It’s hard to believe with the weather we’ve been having that planting season is about four weeks away, but now is a good time to give all your fields a once over before spring kicks into full gear.

Gully erosion from culvert discharges, wet spots and snow melt can be common and a grassed waterway may be needed depending on the severity of the runoff and tillage practices.

Waterways are recommended to be designed and sized for a specific storm event, typically a 10-year storm, since these storms are common in the spring when fields can be most vulnerable to erosion.

The waterways should be shaped and seeded and if associated with a discharge pipe should include some water control structure to handle small storm events, cloud bursts or trickle runoff that can cause ruts from cross traffic.

At a minimum, a plow skip waterway with good vegetation should be established on rented tracts that may be year to year or in areas where a shaped waterway is not necessary.

Natural waterways should be at least 35 to 40 feet wide since they are not shaped to concentrate flow and tend to reduce in size over time due to field operations.

Where drainage is needed to correct seasonal wet spots, a backhoe with a 1.5- to 2-foot bucket along with 4-inch perforated tubing will handle most conditions.

When installing the tile, adding enough gravel to cover about half of the pipe will protect the pipe from crushing. The gravel also improves the drainage of the pipe and keeps sediment from limiting flow in sandy soils.

Fields with existing drainage may have blow outs from periods of restricted flow. These areas should be repaired by excavating the problem areas and either making a direct connection to the existing pipe or laying new pipe along side of it and bedding the area heavily with gravel.

A manufactured connector should be used when a clean connection can be made. Clean connections are those which the existing pipe has a square edge and does not have sediment build up.

In situations where sediment may be present the new drains should be laid adjacent to the existing line and bedded heavily in gravel.

In both cases the blow outs are caused by a plugged system, typically the outlet, and the system should be inspected from the outlet up to make sure the line is free flowing.

Outlet pipes should be schedule 40 PVC with two horizontal bolts or a flapper style animal guard to protect the pipe from animal exploration.

Outlets that empty to a stream should also be installed high enough that during storm events they do not become submerged which can impede water flow.

Andy Gaver is a conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Butler County.