Design of Lysimeter Leak Detector Networks for Surface Impoundments and Landfills

Sampling of soil pore moisture in the vadose zone underneath land disposal facilities (landfills and surface impoundments) for hazardous waste has been suggested as an "early warning system" to detect leakage from these facilities. Some states require vadose zone moisture sampling at such sites. Given a leak of a particular size, mathematical models can estimate the necessary moisture sample volume collection times and lysimeter spacings to guarantee detection of the leak in a homogeneous medium. Examination of 47 hazardous waste sites existing in 1984 indicated the most were located in areas with water tables too shallow to permit vadose zone detection monitoring. Several of the 47 sites had soils that could be described as loamy sand, silt loam or silty clay. Using these three soils as examples, the process of lysimeter leak-detector network design has been illustrated. For a particular loamy sand with a saturates hydraulic conductivity of 10^-6 cm/ sec, the maximum ceramic lysimeter spacing is 15.5 feet at a depth of 30 feet to collec a moisture sample of 10 mL in one week from a 1 ft2 leak. For a silt loam, maximum lysimeter spacing would be 17 feet at depth of 15 feet. For silty clays, the maximum lysimeter spacing is 7 feet at a depth of 2 feet; maximum emplacement depth is about 9 feet. Calculations show that in some soils, suction lysimeters will not be able to collect usable moisture samples. Since soil properties vary widely and lysimeter spacing is strongly dependent on soil-moisture characteristics appropriate soil measurements and modeling must be performed at each disposal facility to estimate lysimete performance and to select locations for emplacement.     

Effects of In Situ Remediation Using Oxidants or Surfactants on Subsurface Organic Matter and Sorption of Trichloroethene

In situ remediation technologies have the potential to alter subsurface properties such as natural organic matter (NOM) content or character, which could affect the organic carbon‐water partitioning behavior of chlorinated organic solvents, including dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs). Laboratory experiments were completed to determine the nature and extent of changes in the partitioning behavior of trichloroethene (TCE) caused by in situ chemical oxidation or in situ surfactant flushing. Sandy porous media were obtained from the subsurface at a site in Orlando, Florida. Experiments were run using soil slurries in zero‐headspace reactors (ZHRs) following a factorial design to study the effects of porous media properties (sand vs. loamy sand with different total organic carbon [TOC] contents), TCE concentration (DNAPL presence or absence), and remediation agent type (potassium permanganate vs. activated sodium persulfate, Dowfax 8390 vs. Tween 80). Results revealed that the fraction of organic carbon (f_oc) of porous media after treatment by oxidants or surfactants was higher or lower relative to that in the untreated media controls. Isotherm experiments were run using the treated and control media to measure the distribution coefficient (K_d) of TCE. Organic carbon‐water partitioning coefficient values (K_oc) calculated from the experimental data revealed that K_oc values for TCE in the porous media were altered via treatment using oxidants and surfactants. This alteration can affect the validity of estimates of contaminant mass remaining after remediation. Thus, potential changes in partitioning behavior should be considered to help avoid decision errors when judging the effectiveness of an in situ remediation technology.     

Experimental and Economic Assessment of Two Surfactant Formulations for Source Zone Remediation at a Former Dry Cleaning Facility

Treatability tests and cost analyses were conducted to provide objective criteria for selection of a surfactant formulation to be used for surfactant enhanced aquifer remediation (SEAR) of a tetrachloroethene (PCE)-contaminated site in Oscoda, Michigan. Two surfactant formulations, 4% Tween 80 + 500 mg/L CaCl₂ and 8% Aerosol MA/IPA +15,000 mg/L NaCl + 1000 mg/L CaCl₂, were considered based on their capacity to solubilize PCE and prior use in SEAR applications. Results of a two-dimensional aquifer cell experiment indicated that 53% of the released PCE was recovered after flushing with approximately 8 pore volumes of 4% Tween 80. In contrast, only 3 pore volumes of 8% Aerosol MA/IPA solution were required to recover 78% of the PCE from the two-dimensional aquifer cell, although the greater recovery of PCE was attributed, in large part, to the higher concentration of Aerosol MA. However, mobilization of PCE as free product was observed during the 8% Aerosol MA/IPA flood, which was consistent with total trapping number (N_T) calculations. At the pilot-scale, SEAR treatment costs were estimated to be $222,000 and $244,000 for 4% Tween 80 and 8% Aerosol MA/IPA, respectively, which compared favorably to the estimated pump-and-treat cost of $316,000. Projected full-scale costs, based on a line-drive flushing system, were $382,000 for 4% Tween 80 and $443,000 for 8% Aerosol MA/IPA. In contrast, full-scale pump-and-treat costs were estimated to be $1,167,000. Surfactant recycling was shown to be logistically and economically infeasible at the pilot scale, and provided only a minimal cost benefit for 4% Tween 80 at the full scale. Based on the similarities in solubilization capacity and treatment cost, but substantially lower risk of PCE displacement, Tween 80 was recommended over Aerosol MA/IPA for pilot-scale testing of SEAR.     

Removal of Volatile Organic Compounds from Surfactant Solutions by Flash Vacuum Stripping in a Packed Column

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) am be removed from contaminated ground water and subsurface media by surfaclant-enhanced remediation processes. For the process to be economically competitive it is necessary to recover and reuse the surfactant from this concentrated solution. The VOC can be removed from this concentrated solution by flash vacuum stripping, leaving the surfactant solution for reuse. In this study, the flash vacuum stripping of trichloroethylene (TCE) from an anionic surfactant solution in a co-current packed column was studied under rough vacuum conditions. The presence of surfactants lead to a reduction in the overall liquid phase volumetric mass transfer coefficient (MTC) of 40 to 95%. depending on flow rate and surfactant concentration at 50°C and 16 kPa. At liquid loading rates of less than 13 cm³/cm²min, the MTC of TCE decreases rapidly with an increase in liquid loading rate, and at liquid loading rates above that, the MTC decreases slightly with an increase in the liquid loading rate. This trend may have been due to foaming. At surfactant concentrations above the critical micelle concentration, the effect of surfactant concentration was not significant at liquid loading rates less than 13 cm³/cm²min. However, beyond that rate, the MTC of TCE decreased drastically with an increase in surfactant concentration. The MTC of TCE increased with an increase in temperature. A large pressure drop (3 to 4 kPa/m) was observed across the packed bed due to foaming.     

Effects of Hydrogel Amendment to Different Soils on Plant Available Water and Survival of Trees under Drought Conditions

The effect of super absorbent polyacrylate (SAP) hydrogel amendment to different soil types on plant available water (PAW), evapotranspiration and survival of Eucalyptus grandis, Eucalyptus citriodora, Pinus caribaea, Araucaria cunninghamii, Melia volkensii, Grevillea robusta, Azadirachta indica, Maesopsis eminii and Terminalia superba was investigated. The seedlings were potted in 3 kg size polythene bags filled with sand, loam, silt loam, sandy loam and clay soils, amended at 0 (control), 0.2 and 0.4% w/w hydrogel. The tree seedlings were allowed to grow normally with routine uniform watering in a glass house set up for a period of eight weeks, after which they were subjected to drought conditions by not watering any further. The 0.4% hydrogel amendment significantly (p < 0.05) increased the PAW by a factor of about three in sand, two fold in silt loam and one fold in sandy loam, loam and clay soils compared to the control. Similarly, the addition of either 0.2 or 0.4% hydrogel to the five soil types resulted in prolonged tree survival compared to the controls. Araucaria cunninghammi survived longest at 153 days, while Maesopsis eminii survived least (95 days) in sand amended at 0.4% after subjection to desiccation. Evapotranspiration was reduced in eight of the nine tree species grown in sandy loam, loam, silt loam and clay soils amended at 0.4% hydrogel. It is probable that soil amendment with SAP decreased the hydraulic soil conductivity that might reduce plant transpiration and soil evaporation.     

Cyclodextrin-Enhanced Vertical Flushing of a Trichloroethene Contaminated Aquifer

Pilot-scale testing of an innovative ground water remediation technology was conducted in a source zone of a trichloroethene-contaminated Superfund site in Tucson, Arizona. The technology is designed to enhance the removal of low-solubility organic contaminants from heterogeneous sedimentary aquifers by using a dual-screened vertical circulation well to inject and extract solutions containing a complexing sugar (hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD]). Prior to initiating the pilot test, tracer tests were conducted to determine hydraulic characteristics of the vertical flow field and to evaluate trichloroethene-elution behavior during water flushing. The pilot test involved injecting approximately 4 m³ of a 20% HPCD solution into the upper screened interval of the well and extracting from the lower screened interval. The results of the pilot test indicate that the cyclodextrin solution increased the rate of trichloroethene removal from the aquifer. The concentrations of trichloroethene in the ground water extracted from the lower screened interval of the well increased by a factor of three (∼750 μg/L) in the presence of the cyclodextrin pulse, compared to concentrations obtained during previous water flushing (∼250 μg/L). Furthermore, the concentration of trichloroethene in water collected from the circulation well under static conditions was reduced to 6% of the levels measured prior to the test.     

Surfactant effects on the water‐stable aggregation of wettable soils from the continental USA

Surfactants may affect soil structure differently depending upon the soil or the quality of rainfall or irrigation water. This study examined whether the water‐stable aggregation of 11 wettable soils was affected by surfactants and the water in which the soils were sieved. The study also examined whether the wettable soils' water drop penetration time (WDPT) was affected by surfactants, water drop quality, and elapsed time since the surfactants were applied. Two nonionic surfactants and a surfactant‐free water control were sprayed (by misting) upon air‐dry soil, then WDPT was measured 1 and 72 h thereafter. Subsequently, this treated soil was slowly wetted with an aerosol to its water content at a matric potential of ?3 kPa, then immediately sieved for 600 s in water that contained either appreciable or few electrolytes. Water‐stable aggregation, quantified as mean weight diameter (MWD), varied widely among soils, ranging from 0.10 to 1.36 mm. The MWDs were affected (at p = 0.06) by surfactant treatments, depending upon the soil but not sieving water quality. Surfactants affected the MWD of an Adkins loamy sand and Feltham sand, two of the three coarsest‐textured soils. Although WDPTs never exceeded 5 s, depending upon the soil WDPTs were affected by surfactant treatments but not by water drop quality. After surfactant application, WDPTs generally decreased with time for three soils but increased with time for one soil. Findings suggested that surfactants interacted (1) with clay mineralogy to affect MWD and (2) with soluble calcium to affect WDPT for certain soils. Surfactant treatments but not water quality affected both MWD and WDPT for some but not all of 11 wettable, US soils. Published 2012. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

C) W.M.O.—E.C.A.F.E.

Abstract

The authors give data of water infiltrations in horizontal and vertical columns, and in a two dimensional model. The soils are two mixtures of sand and loam, and a natural sandy loam. The characteristics of these soils are given in the article.

As a conclusion, the two dimensional problem can be approached by a linear combination of data in horizontal and vertical columns.     

Surfactant‐Enhanced Electroosmotic Flushing in a Trichlorobenzene Contaminated Clayey Soil

Remediation of the sites contaminated with organic contaminants, such as chlorobenzenes, remains a challenging issue. Electroosmotic flushing can be a promising approach which is based on mechanism of electrokinetic remediation for removal of organic contaminants from fluids in low‐permeability soil. To select an optimum surfactant that can effectively enhance electroosmotic flushing, three common surfactants, Triton X‐100 (EK2), Tween 80 (EK3), and a mixture of sodium dodecyl sulfate and Triton X‐100 (EK4) buffered with Na₂HPO₄/NaH₂PO₄ solution, were tested. The efficiency of each kind of surfactant was evaluated using a three‐dimensional box filled with a clayey soil spiked with 1,2,4‐trichlorobenzene, and compared with a test (EK1) without surfactant. The results demonstrated that the buffer solutions efficiently neutralized H⁺ and OH^? produced by electrolysis. EK3 with Tween 80 added in the flushing solution reached the highest electroosmotic permeability of 10^?4 cm²/v/s and achieved a notably high cumulative electroosmotic flow (EOF) of 5067 mL within 6 d, which was 6.3, 3.4, and 4.2 times higher than that in EK1, EK2, and EK4, respectively. There were 420 mL more cumulative EOF obtained after 50 h of electrical application in EK4 than in EK2. The introduction of nonreactive ions can increase the current, thereby benefiting the EOF. Both the higher pH caused by the buffer and the application of nonionic surfactants can make the zeta potential more negative, thereby increasing the EOF. Tween 80 can be recommended as the best flushing solution for removing organic contaminants from sites when electrokinetic remediation is applied.     

A Program to Calculate Hydraulic Conductivity Using Slug Test Data

Abstract. During the execution of a slug test, the water level in a well is instantaneously raised or lowered and changes in the water level are monitored as it seeks its equilibrium position. SLUGTST is a program, written in TURBO BASIC ^b for IBM PC ^c microcomputers and compatibles, which calculates hydraulic conductivity using data obtained during such a test.     

Chlorinated Solvent Source‐Zone Remediation via ZVI‐Clay Soil Mixing: 1‐Year Results

ZVI‐Clay is an emerging remediation approach that combines zero‐valent iron (ZVI)‐mediated degradation and in situ stabilization of chlorinated solvents. Through use of in situ soil mixing to deliver reagents, reagent‐contaminant contact issues associated with natural subsurface heterogeneity are overcome. This article describes implementation, treatment performance, and reaction kinetics during the first year after application of the ZVI‐Clay remediation approach at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Primary contaminants included trichloroethylene, 1,1,2,2‐tetrachloroethane, and related natural degradation products. For the field application, 22,900 m³ of soils were treated to an average depth of 7.6 m with 2% ZVI and 3% sodium bentonite (dry weight basis). Performance monitoring included analysis of soil and water samples. After 1 year, total concentrations of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) in soil samples were decreased by site‐wide average and median values of 97% and >99%, respectively. Total CVOC concentrations in groundwater were reduced by average and median values of 81% and >99%, respectively. In several of the soil and groundwater monitoring locations, reductions in total CVOC concentrations of greater than 99.9% were apparent. Further reduction in concentrations of chlorinated solvents is expected with time. Pre‐ and post‐mixing average hydraulic conductivity values were 1.7 × 10^?5 and 5.2 × 10^?8 m/s, respectively, indicating a reduction of about 2.5 orders of magnitude. By achieving simultaneous contaminant mass depletion and hydraulic conductivity reduction, contaminant flux reductions of several orders of magnitude are predicted.     

Air Channel Formation, Size, Spacing, and Tortuosity During Air Sparging

Characterizing mass transfer during in situ air sparging requires knowledge of the size, shape, and interfacial area of air channels. These characteristics were determined by analysis of digital images of air channels passing through submerged glass beads having particle size in the sand range. Pore-scale channeling occurred in all cases. The analysis showed that the air channels were narrower, more tortuous, more closely spaced, and moved nearly vertically through the coarser media. In the finer media, air channels had larger diameter, were spaced further apart, and passed nearly horizontally through the media. The mean diameter of the channels varied between 2.8 and 8.1 mm, and the mean spacing varied between 8.3 and 19.4 mm. Estimates of the area of the air-water interface per unit volume of soil (a₀), computed using data from the digital images and an assumed arrangement of channels, ranged from 0.02 to 0.2 mm²/mm³. Larger a₀ were obtained for coarser media and uniformly graded media. These estimates of a₀ compare well with published values for common packed-column materials and for unsaturated soils.     

Slug test analysis to evaluate permeability of compressible materials

The line-fitting methods such as the Hvorslev method and the Bouwer and Rice method provide a rapid and simple means to analyze slug test data for estimating in situ hydraulic conductivity ( k ) of geologic materials. However, when analyzing a slug test in a relatively compressible geologic formation, these conventional methods may have difficulties fitting a straight line to the semilogarithmic plot of the test data. Data from relatively compressible geologic formations frequently show a concave-upward curvature because of the effect of the compressibility or specific storage ( S _s). To take into account the compressibility of geologic formations, a modified line-fitting method is introduced, which expands on Chirlin's (1989) approach to the case of a partially penetrating well with the basic-time-lag fitting method. A case study for a compressible till is made to verify the proposed method by comparing the results from the proposed methods with those obtained using a type-curve method (Kansas Geological Survey method [ Hyder et al. 1994 ]).     

The Effects of Hydrophilic Polymer and Soil Salinity on Corn Growth in Sandy and Loamy Soils

The interaction effects of different applied ratios of a hydrophilic polymer (Superab A200) (0, 0.2, 0.6% w/w) under various soil salinity levels (initial salinity, 4 and 8 ms/cm) were evaluated on available water content (AWC), biomass, and water use efficiency for corn grown in loamy sand and sandy clay loam soils. The results showed that the highest AWC was measured at the lowest soil salinity. The application of 0.6% w/w of the polymer at the lowest salinity level increased the AWC by 2.2 and 1.2 times greater than those of control in the loamy sand and sandy clay loam soils, respectively. The analysis of variance of data showed that the effect of salinity was significant on biomass and water use efficiency of corn in the loamy sand and sandy clay loam soils. The highest amounts of these traits were measured in soils with the lowest salinity level. Application of polymer at the rate of 0.6% in the loamy sand soil and at the rate of 0.2% in the sandy clay loam soil resulted in the highest aerial and root biomass and water use efficiency for corn. At these polymer rates the amounts of water use efficiency for corn were 2.6 and 1.7 times greater than those of control in the loamy sand and sandy clay loam soils, respectively. Thus, the use of hydrophilic polymer in soils especially in the sandy soils increases soil water holding capacity, yield, and water use efficiency of plant. On the other hand, decreases the negative effect of soil salinity on plant and helps for irrigation projects to succeed in arid and semi‐arid areas.     

Changes in hydraulic conductivity of laboratory sand-clay mixtures caused by a seawater-freshwater interface

The influence of small amounts of clay minerals on the hydraulic conductivity of sandy aquifer was investigated by laboratory experiments. Admixture of up to 1.5% by weight of clay minerals to sand did not cause any measurable decrease of hydraulic conductivity for seawater. Increasing the clay fraction from 1.5% to 10% decreased hydraulic conductivity by one order of magnitude. Montmorillonite caused the strongest decrease; the effect of kaolinite and illite was only half as large. When seawater was flushed by freshwater, hydraulic conductivity of the montmorillonite-sand mixture decreased drastically. However, flushing with freshwater did not measurably affect the hydraulic conductivity of an illite-sand or kaolinite-sand mixture. The explanation for this behaviour is the capability of various types of clay to adsorb different quantities of water between their platelets which induces a gel-droplet formation process. This is governed by the chemical composition and the ionic strength of the solution.     

Rates of Nitrate and Perchlorate Removal in a 5-Year-Old Wood Particle Reactor Treating Agricultural Drainage

A 5-year-old wood particle reactor treating agricultural tile drainage in southern Ontario was monitored for its ongoing ability to treat both nitrate (NO₃^–) and perchlorate (ClO₄^–). Prior to sampling undertaken in the fifth year of operation, a highway safety flare containing ClO₄^– was immersed in the inlet pipe elevating influent ClO₄^– concentrations to up to 33.7 μg/L. ClO₄^– removal rates were inhibited in the presence of more than 1 to 2 mg/L NO₃^–-N, but increased rapidly to about 60 μg/L/d upon NO₃^– depletion. Nitrate removal rates, measured subsequently in the sixth and seventh years of operation, varied with temperature in the range of 2 to 16 mg N/L/d, but remained similar to rates measured in the second year. Additionally, no deterioration in the hydraulic conductivity (K) of the coarse core layer (0.5 3^– removal rates and can remain highly permeable over a number of years. The media can also provide high removal rates for other redox sensitive contaminants such as ClO₄^–. The ability to directly measure the reactor flow rate, in this case via an outlet pipe, greatly simplified the task of estimating hydraulic properties and reaction rates.     

Hydraulic Conductivity Measurements in the Unsaturated Zone Using Improved Well Analyses

The flow of ponded water into and through the unsaturated zone depends on both the saturated and unsaturated components of the hydraulic conductivity. Recent studies indicate that the ratio of the saturated (K_fs) to the unsaturated (φ_m) components (K_fs/φ_m=α*) of flow lies within prescribed bounds for most field soils, i.e., 1m⁻¹≤α*≤ 100 m⁻¹. In addition, the fact that the calculation of K_fs and φ_m is not strongly dependent on the choice of α*, suggests that a site estimation of α* leads to reasonable "best estimates" of K_fs and φ_m when using the constant head well permeameter technique. As a consequence, measurement of the steady flow rate using only one ponded head may be all that is necessary for many practical applications. Multiple head measurements or independent measurements of α* or φ_m can be used, however, to give more accurate estimates of K_fs if required.     

In situ Mixing of Organic Matter Decreases Hydraulic Conductivity of Denitrification Walls in Sand Aquifers

In a previous study, a denitrification wall was constructed in a sand aquifer using sawdust as the carbon substrate. Ground water bypassed around this sawdust wall due to reduced hydraulic conductivity. We investigated potential reasons for this by testing two new walls and conducting laboratory studies. The first wall was constructed by mixing aquifer material in situ without substrate addition to investigate the effects of the construction technique (mixed wall). A second, biochip wall, was constructed using coarse wood chips to determine the effect of size of the particles in the amendment on hydraulic conductivity. The aquifer hydraulic conductivity was 35.4 m/d, while in the mixed wall it was 2.8 m/d and in the biochip wall 3.4 m/d. This indicated that the mixing of the aquifer sands below the water table allowed the particles to re-sort themselves into a matrix with a significantly lower hydraulic conductivity than the process that originally formed the aquifer. The addition of a coarser substrate in the biochip wall significantly increased total porosity and decreased bulk density, but hydraulic conductivity remained low compared to the aquifer. Laboratory cores of aquifer sand mixed under dry and wet conditions mimicked the reduction in hydraulic conductivity observed in the field within the mixed wall. The addition of sawdust to the laboratory cores resulted in a significantly higher hydraulic conductivity when mixed dry compared to cores mixed wet. This reduction in the hydraulic conductivity of the sand/sawdust cores mixed under saturated conditions repeated what occurred in the field in the original sawdust wall. This indicated that laboratory investigations can be a useful tool to highlight potential reductions in field hydraulic conductivities that may occur when differing materials are mixed under field conditions.     

Low‐Flow Hydraulic Conductivity Tests at Wells that Cross the Water Table

Wells with screens and sand packs that cross the water table represent a challenging problem for determining hydraulic conductivity by slug testing due to sand pack drainage and resaturation. Sand pack drainage results in a multisegmented recovery curve. One must then subjectively pick a portion of the curve to analyze. Sand pack drainage also results in a change in the effective radius of the well which requires a guess at the porosity or specific yield in analyzing the test. In the study of Robbins et al. (2009) , a method was introduced to obtain hydraulic conductivity in monitoring wells using the steady‐state drawdown and flow rate obtained during low‐flow sampling. The method was tested in this study in wells whose screens cross the water table and shown to avoid sand pack drainage problems that complicate analyzing slug tests. In applying the method to low‐flow sampling, only a single pair of steady‐state flow rate and drawdown are needed; hence, to derive meaningful results, an accurate determination of these parameters is required.     

Water flow path interactions with soil hydraulic properties in till soil at Gårdsjön, Sweden

In 1989, in a hydrological research programme within a deacidification project in the Gårdsjön area in southwest Sweden, flow paths and residence times of soil water and groundwater in microcatchments were examined to support the interpretation of the hydrochemical changes. Saturated hydraulic conductivity and soil water retention were analysed on more than 100 cylinder samples. The catchments have shallow sandy-silty till soil with a mean depth in the main catchment of 43 cm. Porosity of the mineral soil in the main catchment was high and ranged from 38 to 85%. The samples from the B-horizon had generally higher porosity. Porosity and the content of organic matter were correlated. The soil water retention was relatively high at all tensions, likely owing to the high content of organic matter. Dissolved organic substances were most probably transported from the shallow soil on the steep sides of the catchment down to the valley where it precipitated. The high porosities could be a consequence of long-term weathering, provided that the organic substances present have increased the leaching of the weathering products. Measured values of saturated hydraulic conductivity were close to log-normally distributed with a mean for all samples of 3 × 10⁻⁵ m s⁻¹. There was a significant increase in conductivity toward the ground surface with the mean conductivity of the samples in the uppermost 10 cm of the mineral soil of 4 × 10⁻⁵ m s⁻¹, which was about 13 times higher than the conductivity of 3 × 10⁻⁶ m s⁻¹ at 1 m depth. From the relationship between runoff at the catchment outlet and groundwater levels, the conductivity was estimated to be 15–200 times higher in the upper soil layer than in the deeper ones. In one profile, 44–64% of the yearly lateral flow was estimated to occur above 30 cm depth. The conductivity was correlated with the content of drainable water, which indicated the importance of the largest pores for the saturated hydraulic conductivity.