HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1991-03-06, Page 31TIT
a Prea zee W1P
Sod -erosion„,.a natural
by Mar* Butkivigri
Soil erosion is a natty o ur,
ring process common to all agricul
:kms Una More 4 4 more fame
are becoming cone about the
W 'la, rtgi -
agdcuitural land .and the quality of
•
most dominant
s where water
form localized
deeper, wider, and cannot usually
be crossed by faun equipment.
Fanners can receive advice on
how to best deal with these
problems, and Robert Traut,
Conservation Agronomist, at the
Ausauble-Bayfield Conservation
Authority (ABCA) is a, person with
the knowledge and experience in
recounaending .the most suitable
erosion control practice in a given
sheat on. .
Several options may be suitable
for a farmer's particular erosion
problem. It may be a rock chute, a
grassed waterway, a berm- or series;
of berms. Tract will evaluate " tee
situation and- what the. farmer
chooses to do in the way of erosion
control may depend qn the costs
involved, -arid. whether or not any
form of government flinding is
available.. ,
In 1989, government funding was
available :and a, number of Up cn
County 'fanners did take advantage
of this funding. ;
Ken Rogerson,. who farms in
Tuckersmitti Township south' of
Clinton, received funding and
proceeded to construct a -rock chute.
Rock chutes are structures
designed to • carry surface water
down a short, steep slope with a
minimum of erosion. Rock chutes
may be constructed as. outlets for
grassed waterways, along water-
courses where concentration of
surface runoff entering a water-
course causes gullying of the banks,
or at locations along flow paths,
where there is an abrupt change in
grade.
In the case of the _Rogerson farm,
the area requiring attention was the
;ur ctio u of the closed portion of a
drain and. the open area of this
same drab]. Surface runoff was
flowing through a low area and
entering the din at an. unprotected
area, As a result, there was erosion
of the bank,. and the eroded soil.
'material was being carried into the
watercourses. Prior to constructing
the rock chine, Rogerson had tried
to control the erosion by means of
a grassed waterway, but found that
this was not the answer.
In many situations, the grassed
waterway would . have been suf-
ficient
uf
ficient. According to Robert Traut,
our waters.
:1.
1• tiO? is caused: b
wind. Watererosion is broken
down into three tegori�oo4.�tA
�a lid gry4.
Sheet erosion occurswhen the foie
layer of the soil moves with surface.
runoff. Sheet erosion can be found
on any slope but is
on long urian sl
Rill erosion occur
concentrates and follows the natural
in the land to
washes or channels.:
Gully erosion is a more advanced
form of rill erosion. Gullies, are
G'
of the ABOA, :the amount of war
,corrindown through this
waleedwas just too great and
...s .M-,. Grimr.. kt
illar
grassed waterway could! hand,
ii ' fib. 9 j f 409 "7 .
ivistaShedand much of it -comes from, the
eonlrannitY of Vanastra where, there
is a ot of pavement, conch ,d
grooves. Co *betels .
Consequently* �a
large amount of water delivered in
a.
a slim period obi Woe. 'x1 also
indicated that there is a `r retty well
deed channel down ° through
there", and so it was understandable
that an alternate form of erosion
control was required.
Construction of the Chute
There are three different parts to
a rock chute. There "is what is
8 but one
steeper sides o conform
to the *Here rounded shape of the
open' .yditch,:. theof the
rdr`G�. r� ante* ea exit
t
is 13 1 feet long, MN area was
Aga 0143 RO fr,faitgirti of: 18 Wief3
w1c11
was the actual dept of rock
that was used in the constraction of
the chute
Asn. us the Awe.of tire: chute
e
tOnglied,Ont and., the area Of
placement for the ruck is -deter-
..
,�,• keymt�sbe. X11,8 out in•
Winfor ..the laying of the
meter cloth Trot °describes this
filter cloth as be g-similar.to►heavy
felt material...
A keys' a trench that isring
around ail four sides at the chute.
'The filter cloth 'covers the bottom
of the chute and, flops down in
called the entrance apron, and it is .toe trench. The trench is:
relatively level and meshes with the refilled with son, Trout s.
grassed waterway. The rock chute that the filter cloth Must be
in at least a foot. deep.. The reason
for this is simply the fact that if a
larger amount of, water is moving
through the chute, the rock has been;
-know to roll. With the filter cloth
itself, unlike the grassed waterway
which is dish shaped, has relatively
steep sides and a relatively fiat
bottom. The exit apron serves as
the transition zone where the
that can e
ealt with
ultdergeath that rock that is your
last measurefor eta commas
d if it is keyed in prOedY them
$ro d no j *wJ urs„ f ? %Mei-
- doled'that he has seen cases wire
the SW Io ": but the doth bits'
held the soil underneath r
To fi sh- off therock chute* it,rs
• tolkiresSeda ssok and grassed.
Itisforther stabilizes the rock and
minimizes its rnov_ement
berms
a s
tine o tom•>+ath+af` # er f��t+�n,:
,contr01: ° that Taut often .. nti
mends beans...water ands
• sediment control bas`ins whichat►nd:
st aco' =off and `+ Oridu t it to the
• existing drainage. tiles, After , a
heavy i, water, is held by the;,
beim ..t and therefore forms
pontlp .pond. slows down an
stops the water now p and dam
,tai t take p . �C7k.k l®c1 n of i
polyethylene min isle • ils`. ,
n.
4 ? Y A
(n'
r n,�
*aim.'and this is aecothplished
within -a 24 hour riod1
The 'laud owns; :by;
Anosi ng, ; . # a < Stariiey 1o'
near Bayeldp:: is its o:
where onemight find .herinso,
'PartletilartaraLcOnsistsOf .ice.
Of, loOrt, sOatl,: wry anduluta ,
.eomplex
A grassed waterway "had been.
useda • an attempt to control
erosion h; t it wood. to . inado-
+urate, Art stGrong's tson, 'Jame
Tarn to page 30
F
quarry' rock. were tricked ;the Rogerson farm. Quarry
rock pr feared iwtke : construction Qi' the rock chute because its .
augulatr spe makes it less sueptible :to, ruing.
Design specifications require the,npproach to the low level crossing to
be sloped at a maxi nunr grade of 8:0 horizontal: 1:0 :verticaL The base
of the driving ay. -fans across them:ters* can cawsfracted with
a variety of materials depending on the site., conditions, cost, acces-
sibility and intended use. (Marg .Burkhart photo)
A 'filter cloth covers the bottom of the chute and flops down into a
" ►". A.key is a trench that is dug around all four sides at the chute,
and the doth must be keyed in at least a foot deep.
Bed level crossings are another means erosion control. The purpose
of a low level crossing is to protect and stabilize the bed of a stream
of ditch, and to provideaccess which enables inachinery or livestock The entrance apron of a rock chute is relatively level and meshes with
to crossihe watercourse. (11ltarg Burkhart -photo) the grassed watery -►ay. (Marg Burkhart photo)