DIY drainage improvements (how to?)

[oldnslo]

In my experience, the mud starts where ever the concrete ends... I don't know if dairy cows are worse that horses for chewing up and packing the ground but we could never keep our pastures from having some muddy spots. Best was to do like GP and try and keep it drained as much as possible.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Moving the hay feeders around will definitely help somewhat to limit the depth of mud. I have a lot of clay soil and have pretty much relegated the horses to one pasture in the winter time so that the others don't suffer. I have it all on a hillside and the hoof prints do just what was mentioned above about creating little ponds. We have only had our pastures about 4 years so they are still a work in progress.

Agree. We keep the buggers in one pasture in winter and try to save the rest for after things firm up.

 

[smstonypoint]

Consider contacting your state or county soil conservation district or what ever similar name the agency goes by.
They can offer a lot of info/plans as well as make sure you are aware of any runoff requirements. i.e. from the horse paddocks into the streams and rivers locally.
Good luck with the project.

That would be the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) at your local USDA office.

Steve

 

[dgeesaman]

That would be the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) at your local USDA office.

Steve

I've studied the BMP's recommended by the county conservation district. Basically it's about nutrient control - avoid mud in the high traffic areas, avoid rainwater from flowing into animal paddocks, add features to direct runoff and run it through calming / filtration features before it reaches the waterways. Improve surfaces in high traffic areas and pick up manure from these concentration areas.

I found this particular guide today, which looks really good: http://www.ndspro.com/images/stories/pdfs/drainage/principles-of-exterior-drainage.pdf

As for the engineering degree mention, I'm not trying to make this difficult, but our drainage project will run several hundred feet and cross the driveway at least twice. I figure it will be several hundred feet of french drain and a few hundred feet of regular drain. It won't be a one-weekend project and I can't have the whole area cut open for too long. Right now I'm thinking I should get out the level, stakes, and string and figure out the slope all along the drainage path so that we start our trenches at the right depth.

I saw some discussion of horses and pasture areas. What I do know:
- Their feet aren't as heavy as cows, but horses run and slide around and create similar compaction and damage.
- Unless you have massive pastures and very durable soil, you can't let horses out on wet pastures. We keep ours off the pastures from late fall to mid spring. We have several sacrifice paddock areas that we use in this weather.
- Paddocks need to have an improved surface and be kept clean of manure.
- Pastures need to be mowed. I keep the tall grass cut at 5" or so and mow when it reaches 7".

During winter and rainy times we simply can't turn out the horses because the paddocks get soft and muddy and in winter the snow / water freezes causing a bunch of dangerous ice. Most of the horses are unshod so they have to stay off the ice.

David

 

[Walkin Horse]

Here are some pics I took tonite. 3 days of sun and it's drying up good.

I was just making humor when I said leave the degree at work. I recently took a load of firewood to a woman who's husband is a civil. Selling firewood is not something I normally do. But their furnace had broke and he couldn't afford to fix it. I had it almost stacked when he came out to empty the trash. He looked at it and said that's gonna fall. So I pushed it over for him.

I have a friend whose a surveyor. He came by and took a hand level and found the high spots. Gave me a little advice and the rest had been hydro grading and watching where the water goes. But I can also understand your concern of not screwing around and watching where the water runs to.

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

 

[GPintheMitten]

My project involved several 100 feet and crossed the drive twice and took more than a weekend. I didn't mention the other driveway cross because it didn't really matter to the approach I took.

I personally think your over thinking it but it's your project. You would do well to be as successful as I was. Good luck.

 

[jenkinsph]

That would be the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) at your local USDA office.

Steve

The NRCS will often do all the planning work to resolve these problems. In some cases depending on their budget for the year they will also pay about 80% of the cost of the work needed including labor and materials.

 

[riptides]

Consider contacting your state or county soil conservation district or what ever similar name the agency goes by.
They can offer a lot of info/plans as well as make sure you are aware of any runoff requirements. i.e. from the horse paddocks into the streams and rivers locally.
Good luck with the project.

yeah, don't overlook your county and state rules/regulations when it comes to moving water, especially if it goes off your property.