CVEN 433 Hydrology

Homework #4
Written
Katherine Lindberg
Group= Rachel Cornwell, Alasdair Gourley

Written
1. (13 pts.) Write a paragraph discussing how the soil properties and grain size distribution
differences between a loamy sand and a silty clay differ. Use these differences to describe
why and how the infiltration parameters vary between these two soil types. (Discuss every
infiltration parameter)
The soil properties and grain size distribution differences between a loamy sand and
a silty clay are the reason for the variation of infiltration parameter between these
two soil types. The size of the particles are different in that the loamy sand is much
larger in size compared to the smaller silty clay particle. This makes it so that the clay
will be able to hold more water because they can fit more tightly together and are
finer than sand. Sand particles are much larger and wouldn’t be able to fit together as
nice to retain water. Also due to the strong physical properties of the silty clay, they
would behave as sticky soil and feel finer. The loamy sand would feel grittier and
would break easier with slight pressure. It would be easier to change its shape
compare to the silt clay that would resist breaking.
The porosity for the silty clay would be expected to only slightly higher than loamy
sand because of its finer texture and structure. The fine clay soil has smaller but more
numerous pores than a coarse sandy soil. A coarse sandy soil has bigger particles
than a fine clay soil, but it has less porosity, or overall pore space. Water can be held
tighter in small pores than in large ones, so fine soils can hold more water than
coarse soils. I would also expect the loamy sand to have a higher infiltration rate than
the silty clay because water moves by gravity into the open pore spaces and the size
of the soil particles and their spacing determines how much water can flow in. This
would also mean that the loamy sand would have a higher hydraulic conductivity.
Furthermore, Soils with smaller particles (silty clay) have a larger surface area than
those with larger sand particles, and a large surface area allows a soil to hold more
water or has a higher water holding capacity. These properties would also influence
the wilting point and residual saturation in the silty clay to be higher.

2. (22 pts.) Disturbance and infiltration. Cite any sources you may have used for answering
these questions.
a) How would roots, worms, or ground dwelling animals affect the infiltration rates of a soil
and why ?
Because infiltration is the process of water penetrating soil, things such as roots,
worms, or ground dwelling animals will affect the infiltration rates due to their
disturbances by impacting the compactness of the soil. These things would compact
the soil, create air pockets or even introduce foreign entities that would have
different infiltration rates. With these disturbances it will create a different flow
entirely due to the variations in the soil particle spacings made from the roots,
worms or animals. The water will flow at different velocities and come into contact
with more empty spaces and may not reach the same depth through the soil
compared to soil with no disturbances.
b) A building was just built in a former natural open grassy space. The area surrounding the
building had heavy traffic around it. After construction, that soil was regraded and
reseeded. What would this disturbance and compaction do to the infiltration vs. runoff for
this soil and why?
The disturbance of construction/heavy traffic and compaction would affect the
infiltration vs. runoff for the soil due to the new conditions of the soil. Overall, it
would decrease infiltration and increase runoff because of the soil being built on and
affecting its ability to retain and absorb water. The new materials on the soil such as
concrete would block the soil from absorbing as much water from having less pore
space and therefore decreasing the infiltration rate. Also, because of less absorption,
more runoff would be generated of these new surfaces. The soil would also be more
compact and reduce the open spaces for water to flow into also creating more runoff.
c) A wildfire just occurred near Golden. What affect might this fire have had on infiltration
and why? Does this follow with an increase or decrease in erosion rates?
A wildfire near Golden would affect both the infiltration and erosion rates due to it
destroying the soil’s vegetative cover. Because it would kill the vegetation it would in
return make it harder to infiltrate the water by helping the water drain, holding the
water and shielding the soil surface. This would decrease the infiltration rate since
there would be more water already in the soil due to the lack of vegetation absorbing
and using it. Saturation would be achieved much quicker and the soil would have a
harder time infiltrating more water. Erosion would then increase because of this
decrease of plants absorbing water leading to an excess of runoff creating more
erosion.
d) How do you expect infiltration to differ between a farm that practices no-till agriculture
and leaves plant stalks on the soil surface vs. one that plows regularly?
I would expect infiltration to differ between a farm that practices no-till agriculture
and leaves plant stalks on the soil surface vs one that plows regularly because the
practice of no-till agriculture would have higher infiltration. By plowing the soil,
water absorption would decrease due to the disturbances such as creating bigger
spaces in the soil, compressing the particles and creating more runoff.
e) How would overall infiltration compare and why between Watershed A that is 15%
suburban and 85% natural vs. Watershed B that is 20% suburban, 15% heavy development,
10% industrial and 55% natural? Which watershed would have more runoff?
Watershed B would have less infiltration and more runoff because of its higher
percentage of developed/industrial area than watershed A. Because watershed B is
more developed with roads, concrete, buildings, and less vegetative cover, the water
has a harder time absorbing through those materials and will have a harder time
with water drainage and holding water that plants are usually responsible for.
Because the soil in this watershed would not be able to hold as much water or absorb
it, runoff would have to increase.

3. (12.5 pts) What is the capillary fringe? Is the soil saturated in the capillary fringe? Would
the height of the capillary fringe be greater for a glacial till or a loamy soil and why?
Capillary fringe is the layer above the water table in which the groundwater seeps up
into it to fill its pores. At capillary fringe you are at saturation but being held at
tension, so the pressure is negative below this or less than atmospheric

Because Glacial till would have a smaller porosity than loamy soil, the soil would be
more compressed with various materials and have a smaller infiltration rate. This
means, that it would be slower for water to reach the saturated zone and the
movement of water upwards from the groundwater table or capillary rise would be
less. Therefore, the height of the capillary fringe would be greater in the loam soil.