The effects of bag type and meter size on seepage meter measurements

Seepage meters provide a useful, inexpensive method of measuring seepage flux through unconsolidated sediments in lakes, reservoirs, and stream channels. In the literature, the bag type used is usually not indicated, and its effect on seepage measurement has not been evaluated. The effects of bag type and seepage meter size have been evaluated ina laboratory setting. A sandbox 100.4 (L) x 76.2 (W) x 24 (H) cm size was half filled with coarse sand and water to a depth of 10 cm, Four seepage meters and two bag types (balloon and condom) were used in the seepage measurements. There was no significant difference between the seepage measurements obtained from the two bag types. A two-sample t-test (df=56, Wt-sat=258, alpha=0.01, p=0.0013) failed to reject the null hypothesis of similarity between measurements from the two bag types, The seepage measurements from four seepage meters were similar with no significant difference; however, the smaller diameter seepage meters had a greater variance.