A Simple Estimation of Excess Rainwater Percolation from a Buried Container into a Vadose Zone

Abstract

This study evaluated the performance of a rainwater utilization system. Excess rainwater is drained from rooftops into an underground container from which the water infiltrates from the base and sides into the surrounding soil of a vadose zone. The saturated hydraulic conductivity of the soil where this system was used was very low at the surface and higher in the deeper layer where the container was located. A simple method was proposed to estimate the steady recharge rate of excess rainwater from the buried container into the surrounding soil of the vadose zone. By modifying the steady recharge equation, which is widely used in the theory of the Guelph Permeameter, a steady recharge rate from the container was calculated from the measured value of saturated hydraulic conductivity and the size of the container.