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Farm water supply requirements

Description

All farms in Alberta require a safe and dependable supply of good water. To accomplish this goal requires some planning. Start by estimating the average daily water requirements and annual water... More ≫

Description

All farms in Alberta require a safe and dependable supply of good water. To accomplish this goal requires some planning. Start by estimating the average daily water requirements and annual water requirements.

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Deep well jet pumps

Description

Deep well jet pumps are usually for wells with a pumping lift of 22 to 120 feet. A deep well jet pump combines two principles of pumping – that of the centrifugal pump and that of an injector... More ≫

Description

Deep well jet pumps are usually for wells with a pumping lift of 22 to 120 feet. A deep well jet pump combines two principles of pumping – that of the centrifugal pump and that of an injector (nozzle and venturi assembly).

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Water requirements for livestock

Description

Water is the main constituent of the animal’s body, constituting 50 to 80 percent of the liveweight, depending on age and degree of fatness. An animal can lose almost all of its fat and about 50... More ≫

Description

Water is the main constituent of the animal’s body, constituting 50 to 80 percent of the liveweight, depending on age and degree of fatness. An animal can lose almost all of its fat and about 50 per cent of its body protein and survive. However, the loss of 10 per cent of its body water can be fatal. Therefore, a successful livestock enterprise requires a good water supply. A good water supply is defined both in terms of quantity and quality of the water. A good water supply is important to the livestock manager because total water intakes are positively related to feed dry matter (DM) intakes.

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Hydrated lime treatment improves dugout water quality

Description

Although the dugout liming treatment has proven to be successful, it is only one management tool available for improving water quality. Aeration, sedimentation controls and other methods of algae... More ≫

Description

Although the dugout liming treatment has proven to be successful, it is only one management tool available for improving water quality. Aeration, sedimentation controls and other methods of algae and weed control should also be used. Liming has worked successfully on most dugouts; however, a small percentage of dugouts have not shown improvement after treatment by a qualified liming company. Dugouts with a high level of organic color (yellow to brown) fit into this category. It is recommended that another coagulant such as aluminum sulphate be considered instead of the hydrated lime. It is much more effective on dugouts with a high level of dissolved color

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Float suspended water intake for dugouts

Description

Research shows that water in the top four or five feet of a dugout is of higher quality than water at the bottom and edges. The reason for this difference in quality is that the algae and plants... More ≫

Description

Research shows that water in the top four or five feet of a dugout is of higher quality than water at the bottom and edges. The reason for this difference in quality is that the algae and plants that grow in dugouts eventually die and decay at the bottom and edges, resulting in black, smelly water conditions. Research also shows that although the addition of aeration to a dugout will improve dugout water quality, a float suspended water intake allows users to pull the best quality of water from the dugout. Float suspended water intake systems have been successfully used in dugouts for the last 20 years. They have replaced the gravel type infiltration trenches that would fail from both sediment plugging and deteriorating water quality problems.

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Spring development

Description

Springs have traditionally been used by allowing people and livestock direct access to the water and spring site. The result of this practice is that springs can quickly become contaminated with... More ≫

Description

Springs have traditionally been used by allowing people and livestock direct access to the water and spring site. The result of this practice is that springs can quickly become contaminated with livestock manure and become mud holes from livestock traffic. Proper spring development involves protecting both the spring and its water quality from environmental damage and contamination, as well as improving access to the water for all its intended uses. Springs are less costly to develop than wells and dugouts. However, before a spring is developed, it is essential to check both the quantity and quality of the spring water because springs are highly susceptible to contamination and seasonal changes in flow rate.

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Groundwater quality in the eastern portion of the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District 1995 to 2001

Description

Groundwater quality in the Battersea Drainage Basin, an irrigated area of southern Alberta with a high density of intensive livestock operations, was monitored from 1995 to 2001. The goal was to... More ≫

Description

Groundwater quality in the Battersea Drainage Basin, an irrigated area of southern Alberta with a high density of intensive livestock operations, was monitored from 1995 to 2001. The goal was to characterize groundwater flow and quality, and to determine whether groundwater quality changed between this period. The information gathered in this report will be used to identify and promote the most appropriate management practices to minimize water contamination, and to serve as a baseline to monitor the impact of implementation of beneficial management practices in the basin.

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Seepage control in dugouts

Description

Seepage from dugouts often results in serious water losses. In many parts of the province, dugouts provide the only available water source, owing to poor quality or unavailable groundwater. In... More ≫

Description

Seepage from dugouts often results in serious water losses. In many parts of the province, dugouts provide the only available water source, owing to poor quality or unavailable groundwater. In these areas, it is important to reduce seepage losses. The amount of seepage loss in a dugout depends on the soil in which the dugout is constructed. A careful consideration of these properties is recommended when selecting dugout locations. The physical methods of sealing dugouts have relatively longer service life than chemical methods. The chemical methods need to be repeated once every few years.

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Pasture pipeline design [2000]

Description

As pasture systems become more intensively managed, producers are considering piping water directly to paddocks. These pipelines are typically small diameter polyethylene (PE) pipes that are... More ≫

Description

As pasture systems become more intensively managed, producers are considering piping water directly to paddocks. These pipelines are typically small diameter polyethylene (PE) pipes that are buried about 12 inches below the soil surface. They are only used in the summer and must be drained and blown out with an air compressor in the fall. Pasture pipelines can be easily placed underground with a farm tractor and three-point hitch type of plough. The following section provides the information needed to design a basic system.

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Managing cow-calf operations to protect water quality

Description

Manure is a valuable nutrient source to a farm. However, manure contains nutrients, organic matter and micro-organisms that can contaminate water supplies.

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