Drain Sedimentation Tool

For more information, see the tool’s Extension Bulletin and User Manual.

Step 1

Take a soil sample from the drain depth at three different locations of the field. Mix them into one representative sample. Send it to a soil lab and ask for soil texture, bulk density, and cation exchange capacity. For a list of soil labs in your state, click here.

Step 2

Enter two drainage inputs in the boxes below.

Drainage intensity, DI (in/day):

Drainage intensity is the rate of water movement through the soil into the drain pipe. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Use the Drain Spacing Tool to estimate the optimum drain spacing that maximizes economic return on investment.

Step 2: Use the drain spacing from Step 1 in the Drainage Intensity calculator to estimate the drainage intensity of the system.

Drain spacing of 4-inch laterals, S (ft):