Soil Temperatures in Water Works Practice

The variation of the temperature of the soil, throughout the year and at different depths below ground surface,might seem to be a scientific curiosity of little practical interest to the water works engineer until the relationof soil temperature to the freezing of water pipes is appreciated. The freezing of water in buried mains is due,largely, to the cooling of the surrounding soil below the freezing point of water. This cooling is but one particular feature of a general pattern of the changing soil temperature profile as the effect of winter air temperatures is felt beneath the surface of the ground.