Hydraulic properties of the vadose zone at two typical sites in the Western Cape for the assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution

Abstract

Aquifer vulnerability assessment is increasingly becoming a very significant basis in order to fulfill the water demands in South Africa. Knowledge of soil hydraulic properties that consists of the soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity functions is a prerequisite for predicting solution transport in soils. The overall objective of the study was to develop a database of hydraulic properties for collected undisturbed samples and to test selected models by making use of this database.