled with water before water can begin to move downward. During infiltration, water moves downward from the saturated zone to the unsaturated zone. The interface between these two zones is called the wetting front. When precipitation or irrigation cease, gravitational water will continue to percolate until field capacity is reached. Water first percolates through the large pores between soil particles and aggregates and then into the smaller pores. Available water is held in soil pores by forces that depend on the size of the pore and the surface tension of water. The closer together soil particles or aggregates are, the smaller the pores and the stronger the force holding water in the soil. Because the water in large pores is held with little force, it drains most readily. Likewise, plants absorb soil water from the larger pores first because it takes less energy to pull water from large pores than from small pores. Water relations are greatly affected by cultural practices, but the effect is largely indirect. For instance, tillage breaks down aggregates, decreasing the number of large pores. This would cause a decrease in infiltration rate and percolation, the water content at field capacity would increase, and gravitational water would decrease. If compaction causes an increase in the number of very small pores, unavailable water may increase, and water holding capacity may decrease. As a result, the amount of plant available water would also decrease. Step 1. Dig a 6″-12″ deep hole in your future greywater infiltration zone.
Step 2. Place a ruler (or stick marked in inches) in
the bottom of the hole. The measuring device should reach the top of the hole.
Step 3. Fill the hole with water several times to
saturate the soil. This may take several hours or overnight in clayey soils. Step 4. Note the time. Fill the hole with water. When the hole is empty, note the time and calculate the time needed to drain the hole.
Step 5. Convert this rate to minutes per inch
(divide the minutes by inches- 120min/5 inches is 24min/in) Step 6. Find your percolation rate on the chart below. Infiltration Rate Area Needed (min/inch) (sq.ft/gal/day)
