Impacts of Existing Infrastructure on Soil Resistivity

Electrical soil resistivity is of utmost importance for an efficient grounding system design of substation and generation facilities, including any renewable sites. Existing buried infrastructure such as underground utilities (sewer, water pipes), electrical conduits going out of a substation, building foundations, metallic fences, transmission and distribution poles, etc., affect soil resistivity measurement conducted in its vicinity. In addition to these buried structures, many other factors that affect soil resistivity are stray alternating and direct currents, ground meter(s) used for measurement, temperature, moisture and mineral content, and seasonal variations. This paper discusses the impact of existing buried infrastructure on the measurement of electrical soil resistivity.