The effect of silt-laden water on infiltration in alluvial channels

Abstract

A tilting bed flume study was made to examine the relationships between velocity, suspended sediment and infiltration rate in alluvial channels for velocities from 2 to 5 feet per second and suspended sediment up to 0.6 percent. Preliminary experiments using samples from Rhllito Creek near Tucson, Arizona to define limits for the flume study included mechanical analyses of bed sediments, permeability and infiltration tests, and analyses of suspended sediment in flood waters. Flume experiments using bed materials from Rillito Creek were made with constant velocity and variable suspended sediment content, then with constant suspended sediment and variable velocity. Considerable variability was found in the mechanical analyses, permeability and infiltration tests, and suspended sediment content for samples from different locations. The flume studies indicated a direct relationship between velocity and infiltration rate and an inverse relationship between the suspended sediment content and infiltration rate in the ranges tested. Very poor correlation was found between the preliminary permeability and infiltration tests and the flume infiltration rates, but good correlation was obtained for the flume results with the flow losses and natural recharge occurring in the river channels in the Tucson area.