Runoffs from farms?

[shehhna]

Hi all,
We are a high school research team looking into potential ways of improving farm run-off treatments and we were wondering about the runoff systems on your farms, where does it lead and how does waste water get transported around?
PS. Hypothetically speaking, in the stream coming from run-off pipes would you consider allowing installation of a small Archimedes screw turbine to generate free hydroelectric energy for the farm?
We would really appreciate if you could share any comments, feedback, and knowledge on the above as it would tremendously aid our cause.
Thank you!

 

[farmerm]

Can you narrow what run off you are referring too? From buildings? Open yards? Open fields? Welsh hill farms have move potential to capture hydro electric then say drier lowland Lincolnshire where fields are often surrounded by dykes barely about sea level and rely on excess water to be pumped away. I think Archimedes screw turbines can operate with a low head but require high flow. With all methods of Hydro the energy may be free but the costs of installation and maintenance can be considerable.

micro hydro - Search Videos

www.bing.com

 

[Tamar]

Most farms rainwater run off goes down drains or ditches into a watercourse.

The dirty water ( rain that goes over concrete yards that cows are feeding in) tends to get collected and spread on the land as fertilizer.


Perhaps you should ask the water companies where there dirty water excess goes.......... normally straight into a watercourse !!


As for hydro electric, you would need a constant supply of water........ and probably a mountain of paperwork from the EA.

 

[Gadget]

I doubt that it would be free, you would have to pay to use “their water”. Either the EA or water company.

 

[shehhna]

Can you narrow what run off you are referring too? From buildings? Open yards? Open fields? Welsh hill farms have move potential to capture hydro electric then say drier lowland Lincolnshire where fields are often surrounded by dykes barely about sea level and rely on excess water to be pumped away. I think Archimedes screw turbines can operate with a low head but require high flow. With all methods of Hydro the energy may be free but the costs of installation and maintenance can be considerable.

micro hydro - Search Videos

www.bing.com

Hi thank you so much for your input so far - we meant run off from open fields where crops are growing. Does the water runoff into waste treatment facilities or collection ducts? We are planning to create a device which breaks down a harmful insecticide in the runoff which will prevent it leaching into other water sources. Do you have ideas on where we could place the device which would be a small box that filters the water in order to break down the insecticide? It requires a slow stream of water.

 

[DrWazzock]

I’ve thought about this. I’ve thought about installing concrete weirs along watercourses where there is gradient and installing small turbines. Energy generated depends on change in height or head of water so unless it’s significant there won’t be much energy generated for the expense.
There’s another benefit of installing weirs though. And that is sediment settling. A big problem we have is that soil particles can be carried away downstream by high rainfall. If you can store a rainwater surge and release it slowly in a controlled manner then you can retain sediment. Ideally though we try to prevent soil particle movement in the first place by reducing run off the surface by maintaining underdrainage systems and maintaining a vegetative cover on the soil.

 

[Optimus]

All our water from the yard goes through a reed bed the silage run off goes through a swale before entering the reed bed.

 

[Boysground]

A river runs through my farm, it’s a sssi chalk stream. Not far upstream from my house there is an old weir, most people think it is part of the surrounding water meadow system. In fact the derelict shed next to the weir housed a generator and turbine. The power from this supplied estate houses in 2 villages. If someone wanted to do this again i suspect multiple agencies would put a stop to it.

And people say we have made progress over time!!!

Bg

 

[Devil's advocate]

I’ve thought about this. I’ve thought about installing concrete weirs along watercourses where there is gradient and installing small turbines. Energy generated depends on change in height or head of water so unless it’s significant there won’t be much energy generated for the expense.
There’s another benefit of installing weirs though. And that is sediment settling. A big problem we have is that soil particles can be carried away downstream by high rainfall. If you can store a rainwater surge and release it slowly in a controlled manner then you can retain sediment. Ideally though we try to prevent soil particle movement in the first place by reducing run off the surface by maintaining underdrainage systems and maintaining a vegetative cover on the soil.

On steeper land ersosion via a cracked drain can be quite serious, leading to sink holes.

 

[Welderloon]

Got to love graduates with their 'blue sky' thinking approach regarding dirty farmers & 'pollution'..............hopefully you have sent the same request to the EA or the water companies seeing as they are the most culpable for the pollution,
You could try installing your device at the overflow/exit outlet of every sewage works in the UK, this would identify where the nitrates entering the watercourses you seek are truly coming from

 

[farmerm]

Hi thank you so much for your input so far - we meant run off from open fields where crops are growing. Does the water runoff into waste treatment facilities or collection ducts? We are planning to create a device which breaks down a harmful insecticide in the runoff which will prevent it leaching into other water sources. Do you have ideas on where we could place the device which would be a small box that filters the water in order to break down the insecticide? It requires a slow stream of water.

I read somewhere that given most insecticide use in the UK has been banned the biggest source of insecticide found in watercourses is not from agriculture but from domestic dogs....

Toxic pet flea and tick treatments are polluting UK freshwaters | Imperial News | Imperial College London

Parasite treatments and preventatives we put on our pets are finding their way into UK waters in concentrations that are toxic to aquatic species.

www.imperial.ac.uk

Yes some insecticides are still allowed but those of most concern, the ones that actually worked, are no longer available to use in the UK

Field run off into waste treatment facilites sorry I should not laugh, on any topic we all have to start our learning journey somewhere. No, most farm land drainage systems will long pre-date the introduction of pesticides or concerns about their use.

Open fields commonly have a system of drains installed (often 50 years or 100 years old maybe older) which depending on the lay of the land, either have an outlet for every pipe or more commonly they join a common larger main drain that discharges excess water at the lowest point of the field into to a ditch or water course like this below... When water courses are in storm flow the outlets can often be below the water level in the ditch. Every situation is different. I have outlets that have no flow for much of the year but will put out tens of litres per minute on a day like today, others that have flow all year and can be gallons or tens of gallons of liters per minute. Some outlets that are never submerged, others that are barely above the base flow of the ditch and are submerged during almost every rain event.

 

[steveR]

Most farms rainwater run off goes down drains or ditches into a watercourse.

The dirty water ( rain that goes over concrete yards that cows are feeding in) tends to get collected and spread on the land as fertilizer.


Perhaps you should ask the water companies where there dirty water excess goes.......... normally straight into a watercourse !!


As for hydro electric, you would need a constant supply of water........ and probably a mountain of paperwork from the EA.

it appears that only old Water Mills can get away without the bollox from the EA

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Hi all,
We are a high school research team looking into potential ways of improving farm run-off treatments and we were wondering about the runoff systems on your farms, where does it lead and how does waste water get transported around?
PS. Hypothetically speaking, in the stream coming from run-off pipes would you consider allowing installation of a small Archimedes screw turbine to generate free hydroelectric energy for the farm?
We would really appreciate if you could share any comments, feedback, and knowledge on the above as it would tremendously aid our cause.
Thank you!

Suggest talking to a water company. They will explain what's in the water and what should and shouldn't be

 

[steveR]

A river runs through my farm, it’s a sssi chalk stream. Not far upstream from my house there is an old weir, most people think it is part of the surrounding water meadow system. In fact the derelict shed next to the weir housed a generator and turbine. The power from this supplied estate houses in 2 villages. If someone wanted to do this again i suspect multiple agencies would put a stop to it.

And people say we have made progress over time!!!

Bg

Be worth a punt with a clued up expert on the Owners side. Even better if some documentary evidence was produced!!

 

[Treg]

Hi thank you so much for your input so far - we meant run off from open fields where crops are growing. Does the water runoff into waste treatment facilities or collection ducts? We are planning to create a device which breaks down a harmful insecticide in the runoff which will prevent it leaching into other water sources. Do you have ideas on where we could place the device which would be a small box that filters the water in order to break down the insecticide? It requires a slow stream of water.

Look up St Agnes Cornwall, then contact Surfers against sewage, they maybe able to help.

 

[Vader]

Hi thank you so much for your input so far - we meant run off from open fields where crops are growing. Does the water runoff into waste treatment facilities or collection ducts? We are planning to create a device which breaks down a harmful insecticide in the runoff which will prevent it leaching into other water sources. Do you have ideas on where we could place the device which would be a small box that filters the water in order to break down the insecticide? It requires a slow stream of water.

I think you need to spend a couple of days walking in the countryside as you clearly never been...
Then you can think again on your idea.

BTW, which insecticide do you plan to break down?

 

[DrWazzock]

On steeper land ersosion via a cracked drain can be quite serious, leading to sink holes.

Don’t I know it. One thing about this extreme rainfall is its stress tested my drainage system and tells me where I need to investigate, though some of it is simply the fact that such large amounts of rain over a short space of time cannot percolate fast enough through saturated soils so run off on slopes is inevitable.

 

[Devil's advocate]

Don’t I know it. One thing about this extreme rainfall is its stress tested my drainage system and tells me where I need to investigate, though some of it is simply the fact that such large amounts of rain over a short space of time cannot percolate fast enough through saturated soils so run off on slopes is inevitable.

Sorry, I was meaning a crack in the pipe & soil dropping into the pipe, then washed down the pipe.

Eventually causing a round sink hole maybe 4 foot deep. Usually heavy land with steep slopes, furry little moles sometimes are also implicated making the soil loose & friable. This is grassland not arable.

Local market town has had a couple 10 to 15 foot deep blocking one half of a road, just water running in drains underneath the road sometimes in & out of peoples coal cellars.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Can you narrow what run off you are referring too? From buildings? Open yards? Open fields? Welsh hill farms have move potential to capture hydro electric then say drier lowland Lincolnshire where fields are often surrounded by dykes barely about sea level and rely on excess water to be pumped away. I think Archimedes screw turbines can operate with a low head but require high flow. With all methods of Hydro the energy may be free but the costs of installation and maintenance can be considerable.

micro hydro - Search Videos

www.bing.com

Add to the fact that you need to be allowed to do anything like that by Natural Resources Wales, which to be honest is the thing that has put me off. If I could just crack on, I would have, but having to get the authorities involved has put me off.

 

[Princess Pooper]

Hi thank you so much for your input so far - we meant run off from open fields where crops are growing. Does the water runoff into waste treatment facilities or collection ducts? We are planning to create a device which breaks down a harmful insecticide in the runoff which will prevent it leaching into other water sources. Do you have ideas on where we could place the device which would be a small box that filters the water in order to break down the insecticide? It requires a slow stream of water.

Hello and that's a really interesting project you are looking at. There would be 2 good sources of information with you. Firstly, contact a catchment officer near you to find out whether pesticide pollution is an issue or not. The first port of call could be an email to a central contact, such as [email protected]. As others have mentioned, several chemicals have been banned in recent years because too much was getting into the water courses. Also, contact these people. https://www.allertontrust.org.uk/research/soil-and-water/ they are an independent research and knowledge transfer charity located on a working farm in Leicestershire and reducing water pollution from fields is one of their research topics.