Drain Tile for drying a hay field

[emilynhc23]

Hello helpful humans,

I am looking for advice on how to install drain tile (corrugated, perforated drainage pipe) in approximately 2 acres of swamped hay field. The section of field produces hay, but we cannot get equipment on it since it is so wet. The ranch is in Colorado and there are no people in my area that typically install hay field drainage since it is a minimal problem in this region. The ranch is associated with a small construction company that can complete the work, but we just don't want to install the drainage wrong. Questions are 1) What are the benefits of using 4" pipe vs 6" pipe and vice versa? 2) How far apart from each other do the drain tile sections need to be for even drainage? 3) What is the recommended depth for drainage? - we are thinking 3ft with a slope of 2%, but that is just from internet research and no real experience. Any help or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

 

[LittleInch]

Try looking up "mole ploughing field drainage" for the cheapest and easist.

That installs 4" perforated main without excavation. But if you've got access to a slit trenching machine then use that.

Normally you look at 1:100.

Every 3 ft / 1m is pretty common, but a lot depends on your soil type and permeability which you really need to get some geotech information.

900 / 3ft down is also pretty common.

But where is it draining to? A swampy field is there for a reason so unless you've got a good ditch drain system going then you're onto a loosing issue right form the start.

If you can't get machines on you're in trouble, but you could use a pneumatic mole machine.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[zelgar]

Please refrain from posting in multiple locations. This question was posted in 3 forums: Ag forum

https://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=522558,

Soil/groundwater

https://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=522560,

and here. I wouldn't of said anything if it was only 2 since the Ag forum doesn't see much traffic.