The planning and design of drainage systems is not an exact science. Although there have been many advances in soil and crop science, techniques have not been developed for combining the basic principles involved into precise designs. One of the primary reasons for difficulty in applying known theory is the capricious variability of natural soil in contrast to the idealized soils required to develop a theory. The type of drainage system designed depends on many factors, but the most important is the type of soil, which determines whether water will move through rapidly enough to use subsurface drainage. Soils that have a high percentage of sand- and silt-size particles and a low percentage of clay-size particles usually will transmit water rapidly enough to make subsurface drainage feasible. Soils that are high in clay-size particles usually cannot be drained by subsurface improvements. It is essential to consider soil properties to a depth of 1.5 to 1.8 metres (5 to 6 feet) because the layer in the soil that transmits water the slowest controls the design, and subsurface improvements may be installed to these depths.