The study of soil infiltration in west part of Semarang City, Indonesia

Department of Geological Engineering, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: wbudianta@ugm.ac.id

Abstract

This research examined the types and characteristics of soil, including the porosity, the water content, the void ratio, and the degree of saturation to the value of the infiltration rate in the soil located in the western part of Semarang City, Indonesia. The infiltration rate test was carried out at 49 measurement points, based on a 2×2 km² grid division in the research area. The infiltration rate measurement in the field was carried out using a turf-tech infiltrometer. The data from the infiltration rate measurement results in the field were calculated using the infiltration rate estimation model from Kostiakov, which was further classified by the Konhke classification. The results of the infiltration rate measurement showed that the research area had infiltration rate values that varied, from very slow to very fast, with the values ranged from 0 mm/hour to 1601.33 mm/hour. The analysis results showed that the type of soil, the water content, the degree of saturation, and the porosity related to the infiltration rate in the research area. The soil type parameter had the smallest relationship to the infiltration rate with the R² value of 0.2923. The soil porosity had the largest relationship to the infiltration rate in the research area, with an R² value of 0.4854.