Monitoring Infiltration Movement through the Soil Profile in Urban Rain Gardens

This research focuses on calculating and comprehending the movement of infiltrated water as it travels through urban rain garden soils at different depths in a bio-infiltration stormwater management practice. Three rain gardens or bio infiltration stormwater management practices (SMP C, SMP D, SMP G) were constructed in Philadelphia, PA, by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to mitigate impervious surfaces created during the reconstruction of Interstate-95. The study is ongoing, and a year of field-based data has already been collected. The monitoring system consists of soil moisture meters at 10cm, 35cm, and 60cm for SMP C; 10cm, 35cm, and 55cm for SMP D; and 10cm, 35cm, 66cm, and 83cm for SMP G. Rainfall and ponding depth measurements are also measured at the site. The research goal is to track the water movement through these distinct soil levels and understand the saturation profile, based on which the soil characteristics are present.