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History of Drainage Researchat the
University of Minnesota
Bruce N. Wilson
Bioproducts & Biosystems Engineering
Unviversity of Minnesota
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Period: 1850 1920Pye vs Mankato (1887): Surface water is a common enemy...
1858 - Minnesota 1st drainage act
University StateU of M Established - 1851
Minnesota Statehood - 1858
Major Reorganization - 1868
1st Drainage Report - 1899
1st Drainage Bulletin - 1908
Ag Eng & Extension - 1909
Drainage Engineering - 1919
1877- Drainage approval township
1879 -Drainage approval county
1897 - State drainage commission
1919 - Drainage districts
Ag Experiment Station - 1885
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Period: 1920 1960Blue Earth (1940): Surface water is a common friend.
1931 - Drainage Commissioner withinDept. of Conservation & renamed
1941 - Renamed Water Resources andEngineering
Time
Tile Testing Project - 1921
Depth-Spacing Albert Lea - 1921
ASAE Cost-Analysis Paper-1923
Design Aids - 1924
Depth-Spacing 4 Locations - 1925
Water-Table Management - 1925
University State
Pumping Outlet - 1956 1955 - Watershed districts 1957 - 60% Land owners for petition
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Period: 1960 PresentMitsch and Gosselink (1986): Wetlands are .. the kidneys of the landscape
1991 - Wetland Conservation Act
Time
Plastic Tile Installation - 1960University State
Lamberton Plots - 1972
Waseca Plots - 1975
Drainage Simulation - 1980
Recent Research - 1990s
1961 - Conserve regional water
1971 - Civil actions allowed
1973 - Consider ecological impacts
1976 - Public water include wetlands
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Precipitation Twin Cities
Year
1850 1900 1950 2000
Precipitation
10
30
50
CumD
eparture
-80
-40
0
40
80
Average = 27.2 in
Departure
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0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00%
Prior to 1880
1900-1909
1920-1929
1940-1949
1960-1969
Percentage of Ditch Constructions
Blue Earth, Brown, Le Sueur, & Nicollet
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Experimental Farms
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J.T. Stewart
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H. B. Roe
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Topics
Installation
Materials
Water management for crops
Environmental impacts
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Ditching Machine - 1875
H.H. Gray, Middleville, MN
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Experimental Drainage System at Crookston
$5000 in 1903 and $4000 in 1904
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Hand Tools Usedfor Installation of
Tiles
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Hand Installation of Tiles at Crookston
3 ft depth - $2.42 per 100 ft, 4 ft - $3.15 per 100 ft
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Machine Trenching at Crookston
Average cost - $1.24 per 100 ft
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Junkin Ditcher - 1906
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Junkin Ditcher
Total wt = 60 tons
2 tons of coal per day
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St. Paul Campus - 1909 to 1910
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Ditches of bottom width = 2 ft, Depth = 3 to 4 ft
can usually be dug most cheaply by hand
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Hand Installation Common for Tile
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Design Charts
6 ft depth
14 inch tile:
90 hour per 100 ft
6 feet
14 inch
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Cost Estimates - 1923
15 farms from 1908 to 1921
Average value of tillable land = $166 /acre Average cost of drainage = $75/acre
Average savings = $91/acre
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Pumping Plants for Drainage Outlet
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Important Design:
Pump capacity
Small pump forseveral days is
better than large
pump for short
time
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Topics
Installation
Materials
Water management for crops
Environmental impacts
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Tile Dating to 1 A.D.
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Tile Installed at Crookston - 1908
Hutchinson
Glencoe
Fertile
Mason City
Lengby
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Minnesota Legislature
Special Appropriationfor Causes of Failure
in Drain Tile
1921
D.G. Miller
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Sulfates of
Magnesium
and
Sodium inSubsurface
Water
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Cement Chemists and Engineers from Around the
World Examine Test Specimens After Exposure to
Sulfate Water
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Results
Clay
Resistant to soil acid and alkalies
Deteriorate from frost action
High-adsorption clay tile lack structural
strength
Concrete Low permeability - large strength
Low levels of tricalcium aluminate
High curing temperatures
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Minnesota Bearing
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Durability in
Acid Soils
50 variables
10,000 cylinders
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Plastic Mole Liner - Crookston (1960)
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Installation Machine
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Installation at Crookston, October, 1960
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Topics
Installation
Materials
Water management for crops
Environmental impacts
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King, 1918
Time will come in the not distant future
when systems of tile ditches will be
designed and installed as a part of asystem for controlling soil water supply,
not simply as a means of removing
excess water ...
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Early Depth-Spacing Study - 1925
the lower and wetter areas a closeness of spacing of laterals the
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the lower and wetter areas ... a closeness of spacing of laterals, the
cost .. prohibitive, except use of surface inlets best results a
spacing of 50 to 60 feet ... in wetter spots. Roe - 1926
Surface Inlet Design - 1924
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Minnesota
DesignCurves
(1934)
C t ll d D i St d
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Controlled Drainage Study
1925 to 1930
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Field Layout
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6 Field Crops & 13 Truck Crops
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Water Depth Control System
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0
20
40
60
1.0-
1.5
1.5-
2.0
2.0-
2.5
2.5-
3.0
3.0-
3.5
3.5-
4.0
Depth of water table (ft)
AverageYie
ld(bu/ac)
Average Corn Yield
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Drainage on Forest Growth - 1929
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Topics
Installation
Materials
Water management for crops
Environmental impacts
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Lamberton Drainage Plots - 1972
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0
40
80
120
20 112 224 448
Treatment (kg N/ha)
NO3-N(kg
N/ha)
1973 1974 1975
Impact of Fertilizer Rates - Lamberton Data
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Waseca Drainage Plots - 1975
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0
0.5
1
1.5
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991
Year
Atraz
ineConcentrat
ion(g/L)
Moldboard plowNo-tillage
Impact of Cropping System - Waseca Data
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Simulation Model of Moore and Larson:
Data for 1957 to 1963
Includes surface inlets
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Depression 1Depression 2
Depression 3
Drainage Ditch
Simulation Impact of Drainage - 1979
Minnesota Model for Depressional Watersheds
(MNDW)
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Simulation Approaches
EvapotranspirationPrecipitation
Overland Flow
Water Table
Tile line
Stream
Channel
Moore, I.D. and C.L. Larson. 1979. Effects of Drainage Projects on Surface Runoff from Small
Depressional Watersheds in the North Central Region, WRRC Bulletin 99, Wat. Resour. Res.Center, Minneapolis, MN.
Si l ti A h
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Simulation Approaches
Pre-drainage
Current
Channel Only
Maximum
Ag Production
0 1 2 3 4 5
Annual runoff in inches for the Little Sioux River
Moore, I.D. and C.L. Larson. 1979. Effects of Drainage Projects on Surface Runoff from Small
Depressional Watersheds in the North Central Region, WRRC Bulletin 99, Wat. Resour. Res.Center, Minneapolis, MN.
Simulation Approaches
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Simulation Approaches
Pre-drainage
Current
Channel Only
Maximum
Ag Production
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Little Sioux River Peak Discharges in cfs, 30 May 1959Moore, I.D. and C.L. Larson. 1979. Effects of Drainage Projects on Surface Runoff from Small
Depressional Watersheds in the North Central Region, WRRC Bulletin 99, Wat. Resour. Res.Center, Minneapolis, MN.
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Summary
Long history of drainage research
Reflective of societal values
1st golden age - 1920s water removal
2nd golden age - 1990s water quality
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Questions?
Bruce WilsonProfessor
Dept. of Bioproducts & Biosystems Engineering
University of Minnesota
St. Paul, Minnesota