Soil& Aquifer Properties and Their Effect on Groundwater

Generally, soil refers to the top few feet of the land surface. The soil acts as a natural filter to
screen out many substances that mix with the water. But water will transport some contaminants
into the groundwater. The amount of groundwater recharge, storage, discharge, as well as the
extent of groundwater contamination, all depend on the soil properties:

texture: grain size, texture classification, soil series classification

porosity

specific yield

permeability

attenuation capacity (soil's filtering ability)

These same terms are used to describe the hydraulic properties of aquifers.

Grain Size

Soil Texture
Soil is a mixture of three soil separates:
Name

sands (the coarsest)

silts

gravel

clays (the finest)

very coarse
sand

coarse sand
Classification of these separates is based on grain
size. The following table shows the soil separate medium
and its corresponding diameter size.
sand

Size Range (mm)

> 2.0
1.0-1.999
0.500-0.999
0.250-0.499

fine sand

0.100-0.249

very fine
sand

0.050-0.099

silt

0.002-0.049

clay

< 0.002
(Loxnachar et al, 19)

Texture Classification
The relative proportion of soil separates in a
particular soil determines its soil texture. The
soil texture triangle gives the texture name,
which is based on the percentages of sand,
silt, and clay within the soil sample. 16
Portage County consists of three main soil
areas. The soils in the eastern and central
parts of the County were mainly formed in
glacial drift. The area consists of welldrained, sandy soils dominated by irrigated
agriculture. The soils in the southern part of
the County are also sandy soils, but they
formed in the basin of Glacial Lake
Wisconsin. The northwest corner of the
County consists of poorly-drained heavier
soils of clay and silt derived from the
weathering of the crystalline bedrock. 17

Soil Series Classifications

Soil scientists evaluated the soils in the County
and classified them into 38 soil series. A soil
series contains soils with similar profiles or
layers. The series are named after a town or
geographic feature nearby the location of where
the soil was first described. The individual soil
boundaries were then drawn onto black and white
aerial photos, which appear in the Soil Survey of
Portage County, Wisconsin (1978). The book
also contains information on soil descriptions, use
and management of soils, formation and
classification of soils, and the general nature of
the County. Copies of these books may be
viewed or obtained at the NRCS (Natural
Resource Conservation Service), UWSP Library,
the Central Wisconsin Groundwater Center, and
County libraries.
In addition to the aerial soil maps, a general map
of eleven soil associations was created to provide The map displayed here is even simpler. The
a general idea of soil types in the County. "Such soils have been grouped according to their
a map is a useful general guide in managing a
textures of clay, sand, and silt. The general
watershed, a wooded tract, or a wildlife area, or in soil classes are shown overlying the
planning engineering works, recreational
groundwater provinces.
facilities, and community developments. 17" To
view this Soil Association Map along with a
legend, click here.
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Cubic Packing

Porosity
The shape and arrangement of soil particles
help determine porosity. Porosity or pore space
is the amount of air space or void space
between soil particles. Infiltration, groundwater
movement, and storage occur in these void

spaces. The porosity of soil or geologic

materials is the ratio of the volume of pore
space in a unit of material to the total volume of
material.
A mathematical equation of porosity looks like
this: Porosity or n=Vvoid / Vtotal. Porosity is often
expressed as a percentage of rock or soil void of
material, so multiply the answer by 100.

Rhombohedral Packing

The arrangement or packing of the soil particles

plays a role in porosity. In the diagrams to the
left, the particles stacked directly on top of each
other (cubic packing) have higher porosity than
the particles in a pyramid shape sitting on top of
two other particles (rhombohedral packing).
Can you see the difference in pore space?
What could happen when smaller particles are
mixed with larger particles? As the diagram
shows, the smaller particles could fill in the
void spaces between the larger particles, which
would result in a lower porosity.

Cubic Packing with Smaller Grains Filling

Not all particles are spheres or round. Particles
the Void Spaces
exist in many shapes and these shapes pack in a
variety of ways that may increase or decrease
porosity. Generally, a mixture of grain sizes
and shapes, results in lower porosity.
One important point to remember is that the
diameter size of the grain does not affect
porosity. Remember, porosity is a ratio of void
space to total volume. A room full of ping pong
balls would have the same porosity as a room
full of basketballs, as long as the packing or
arrangement are similar.

Porosity Ranges for Sediments

Material

Porosity (%)

Sands have large pore spaces, whereas clays

have many small pore spaces. Both sand and
clay can have high porosity.
According to Holt, the sand-plain province has

well-sorted sand or
gravel

25-50

sand and gravel, mixed

20-35

glacial till

10-20

silt

35-50

clay

33-60

a porosity value between 32% and 38%.4

(Based on Meinzer (1923a); Davis (1969); Cohen

(1965); and MacCary and Lambert (1962) as quoted by
C.W. Fetter 2)

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Specific Yield
Specific Yield (%)
Not all the water stored in pore spaces becomes
part of flowing or moving groundwater. Just as
Material Maximum Minimum Average
water clings to a glass, water also clings to soil
particles due to surface tension, cohesion, or
coarse
26
12
22
adhesion. It forms a thin film around a particle. gravel
Thus specific yield is always less than porosity.
medium
26
13
23
gravel
Specific yield is the ratio of volume of water
that drains from a saturated rock due to gravity fine gravel
35
21
25
to the total volume of rock.
gravelly
35
20
25
A mathematical equation of specific yield looks sand
like this: Specific Yield or Sy=(Vdrained / Vtotal) x
coarse sand
35
20
27
100.
medium
32
15
26
Unlike porosity, specific yield is influenced by

grain size. For example, if two soil samples

have the same porosity, but different grain sizes
(e.g. clay and sand), the sample with smaller
grain sizes will have a lower specific yield.
Clay has a greater surface area than sand,
therefore, more water will remain behind
clinging to the clay particle surfaces.
According to Holt, the sand-plain province has
a specific yield between 19% and 30%, which
indicates that recharge from precipitation
should pass easily from the surface to the zone
of saturation.4

sand
fine sand

28

10

21

silt

19

18

sandy clay

12

clay

(Johnson (1967) as quoted by C.W. Fetter 2)

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Permeability
The size of pore space and interconnectivity of
the spaces help determine permeability, so
Permeability for Sediments
shape and arrangement of grains play a role.
Permeability is a measure of a soil's or rock's
ability to transmit a fluid, usually water. Often
Permeability or
the term hydraulic conductivity is used when
Material
Hydraulic
Conductivity (cm/s) discussing groundwater and aquifer properties.
Hydraulic conductivity simply assumes that
well-sorted gravel
10-2 to 1
water is the fluid moving through a soil or rock
type.
well-sorted sands,
10-3 to 10-1
glacial outwash
Water can permeate between granular void or
silty sands, fine sands
10-5 to 10-3
pore spaces, and fractures between rocks. The
larger the pore space, the more permeable the
silt, sandy silts, clayey
10-6 to 10-4
material. However, the more poorly sorted a
sands, till
sample (mixed grain sizes), the lower the
clay
10-9 to 10-6
permeability because the smaller grains fill the
openings created by the larger grains. "The
most rapid water and air movement is in sands

(C.W. Fetter 2)

and strongly aggregated soils, whose aggregates

act like sand grains and pack to form many
large pores" 16.

On the other hand, clay has low permeability due to small grain sizes with large surface areas,
which results in increased friction. Also these pore spaces are not well connected. Clay often
creates confining layers in the subsurface.
In rocks with fractures, the size of the openings, degree of interconnectedness, and the amount of
open space all help determine permeability. The crystalline rock of the northwest part of the
County has low porosity because it contains very few openings, so water cannot pass through.
However, volcanic rock in the area may have high permeability if the openings are large and are
well connected.
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Soil Attenuation or the Soil's Filtering

Capability
Soil properties such as depth, texture, and
permeability help determine the rate of
groundwater recharge, as well as protection
from groundwater contamination. Land surface
factors such as topography, geology, and
vegetation along with soil properties determine
the potential for groundwater contamination.
The soil acts as a natural filter. In this context
filtering means more than capturing solid
particles. Filtering also means retaining
chemicals or dissolved substances on the soil
particle surface, transforming chemicals
through microbial biological processing, and
retarding movement of substances.
The soil's ability to lessen the amount of or
reduce the severity of groundwater
contamination is called soil attenuation.
"During attenuation, the soil holds essential
plant nutrients for uptake by agronomic crops,

immobilizes metals that might be contained in

municipal sewage sludge, or removes bacteria
contained in animal or human wastes. 18"
However, the soil's ability to filter contaminants
is limited. Contaminant attenuation in soils
depends on water moving through the top two
layers of soil (horizons A and B) at a rate that
ensures maximum contact between the
percolating water that contains contaminants
and the soil particles. 18 Deep, medium and
fine-textured soils are the best, whereas coarsetextured materials are the worst in terms of
contaminant removal. In coarse materials like
sand, water moves through rapidly, reducing
contact between the water and soil particles.

(Data Source: SURGO, 1998 and Soils of Portage

County and Their Ability to Attenuate Contaminants Map
by Ward, 18)

Based on information from the Soil Survey of Portage County, Wisconsin17, Good and Madison
used seven soil characteristics to classify each soil series according to its ability to attenuate
contaminants. The soil series were grouped into four categories of best, good, marginal, and
least potential for soil attenuation.

In Portage County, the soils with the:

least potential for attenuation include deep sands and organic soils found in wetland
areas; cover 64% of the County mainly in the central, southern, and northwestern parts

marginal potential for attenuation include those with 20-40 inches of loamy materials
overlying till, outwash, or sandstone; cover 28% of the County mostly scattered among
the moraines in the eastern part

good potential for attenuation occurs in the southern corner of the northwest corner
where there are 30 inches of silt, and scattered among the moraines in the east where
there are 40 inches of loamy materials over sand and gravel; covers 7% of the surface

best potential for attenuation includes no soils in the County; 0% 18

In summary, most of the County consists of soils with poor to marginal filtering capabilities. In
addition the water table is high in many areas. These two factors suggest that land use practices,
especially irrigated agriculture, should be monitored to prevent groundwater contamination. To
learn about actions that help protect groundwater, click here.

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(Italicized words defined in the glossary.)

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