Why tile drainage can revolutionize agriculture and improve the environment.

1. Water Management: Tile Drainage
Chris Unrau, President & CEO
Precision Land Solutions

3. Surface Drainage

5. Surface drainage?
Tile drainage?

8. Basic Tile Drainage Design Concepts:
• Topography – determines layout
• Outlet – necessity that can determine feasibility
• Coefficient – how much water the system can remove in
24hr period (influences main sizing, influenced by soils)
• Spacing – largest cost variable, strongly correlates to
efficacy, influenced by soils
• Tile – perforated, narrow slot, filtered

9. Why Tile?
• Better root structure
• Less compaction
• Increase in yield
• Less risk of major loss
• Less yield variability
• Environmental benefits

10. How tile works:
• Excess water in soil profile (Gravitational Water)
percolates down to restricted layer and causes water
table to rise
• Hydraulic pressure of water table causes water to seep
into perforations in pipe
• Water flows down pipe to outlet

12. Why is this important?
Plant roots die in
absence of oxygen!

29. Salinity - A symptom of a water problem

32. Precision Land Solutions
• Started in 2007 after 10 years of experience in farm
management and tile drainage installation
• Focus on quality, expertise as a solutions provider
• Initially started 1,500 acres/yr; now 6,000+
THEN NOW

43. Before After

44. Yield increase on tiled land:
20 yr study of Ontario crop insurance data
Crop
Yield Increase
Corn
29%
Soybeans
26%
Wheat
38%
Dry Beans
21%
Canola
13%

45. 20 year study in Ohio, Toledo Silty Clay

46. Downstream Impacts?
Environmental Impacts?

47. Tile Drainage - Environmental Benefits
• Reduced surface runoff
• Improved soil health
• Green Benefits

48. Tile Drainage - Environmental Benefits
• Reduced surface runoff
– Tiled land acts as a buffer to rainfall, gives water time
to percolate into a soil profile and slowly be released
to streams (Van Vlack/Norton, Mason/Rost, Skaggs/
Broadhead, Irwin/Whiteley)
• Reduced peak flows in streams (Skaggs: 89%)
• Reduced soil erosion due to overland runoff -55% (Baker/
Johnson, Hill, Loudon, Belcher/Fogiel, Skaggs)
• Reduced movement of P (48%), K (22%), and pesticides
(50%) (Gaynor/Loudon, Muir, Bastien)

49. Tile Drainage - Environmental Benefits
• Increased Crop Growth
– Coldwell: Corn 35%, Soybeans 32%, Wheat 47%
• Increased nutrient usage
• Increased soil organic matter, tilth
• Increased soil biological activity
– Van Vlack/Norton: Increased soil bacteria, better soil tilth,
deeper root systems, increased nutrient consumption
• Better Soil Structure
– Gardner et al.: Improved soil structure, better
trafficability, increased water storage capacity

50. Tile Drainage - Environmental Benefits
• Green Benefits
– Decreased fossil fuel consumption (Madramootoo,
Wind)
– Decreased greenhouse gas production
• Less CO2 from fossil fuel burn
• Less denitrification

51. Ontario: 100+ year history of tile drainage
• No license or permits required by landowner to tile
• Contractor, machine, and operator require training and
license
• Tile activities to be reported at year end
Regulations

52. Manitoba:
• Drainage License required by Manitoba Water
Stewardship (application, $25 fee)
• Permission required from recipient (i.e. outlet into RM
ditch or neighbour)
• Consistently inconsistent
• Currently in limbo - massive new changes being proposed
(Surface Water Management Strategy)
Regulations

53. Saskatchewan:
• Approval to Construct and Operate Drainage Works
• Aquatic Habitat Protection Permit
Regulations

55. www.plsinc.ca
1-855-PLS-TILE
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