DRAINAGEWATER MANAGEMENTPLAN CRITERIA

PRACTICE/ACTIVITY CODE(130) (NO.)

1. Definitionofa DrainageWaterManagementPlan

TheobjectiveofDrainageWaterManagement (DWM)is to control soilwatertable elevations and thetiming ofwaterdischarges fromsubsurfaceorsurfaceagricultural drainagesystems forthefollowingpurposes:

  • Reduce nutrient, pathogen, and pesticide loading from drainage systems into downstream receiving waters.
  • Improveproductivity, health, and vigor of plants.
  • Reducetherateofoxidation oforganicsoils.

TheobjectiveofaDrainageWaterManagement Plan (DWMP)is to providethe producera frameworkfortheimplementation ofDWM on existingartificially drained land. Thedesirabilityand potential benefits ofaDWM system canbeeffectivelydetermined byinterviewingtheproducer, identifyingfield boundaries and soil types, obtaining adrain map, developingatopographicmap, and thencombining these components to produceaDWMPforthe field or farm.

2. DWMPCriteria

This section establishes theminimum criteriato be addressed in thedevelopment ofDrainageWaterManagement Plans.

A. General Criteria: Inaccordancewith Section 1240 (A), theEnvironmental QualityIncentives Program (EQIP)providesfundingsupport throughcontracts with eligibleproducers to obtain services ofcertified TSPs fordevelopment ofDrainageWater Management Plans. ThespecificTSPcriteriarequired forDWMPdevelopment is located on theTSPregistry(TechReg)website at:

B. DWMPTechnical Criteria: TheDWMP includes, but is not limited to, the followingcomponents:

  1. Plan development, farm andfield information:
  2. Nameofproducer
  3. Location of field (County/Township, latitude and longitude)
  4. Farm number
  5. Field and/orTract number(s)
  6. Crops grown,and planned rotation byfield
  7. Nameand address of contractoror consultant developingplan
  8. Dateofplan development
  9. Total acres of the DWMP. The DWMP includes all adjacent acres drained by the same system and under the same land ownership.

2. A narrative statement about the proposed management of the field, including related practices that the producer plans to implement (such as Nutrient Management) along with drainage water management. Include a statement about theobjectives oftheproducer, involvingat least oneofthepurposes listed in section 1. Definitions of a Drainage Water Management Plan. Include theresourceconcerns identified, and the conservation practices needed to comprisea conservation system forDWM.

3. A soil map that includes fieldboundaries, with thepredominant soils listed and areaof each predominant soil quantified. Include a listing of the drainage class of the predominant soils.

4. A drainagesystem mapthat includes thematerials, diameters ordimensions, and locations ofthelaterals and mains. List the flowline elevation of any tile line that crosses the field boundary(depth andgradeoftilelines orditches not leaving the field are not required fortheDWMP) and the flowline elevation of tile at proposed structure locations. List the general drain depth and spacing for the patterned drainage system. If any changes to an existingdrainage system are proposed to facilitate drainage water management, include the proposed configuration as a separate map.

5. A separate map outliningtheareawithin the field drained bythesystem, also showing the drainage system. The definition ofthedrainedareais taken from thelateral spacing recommendations ofthesoil, as specified in theNRCSorStateDrainage Guide. Theouterboundaryofthedrained areais delineated byalinearound thedrained area (tiled orditched), at adistanceofone-halfofthetileorditch lateral spacing.

6. A TopographicMap that shows elevation contours on anincrement appropriate for the topography, but no greater than 1 foot. To determine the appropriate maximum contour interval, ensure that the contours are no farther than 100 feet apart in the plan view, where slopes exceed 0.75%. Allowable topographic contour interval is 6 inches (0.5 feet) for land slopes 0.75% and flatter, and 1 feet for steeper land slopes.The drainagesystemmap and topographicmap need to bethesamescale, and the scale must be at least 1:3,600 (1inch =300 feet) or closer. Thetopographicmapwill include, at a minimum, all ofthedrained area as defined above. Include at least one point identified at the site (e.g., Benchmark) with a known elevation and coordinates to facilitate final design of the DWM system at a later date. Set the known reference point on a surface where the elevation will not change for at least a year (ground surface is not suitable), and include a description of the point for future reference in the field. Topography generated from LiDAR data is allowed if the LiDAR data were collected at a density and precision to support the contour intervals required above, or if an independent field survey is included demonstrating the accuracy of the LiDAR data.

7. An overlayofthe abovemaps (e.g., field boundaries, drain locations, contour map)with thelocation, size, control elevation and impacted areaidentified for each planned control structure.

• Thecontrol zone (or impacted area) of each structureis defined as the areadraining to that structure (seeitem 5)that is contained within the2- foot contour abovethe control elevation. The impacted area of the structure does not include any area impacted by the next structure in the system (if there is one).

• The control elevation is the elevation ofthesoil surface at thelowest spot in the areaofthe field (control zone) impacted bytheoperation ofthewater control structure.

8. Themanagement instructions willfollow theOperation and Maintenance section ofCPS554. The DWMP must be written such that implementation will not adversely affect the drainage of adjacent fields. TheDWMPalso must includethe followinginstructions:

  • Thetime afterharvest toreplaceboardsand thedesignated outlet elevation duringthe fallow season,
  • Thetimeprior to tillage, harvest, and other field operationstoreleasewater (this will varydependingon the crop: e.g. March for cornand April forsoybeans),and
  • Guidelines forthe control ofdrainageand themanagement ofthe watertableduringthegrowingseason (seeCPS554).

9. A summarysheet that lists thepipediameter and height (depth to drain)ordimensions of eachplanned water control structureand theareaimpacted byeach structure. Provide the GPS coordinates for each planned structure and the elevation of the tile at the structure location.

10. A signaturepage, with names, dates and signatures of all contract holders and theperson who preparedtheplan. The signatures are to be done after the person preparing the plan explains the contents and ensures that the contract holder(s) are in agreement with the plan. Thesignaturepage mustalso contain a space for approval byNRCS.

11. Include achecklist forNRCSfield office use, covering each component of theDWMP. Use the checklist available in the State’s Field Office Technical Guide, Section III, with CAP-130.

12.TheDWMPis to bepackagedas oneplan. Larger format maps, if needed, may be packaged separately and referred to in the plan. A templateofaDWMPis availableon theIllinois DrainageGuide (Online), on thewebpage “Related Information”, in the references.

C. Associated PracticeStandards: Inaddition to thewater control structures as described in CPS554, Drainage WaterManagement, existingdrainagesystems mayrequire augmentation, modification, or replacement ofexistingcomponents. Typical NRCS Conservation PracticeStandards to beincorporated in aDWMPcould include:

Code / Practice name
340 / Cover Crop
554 / DrainageWaterManagement
604 / Saturated Buffer
605 / Denitrifying Bioreactor
606 / SubsurfaceDrain
607 / SurfaceDrain,Field Ditch
608 / SurfaceDrainage, MainorLateral
587 / Structure forWaterControl
590 / Nutrient Management

D. References:

USDA-NRCS, National EngineeringHandbook,Part 624, Section 16, Drainage.

USDA-NRCS, National EngineeringHandbook,Part 650, EngineeringFieldHandbook, Chapter14,WaterManagement (Drainage).

University of Illinois, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Illinois Drainage Guide.

3. Deliverables for theClient– a hardcopy oftheDWMPthatincludes:

•Coverpage– identification information: all items in the Criteria section B.1.

  • Objectives of the producer addressed in the DWMP, as listed in the Criteria section B.2.

•Allmaps, delineationsand appropriatesoil descriptions as listed in the Criteria sections B.3,4,5,6,7 and 8. Include locations and details for any supporting practices in the DWMP, as described in section C.

•Management instructions as listed in the Criteria section B.9.

  • Water control structure summary sheet as listed in the Criteria section B.10. Include sizing and quantity information for any supporting practices in the DWMP, as described in section C.
  • Signature page, as listed in the Criteria section B.11.

•Checklist for NRCS use, as listed in the Criteria section B.12.

4. Deliverables forNRCSFieldOffice:

•CompleteHardcopyandElectronic copy (MSWord format)ofthe client’s plan.

Conservation systems arereviewedperiodically andupdated ifneeded. To obtainthecurrent versionof this systemplan, contactyour NaturalResourcesConservation Service Texas StateOfficeor visit the electronic FieldOffice Technical Guide.

NRCS

August 2017

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