Which human activity tends to increase surface runoff and reduce infiltration?

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Multiple Choice

Which human activity tends to increase surface runoff and reduce infiltration?

Water that precipitates on the land can either infiltrate into the soil to recharge groundwater or flow as surface runoff across the surface. The mix between these pathways is controlled by how permeable the surface is and how water is managed on the land. Urbanization introduces many impermeable surfaces—roads, rooftops, and parking lots—that block water from seeping into the soil. These hard surfaces, often accompanied by compacted soils and organized drainage systems, quickly channel rainfall into storm drains, causing higher, faster surface runoff and much less water able to infiltrate. That combination—more runoff and less infiltration—is the hallmark of urban land transformation. Afforestation, by contrast, increases interception by vegetation and promotes infiltration through looser, more porous soils; wetlands restoration adds storage and improves soil moisture by slowing and soaking water; wastewater irrigation changes water delivery to soils but does not inherently create the widespread impermeability that drives rapid runoff.

Water that precipitates on the land can either infiltrate into the soil to recharge groundwater or flow as surface runoff across the surface. The mix between these pathways is controlled by how permeable the surface is and how water is managed on the land.

Urbanization introduces many impermeable surfaces—roads, rooftops, and parking lots—that block water from seeping into the soil. These hard surfaces, often accompanied by compacted soils and organized drainage systems, quickly channel rainfall into storm drains, causing higher, faster surface runoff and much less water able to infiltrate. That combination—more runoff and less infiltration—is the hallmark of urban land transformation.

Afforestation, by contrast, increases interception by vegetation and promotes infiltration through looser, more porous soils; wetlands restoration adds storage and improves soil moisture by slowing and soaking water; wastewater irrigation changes water delivery to soils but does not inherently create the widespread impermeability that drives rapid runoff.

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