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Drought proofing farm water supplies [2015-2018]

Description

The severe province-wide drought in the early 2000’s reaffirmed the importance and value of water to rural people across the Canadian prairies. Dry wells and dugouts, crop failures and dust storms... More ≫

Description

The severe province-wide drought in the early 2000’s reaffirmed the importance and value of water to rural people across the Canadian prairies. Dry wells and dugouts, crop failures and dust storms were all commonplace. Individually, these measures may not provide the level of drought protection needed, but when combined, they can provide a high degree of drought preparedness and security. A good understanding of your water requirements and water source options is a key first step. This fact sheet provides information about drought security related to your water source. Other forms of risk management, such as crop insurance, community networks or reducing livestock herds, are discussed in other Agriculture and Forestry publications.

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Alternatives for iron removal

Description

This fact sheet presents alternatives for iron removal such as: Air injection with filtration, Shock chlorination, manganese greensand iron filter, water softener, Chlorination and filtration

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Reverse osmosis water treatment

Description

Reverse osmosis is a water treatment process that forces water through an extremely fine membrane to remove dissolved minerals. Purified water passes through the membrane and collects in a storage... More ≫

Description

Reverse osmosis is a water treatment process that forces water through an extremely fine membrane to remove dissolved minerals. Purified water passes through the membrane and collects in a storage container. Small household reverse osmosis systems will produce 1 to 5 gallons of water per day. If total dissolved solids is greater than 2,000 ppm, or more than 5 gallons of water per day is required, a booster pump will be required.

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Water distillers

Description

Water distillers can remove most minerals, metals, organic chemicals and micro-organisms from water. A clean, well-maintained distiller will remove over 95 per cent of the minerals, including... More ≫

Description

Water distillers can remove most minerals, metals, organic chemicals and micro-organisms from water. A clean, well-maintained distiller will remove over 95 per cent of the minerals, including sodium, sulfate, nitrate and arsenic. Biological contaminants such as bacteria, viruses and cysts are destroyed during distillation. Water distillers can be simple, versatile drinking water treatment devices.

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Small water filters for taste, odour and sediment removal

Description

Small water filters are relatively inexpensive and are intended for use at a single water outlet to remove specific contaminants. These are sometimes referred to as “Point of Use” (POU) devices.... More ≫

Description

Small water filters are relatively inexpensive and are intended for use at a single water outlet to remove specific contaminants. These are sometimes referred to as “Point of Use” (POU) devices. These filters are intended for use only with treated municipal water supplies or water that is free of microbial contaminants.

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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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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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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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Protect groundwater quality : minimize the risks

Description

Groundwater is an important natural resource in Alberta. Many farmers and small towns rely on wells to provide drinking water for both domestic and livestock use. Groundwater, however, is... More ≫

Description

Groundwater is an important natural resource in Alberta. Many farmers and small towns rely on wells to provide drinking water for both domestic and livestock use. Groundwater, however, is vulnerable to contamination from activities around wells and sometimes activities on the land. Groundwater is water that occupies the pore spaces in soil and rocks. It originates as precipitation that moves down through the soil and can be stored in aquifers.

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