RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Water balance of a dairy loafing lot using geotextile and its impact on water quality
JF Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
FD Soil and Water Conservation Society
SP 142
OP 149
VO 59
IS 4
A1 McVay, K.A.
A1 Radcliffe, D.E.
A1 Cabrera, M.L.
A1 Hoogenboom, G.
YR 2004
UL http://www.jswconline.org/content/59/4/142.abstract
AB To lessen soil erosion due to high animal stocking rates on small Georgia dairies, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recommends a system that utilizes geotextile material covered with crusher run gravel as a soil cover in high animal traffic areas. Our objective was to determine the runoff and leachate characteristics of a typical system. At a 60-cow dairy in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, a loafing lot was constructed on a Pacolet sandy loam soil (clayey, kaolinitic, thermic, Typic Kanhapludult). Tile drains were installed at 0.65 m (26 in) depth on 7.5 m (25 ft) spacing. Approximately 18 percent of the rainfall became surface runoff. Surface runoff water typically contained levels of NH4-N and PO4-P that exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for surface water. Approximately 32 percent of the rainfall became drainage water that moved below the top 1.5 m (60 in) soil profile and had nitrate levels ranging from 10 to 40 mg NO3-N L−1. Our results indicate that surface water running off of these sites should be impounded in a lagoon or similar structure and these systems should not be located in areas where groundwater contamination is a concern.