Estimation of infiltration rates in the Suddagedda basin of East Godavari, AP – A research report by National Institute of Hydrology

The report on Suddagedda basin, a representative basin of the east flowing rivers of medium sized basins in the east coast of India, presents the outcomes of the infiltration tests carried out using Double Ring Infiltrometer. The basin soil is mainly grouped into three types viz clay loams to clay, sandy loams and forest & loamy skeletal. A total of twenty-eight infiltration tests have been conducted using double ring infiltrometers.

The average infiltration rate of the soil groups were obtained from fitted Horton’s equation using the experimental data. The correlation coefficient between observed data and fitted Horton’s equation varies from 0.83 to 0.99. The average infiltration rates in clay loams to clay, sandy loams and forest & loamy skeletal soils are 2.50, 3.94 and 7.12 cm/hr respectively.

The highest average initial infiltration rate (39.2 cm/hr) and average final infiltration rate (4.7 cm/hr) were observed in forest & loamy skeletal soil. The lowest average initial infiltration rate (19.4 cm/hr) and average final infiltration rate (1.31 cm/hr) is observed in agricultural land. According to the land use classification the highest average infiltration rate was obtained in barren land (6.9 cm/hr) and lowest rate in agricultural land (2.50 cm/hr).

A map showing the spatial distribution of average infiltration rates in the Suddagedda basin has been presented in the report. The study helps understand the infiltration processes in the basin and establishes the infiltration rate curves for different combinations of soil, land use and land cover in the basin.

Download the report here: