Water runoff mitigation

I have a little over three acres in rural Kansas. The soil is primarily clay loam, with a heavier clay layer about six inches to a foot down.

I had a second garden tilled this spring which gets runoff from the neighbor. During this last set of storms I was watching the runoff. As expected, the water is carrying the soil with it. The top (south) side of the garden seemed to pool the most, but it's also drying out first. Maybe a higher clay content?

Eventually this will be structured so no culinary water is needed, but each person I have spoken to has said increase drainage, get the excess water off the property.

I want to use that water, sink and hold it for use during the summer. While it might solve the existing mud problem, getting rid of it would not advance me toward my goals.

The space is, I think, about 80x80? 40 paces along one edge, and it's approximately square. This spring I split it into eight wedges, the borders of which are planned as an eventual fedge. Currently the plan is to leave the center open so I can get in to mow cover crops.

I have several ideas for the water, but I'm sure there are more out there.

1) Create a berm and swale along the southern edge to catch the runoff from the neighbor. That's right along the property line so it might become an issue if he objects. Probably easiest to use a log berm so there's no pit to catch his mower.

2) Log berm on contour along the edge of each spoke to catch any runoff sediment. Grasses, plant debris, etc, would catch on the logs rather than running down slope.

3) Small, shallow ponds at the bottom where the water leaves the garden. Maybe a foot deep, to catch and hopefully sink the water that makes it to this point. I would have no objection :) to a running spring downslope.

Other ideas? Problems?

The arrows are the direction of water flow. Circles are the position of small ponds. Horizontal lines would be small sections of log placed on the spoke boundaries but angled to contour.

Lauren,

My first immediate recommendation is to contact your local Conservation District. As soon as possible! I do not have any Midwest experience at all. I do have very hilly farming country experience and have dealt with many of the same issues. Your thoughts are right on track with what I would recommend. The one thing that I need to recommend is to start with is a grassed waterway. That is planting grass species that are suitable for your area that are deep rooted. Once established, this practice will handle large flows of runoff without scouring. The second is to develop contour terraces. It is exactly what it sounds like. When paired with grass waterways, this controls a very large percentage, if not all, of your soils. The first couple of years will be the hardest as it will take a bit of time to get established

But contact your Conservation District. They are obligated to give you free advice and planning to help you out. You may very likely to receive conservation practice design with civil engineering assistance. Use them, they are there to provide assistance from small acreage to huge operations.

Hope this helps, Hoppy

Those are good ideas to start, use your imagination and creativity. As far as berms and borders, go with more curves and gradual borders. Slow instead of stop unless that's what you want.

As said above reply, there's lots of water loving fruit trees that the conservation district may come out and plant for you. I'm in Pennsylvania they do that in areas especially riparian buffers.

What is "culinary water" and a fedge?

What are the elevation of your property compared to your neighbor?

At our place where our daughter now lives we had a similar problem because all my neighbor land was slightly higher than mine.  My neighbor on the next lower elevation complained as I I had something to do with mother natures rainfall.

We put in french drains and a ditch along the driveway to force the water into the bar ditch.

Lauren said, I want to use that water, sink and hold it for use during the summer. While it might solve the existing mud problem, getting rid of it would not advance me toward my goals.

Instead of the french drains that we made, why not dig a pond to hold that water for future use?

As others have suggested contact your local Soil Conservation District.  They will come out and make the best area for that pond.

John C Daley wrote:What is "culinary water" and a fedge?

Culinary water is generally municipal (city) water but can be well water. Water that is used inside the house, basically.

A fedge is a fruit tree hedge.

Anne Miller wrote:What are the elevation of your property compared to your neighbor?  

It's just a matter of inches. The only reason I know there's a slope at all is the water flow.