A device for simulating overland flow

J. E. Wolfe; K. N. Potter; D. H. Hoffman

ABSTRACT:

A Flow Simulation Applicator (FSA) was heloped to create even-sheet overland flow of water into a vegetative filter strip. The FSA, constructed from easily-obtained materials, is adaptable to various applications, portable, easily calibrated and delivers reproducible flow rates. Variability among replications was quite small with Coefficient of Variability (CV) of less than 1.5%. Water flowed as a sheet onto the test surface at application rates of 4 L min⁻¹ (1.1 gal) or greater. In initial field tests, the device was used to apply a 0.1 mg kg¹ (0.1 PPM) atrazine solution to 1 × 5-m (3.3 × 16.4-ft) sections of buffalograss (Buchloë dactyloides Nutt. Engelm.)sod at a rate equivalent to run of occurring from a 30-m (38.4-ft) wide field directly upslope with a 5.1 cm (2 in) rain. The outflow atrazine concentration from the sod was reduced in the first 15 min, and then increased, stabilizing at 85% of the input concentration. With minor modifications, the FSA can provide inflow for concentrated flow experiments.

Footnotes

June E. Wolfe III is assistant research scientist at the Blackland Research Center; Dennis H. Hoffman is weed scientist, Texas A&M University, Temple, Tex.; and Kenneth N. Potter is soil scientist, U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Temple, Tex. Mention of any product does not imply endorsement by Texas A&M University or USDA-ARS. The authors acknowledge Clarence Richardson of the USDA-ARS Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory in Temple, Tex., for providing funding and facilities to conduct these studies. Larry Bartek proviahi technical expertise in the construction and assembly of the FSA.
Copyright 2000 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

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