Probabilistic Analysis of Seepage

A method was developed for the analysis of seepage through nonhomogeneous soil deposits. The layers of pervious soils in the deposit were considered as inclusions within a medium of much lower permeability. The locations and dimensions of the inclusions were assumed to be random variables. Field studies of excavations provided the basis for the statistical representation of the inclusions. Data obtained from the Mississippi River alluvium and fluvial glacial deposits were interpreted by means of the statistical model. The results were used to compute the seepage at the Port Allen Lock excavation and the Granville Dam. The computed seepage is of the right order of magnitude when compared with the measured seepage.