August 2010 Article: Impact of Residential Soil Disturbance on Infiltration Rate and Stormwater Runoff, by Christopher J. Woltemade.
Digging into my old yard in Reston always was an adventure: I never knew what I’d find – bricks, lumber, etc. — left over from my home’s construction in 1967. Construction practices clearly left something to be desired. This study in southern Pennsylvania confirms my own unscientific observation of a huge amount of variation in how residential lawns respond to precipitation.
Curve numbers and stormwater runoff were substantially higher for lots constructed post-2000 compared with lots built pre-2000 and for undisturbed soils, documenting the magnitude of possible error in stormwater runoff models that neglect soil disturbance. A failure to consider such soil disturbances may lead to substantial errors of under-prediction in rainfall-runoff models.
The solution ultimately comes down to local codes and practices: Limit the footprint of soil disturbance, using mechanical soil loosening and organic soil amendments at the time of construction, and apply long-term lawn and landscape maintenance to enhance infiltration.
[Please note: I have quoted and paraphrased freely from the article, but the interpretation is my own!]