The Haldimand Soil & Crop Improvement Association, and Land Improvement Contractors of Ontario (LICO) recently hosted Haldimand Drainage Day in Fisherville, Ontario. As LICO members, we were thrilled to join the event and continue learning about Ontario’s farm drainage. The event consisted of four sessions throughout the afternoon, and was hosted by industry experts.
Session 1: The History of Drainage + Installation Demonstration
Session 2: How to Drain Heavy Clay Soil
Session 3: Resources to Help Plan Your Farm Drainage
Session 4: Managing Drainage Outlets
In this blog we’ll be highlighting some of the available resources that can help you plan for your farm drainage.
The Ontario Watershed Information Tool (OWIT) is used to calculate information about Ontario’s watersheds. Watersheds are areas of land where surface water converges to a single point. OWIT is used by water professionals in the public and private sectors and academia to better understand water flow in Ontario. You can access the tool, along with instructions on how to use it, here.
You can use this to create a map of a watershed, characterize the watershed, and extract land cover information. This information can then be used to help understand your drainage needs and calculate the expected volume of water that will move through your subdrain system.
Now that you know the expected volume of water your farm drainage will need to handle, you can use the chart below to calculate the diameter of subdrain your field will need in order to handle the anticipated watershed. The chart below combines the average grade of your drainage as a percentage, with your anticipated drain discharge in litres per second to give you a recommended subdrain diameter. As an example, if your tile is draining at .5%, roughly 5 inches every 100 feet, and you expect a discharge of 2 litres of water per second, 4” subdrain is the ideal selection for your field.
If you have any questions about how subdrain can work for your needs, please reach out to our team by phone or email at any time. You can also explore the other things we learned at drainage day here:
Session 1: The History of Drainage + Installation Demonstration
Session 2: How to Drain Heavy Clay Soil
Session 3: Resources to Help Plan Your Farm Drainage
Session 4: Managing Drainage Outlets
