Judicial Ditch No. 46
Jackson County, MN | Water
Overview
ISG designed a new mainline and branch tile to increase the drainage capacity of a watershed with outdated tile and infrastructure.
Opportunity
The tile in this watershed was 100 years old and could no longer meet the drainage capacity required.
Solution
This 739-acre watershed in far southern Minnesota had 100-year-old tile that was in disrepair and drastically undersized for today’s standards and production practices. The improvement included increasing the drainage capacity with new mainline and branch tile. A pond at the outlet with a low-flow structure provides peak flow reductions and sediment storage, decreasing the amount of total suspended solids leaving the watershed and improving water quality. Installing controlled drainage systems allow producers to regulate water levels in their fields, which is helpful in dry years because more rainfall is stored in the soil when it is needed during the growing season. Installation of water quality inlets in road ditches and fields prevents erosion and sediment from entering the buried tile system.