Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID DC_2024_Patil

Assessment of Saturated and Unsaturated Soil Conditions for Generation of Urban Runoff Potential in Washington, D.C

Institute: District of Columbia
Year Established: 2024 Start Date: 2024-09-01 End Date: 2025-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $14,996 Total Non-Federal Funds: $16,918

Principal Investigators: Ujwalkumar Patil, Pradeep Behera

Project Summary: This project is all about studying the soil in certain areas of Washington, DC, particularly in Ward 3 and along the stream banks in Rock Creek Park. They want to understand how the soil holds water and how much water it can absorb. This is important because it affects how rainwater moves through the soil and whether it causes flooding or not. The researchers will collect soil samples and test them to see how much water they can hold. They'll also use special equipment to model how rainwater moves through the soil during heavy rain. By doing this, they hope to figure out how much rain will cause the soil to become saturated and lead to flooding. This research will help them understand the risk of flooding in these areas and could be used to plan better drainage systems. It will also help build up the research and training abilities of the University of the District of Columbia's geotechnical engineering lab.