TABLE OF CONTENTS Site hydrology and land planning are two initial factors that influence land use and foundation design. Part 1 addresses these concerns. Site hydrology involves both subsurface and surface water content and movement. Land planning develops construction techniques intended to accommodate hydrologic problems and provide best use of the parcel. Coverage of the topic will be rather cursory as a rule, foundation engineers are not involved with the early stages of development, but an awareness of the potential problems is beneficial.
ROBERT WADE BROWN
Site hydrology and land planning are two initial factors that influence land use and foundation design. This section addresses these concerns. Site hydrology involves both subsurface and surface water content and movement. Land planning develops construction techniques intended to accommodate hydroponic problems and provide best use of a parcel of land. The coverage will be rather cursory. As a rule, foundation engineers are not initially involved with the early stages of development. An awareness of the potential problems is, however, beneficial.
The regime of subsurface water can be divided into two general classifications: the aeration zone and the saturation zone. The saturation zone is more commonly termed the water table or groundwater, and it is, of course, the deepest. The aeration zone includes the capillary fringe, the intermediate belt (which may include one or more perched water zones), and, at the surface, the soil water belt, often referred to as...
