Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Accomplishments: Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pollution of surface water from nonpoint sources is a serious problem nationwide, particularly in the Midwest USA. The water quality issues are exacerbated by the prevalence of artificially improved through surface and subsurface drains. The NCERA-217 group is documenting the impacts of conservation drainage practices which maintains the benefits of drainage while minimizing negative environmental impacts. The 29 peer-reviewed journal articles, 11 other publications, and over 25 other outreach activities produced during the reporting period are listed in the separate publications document. Additional outputs are listed below.

Short-term Outcomes: Virginia is piloting a $1 million dollar statewide ‘pay for demonstrated performance’ project to implement bioreactors to treat legacy nitrogen in springs. The program is based on research by NCERA-217 member Zach Easton. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality expects to start soliciting bioreactor proposals during the summer of 2022. Another outcome is the International Drainage Symposium held in Des Moines, IA Aug 30 – Sep 2 with many NCERA-217 members being involved on the organizing committee, https://www.swcs.org/events/conferences/22ids.

Outputs:

Extension Bulletins:

• Seven drainage-related extension bulletins from Michigan State University authored by Ehsan Ghane, covering: Iron Ochre, Choosing Between Sock-Wrapped and Sand-Slot Pipes, Choosing Between 8-Row and 4-Row Regular-Perforated Pipes, Mole Drains, Drain Sedimentation Tool, Why Do Subsurface Drainage Systems Underperform, and Shallow Drains, available at: www.egr.msu.edu/bae/water/drainage/publications

• Díaz García, C., T. Berkshire, J. Chandrasoma, P. Davidson, R. Cooke, R. Christianson, and L. Christianson. 2021. Saturated buffers 101: “Buffing up” water quality. University of Illinois Extension factsheet CSWQ-0121. Available at: https://go.illinois.edu/BuffingUp.

Book chapters

• Czapar, George F., and Laura Christianson. 2021. Illinois Agronomy Handbook chapter: Water Quality. Available at: extension.illinois.edu/commit/agronomy-handbook.
• Cooke, Richard A., and Laura E. Christianson. 2021. Illinois Agronomy Handbook chapter: Water Management. Available at: extension.illinois.edu/commit/agronomy-handbook.

Youtube Videos:

• McMaine, J., Hardin, C., 2021: Drainage Water Recycling, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO2oNBCpjLk. 184 views.
• McMaine, J., Hardin, C., 2021: Saturated Buffers, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzRCi_wWNLM 105 views.
• McMaine, J., Hardin, C., 2021: Drainage Water Management, www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMlL1GP9vdU 78 views.

Podcasts:

• McMaine, J., Bly, A., Moriarty, K., 2021/2022: 13 Episodes covering: Conservation Drainage 1 & 2; Bioreactors; Saturated Buffers 1 & 2; Controlled Drainage 1 & 2; Subsurface Drip Irrigation 1 & 2; Subirrigation; Constructed Wetlands 1 & 2; Soil Health and Drainage; and Managing Water with Soil Health. Available at: extension.sdstate.edu/tags/streamlines-podcast

The USDA-funded Transforming Drainage project ended in 2021. The project was led by NCERA-217 members. The project website, www.transformingdrainage.org, continues to be a resource on drainage water storage practices and has logged 33,000 users and 121,500 page views. The project YouTube channel has logged more than 6,500 views and the Twitter account (@TD_Drainage) has 441 followers. The Transforming Drainage project developed numerous tools to be used in decision-making, listed below with the author if not an NCERA-217 member. These tools are freely available at https://transformingdrainage.org/tools/:

• The Drain Spacing Tool estimates the optimum drain spacing that maximizes economic return on investment in the drainage system.
• The Drainage Rate Calculator determines the three standard coefficients recommended by Skaggs (2017) for characterizing hydraulic properties of subsurface drainage systems. (Developed by Chris Hay, Iowa Soybean Association)
• The Likely Extent of Agricultural Drainage Tool identifies agricultural areas that are likely to have been drained for crop production, usually through subsurface tile drainage, in the Midwest.
• The Controlled Drainage Suitability Tool identifies land in the Midwestern USA that has a high probability of being suitable for controlled drainage
• The Subirrigation Suitability Tool identifies potential suitability for subirrigation of land in the U.S. Midwest.
• The “Evaluating Drainage Water Recycling Decisions” (EDWRD) tool provides an estimate of the potential irrigation and water quality benefits that result from drainage water recycling across multiple reservoir sizes.
• The Field Nutrient Loss App provides a way to estimate nutrient loss of nitrogen based on drain flow rate and concentration.
• The Transforming Drainage Data Visualization Tool provides high-resolution visualization interfaces for users to explore data from 42 research sites studying conservation drainage practices. These sites have controlled drainage, saturated buffers, or drainage water recycling infrastructure installed in comparison to free (non-managed) drainage.

Activities:

• The tri-state IA-MN-SD Drainage Research Forum was held in Ames, IA and virtually with 128 attendees. The on-line option attracted a national and international audience.
• Tri-state Tile Drainage Design and Water Management Workshop. On-line via zoom, 80 participants. Organized by University of Wisconsin, University of Illinois and Iowa State University.
• Wisconsin-Minnesota Discovery Farms tile project. Webinar with 179 participants. Presentations available at youtube.com/watch?v=rwvEGx-souw&t=226s
• Regional drainage school in Iowa with 30 attendees from Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
• Train-the-trainer workshops with extension staff to provide conservation drainage practice information in Georgia, Minnesota, and Iowa.

Milestones:   

• Ongoing data collection under a regional drainage water quality project studying the impacts of 4R nitrogen management on crop yield, soil health, nutrient losses with water, and gaseous emissions. This work is being conducted across seven sites in the Upper Midwest US corn belt and one site in Ontario, CA. The project is funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and 4R Research Fund.

  Accomplishments: Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pollution of surface water from nonpoint sources is a serious problem nationwide, particularly in the Midwest USA. The water quality issues are exacerbated by the prevalence of artificially improved through surface and subsurface drains. The NCERA-217 group is documenting the impacts of conservation drainage practices which maintains the benefits of drainage while minimizing negative environmental impacts. The 29 peer-reviewed journal articles, 11 other publications, and over 25 other outreach activities produced during the reporting period are listed in the separate publications document. Additional outputs are listed below.

  Short-term Outcomes: Virginia is piloting a $1 million dollar statewide ‘pay for demonstrated performance’ project to implement bioreactors to treat legacy nitrogen in springs. The program is based on research by NCERA-217 member Zach Easton. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality expects to start soliciting bioreactor proposals during the summer of 2022. Another outcome is the International Drainage Symposium held in Des Moines, IA Aug 30 – Sep 2 with many NCERA-217 members being involved on the organizing committee, https://www.swcs.org/events/conferences/22ids.

  Outputs:

  Extension Bulletins:

  • Seven drainage-related extension bulletins from Michigan State University authored by Ehsan Ghane, covering: Iron Ochre, Choosing Between Sock-Wrapped and Sand-Slot Pipes, Choosing Between 8-Row and 4-Row Regular-Perforated Pipes, Mole Drains, Drain Sedimentation Tool, Why Do Subsurface Drainage Systems Underperform, and Shallow Drains, available at: www.egr.msu.edu/bae/water/drainage/publications
  • Díaz García, C., T. Berkshire, J. Chandrasoma, P. Davidson, R. Cooke, R. Christianson, and L. Christianson. 2021. Saturated buffers 101: “Buffing up” water quality. University of Illinois Extension factsheet CSWQ-0121. Available at: https://go.illinois.edu/BuffingUp.

  Book chapters

  • Czapar, George F., and Laura Christianson. 2021. Illinois Agronomy Handbook chapter: Water Quality. Available at: extension.illinois.edu/commit/agronomy-handbook.
  • Cooke, Richard A., and Laura E. Christianson. 2021. Illinois Agronomy Handbook chapter: Water Management. Available at: extension.illinois.edu/commit/agronomy-handbook.

  Youtube Videos:

  • McMaine, J., Hardin, C., 2021: Drainage Water Recycling, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO2oNBCpjLk. 184 views.
  • McMaine, J., Hardin, C., 2021: Saturated Buffers, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzRCi_wWNLM 105 views.
  • McMaine, J., Hardin, C., 2021: Drainage Water Management, www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMlL1GP9vdU 78 views.

  Podcasts:

  • McMaine, J., Bly, A., Moriarty, K., 2021/2022: 13 Episodes covering: Conservation Drainage 1 & 2; Bioreactors; Saturated Buffers 1 & 2; Controlled Drainage 1 & 2; Subsurface Drip Irrigation 1 & 2; Subirrigation; Constructed Wetlands 1 & 2; Soil Health and Drainage; and Managing Water with Soil Health. Available at: extension.sdstate.edu/tags/streamlines-podcast

  The USDA-funded Transforming Drainage project ended in 2021. The project was led by NCERA-217 members. The project website, www.transformingdrainage.org, continues to be a resource on drainage water storage practices and has logged 33,000 users and 121,500 page views. The project YouTube channel has logged more than 6,500 views and the Twitter account (@TD_Drainage) has 441 followers. The Transforming Drainage project developed numerous tools to be used in decision-making, listed below with the author if not an NCERA-217 member. These tools are freely available at https://transformingdrainage.org/tools/:

  • The Drain Spacing Tool estimates the optimum drain spacing that maximizes economic return on investment in the drainage system.
  • The Drainage Rate Calculator determines the three standard coefficients recommended by Skaggs (2017) for characterizing hydraulic properties of subsurface drainage systems. (Developed by Chris Hay, Iowa Soybean Association)
  • The Likely Extent of Agricultural Drainage Tool identifies agricultural areas that are likely to have been drained for crop production, usually through subsurface tile drainage, in the Midwest.
  • The Controlled Drainage Suitability Tool identifies land in the Midwestern USA that has a high probability of being suitable for controlled drainage
  • The Subirrigation Suitability Tool identifies potential suitability for subirrigation of land in the U.S. Midwest.
  • The “Evaluating Drainage Water Recycling Decisions” (EDWRD) tool provides an estimate of the potential irrigation and water quality benefits that result from drainage water recycling across multiple reservoir sizes.
  • The Field Nutrient Loss App provides a way to estimate nutrient loss of nitrogen based on drain flow rate and concentration.
  • The Transforming Drainage Data Visualization Tool provides high-resolution visualization interfaces for users to explore data from 42 research sites studying conservation drainage practices. These sites have controlled drainage, saturated buffers, or drainage water recycling infrastructure installed in comparison to free (non-managed) drainage.

  Activities:

  • The tri-state IA-MN-SD Drainage Research Forum was held in Ames, IA and virtually with 128 attendees. The on-line option attracted a national and international audience.
  • Tri-state Tile Drainage Design and Water Management Workshop. On-line via zoom, 80 participants. Organized by University of Wisconsin, University of Illinois and Iowa State University.
  • Wisconsin-Minnesota Discovery Farms tile project. Webinar with 179 participants. Presentations available at youtube.com/watch?v=rwvEGx-souw&t=226s
  • Regional drainage school in Iowa with 30 attendees from Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
  • Train-the-trainer workshops with extension staff to provide conservation drainage practice information in Georgia, Minnesota, and Iowa.

  Milestones:   

  • Ongoing data collection under a regional drainage water quality project studying the impacts of 4R nitrogen management on crop yield, soil health, nutrient losses with water, and gaseous emissions. This work is being conducted across seven sites in the Upper Midwest US corn belt and one site in Ontario, CA. The project is funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and 4R Research Fund.