Innovative Drainage Water Management in North Carolina

The purpose of this award is for the grantee to increase participation, revitalize and improve Drainage Water Management in North Carolina to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment losses to surface waters, conserve water and increase yields.Drainage Water Management or Controlled Drainage has been installed on over 400,000 acres of cropland in North Carolina. It is conservatively estimated that under proper operation, these systems will reduce N loads to streams and estuaries by about 4,000,000 lbs annually. However the original contracts for management have expired and the systems are, in many cases, no longer functioning as designed. Further, most of the control structures have been installed on open ditches with little application of the more recently developed structures for controlling drainage in subsurface or “tile” mains. This project will support the installation of these new structures in subsurface mains on 15 to 20 sites. If successful, this demonstration could lead to application on thousands of additional acres in the middle Coastal Plain. The project will also develop and implement a web-based system for encouraging and assisting users in the proper application of drainage water management on both old and new systems. The goal is to revitalize and improve the management of controlled drainage systems in North Carolina. A web-based system will be developed and implemented on a pilot scale with 15 farmers in at least 6 Coastal Plain counties. The system will provide crop, soil, and location sensitive advice and reminders on management of the control structures. DRAINMOD simulations to evaluate soil water conditions and provide guidance on managing the structures based on current and forecasted weather conditions and the status of receiving waters will be conducted and updated at least monthly through the year. Brochures will be developed to promote Drainage Water Management and field days will be held to demonstrate the practice and present results of its effect on crop yields, drainage outflows and nutrient losses to the environment.