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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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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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Getting to know your local watershed

Description

Watersheds have three primary purposes: to capture water, store it in the soil and release it. Yet each watershed is a unique biological and physical process, making it difficult to draw... More ≫

Description

Watersheds have three primary purposes: to capture water, store it in the soil and release it. Yet each watershed is a unique biological and physical process, making it difficult to draw generalized management recommendations for protecting a watershed. Watersheds are continually changing and evolving. Some changes are natural, or are accelerated by human activities. Importantly, a watershed contains information about all the things happening within it: climate, soil moisture, soil texture, organic matter and chemistry, topography and drainage paths.

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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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