Soil surveys can be helpful in deciding methods of stabilizing cuts and fills. Soil properties may affect the cost of installation and length of service of buried pipelines and conduits. Shallow bedrock, for instance, greatly increases the cost of installation. Differences in properties between adjacent horizons, including aeration, enhances corrosion in some soils. Soil properties affect the cathodic protection provided by sacrificial metal buried with pipes.
Rock fragments can break protective coatings on pipes.
Shrinking and swelling of some soils may preclude the use of certain kinds of utility pipe. 6-8 Soil survey interpretations may be particularly useful in the prediction of problems likely to be encountered along proposed routes. Hydrologic information and other data combined with interpretive soil properties, such as the hydrologic group , can be helpful for the estimation of potential runoff for design of culverts and bridges. The probability of bedrock and unstable soils that require removal or special treatment can be determined from soil surveys. Lawns and landscaping.