Comparison of Methodologies for Determining Soil Suitability for Stormwater Infiltration.

Approximately 772 cities in the United States have aging infrastructure that include combined sewers. The overflows from these combined sewers (CSO) are a hazard to the public health, to the environment and are a drain on the finances of these cities. With shrinking tax bases and resources, the alleviation of these CSO’s by using Green Infrastructure has, in many cases, become a low-cost solution. Proper application of Green Infrastructure, however, requires accurate characterization of the soils on the site in a rapid and cost effective fashion. A comparison of soil morphological and physical characteristics in an anthropogenic landscape yields valuable data enabling installation of successful Green Infrastructure Stormwater Management. We have compared and field-tested a number of methodologies in urban settings to determine their usefulness as tools for siting Green infrastructure.