Help! Draining wet fields

[Deborahm]

We have just bought a 4 acre field. It hasn't previously been used for horses. It is on clay and it very wet. In fact, our mobile field shelters were flooded out after 3 days!

We have borrowed some neighbour's stables for keeping the horses overnight, but still turn out in our field.

Because it's clay we are looking into getting drainage done, and I wondered if anyone could tell me their experiences of having it done, who were the contractors, how you found them, and what it cost? We have already lost 3 shoes due to how wet it is, and we can't risk it getting worse.

Any tips you could share would be much appreciated, as the 1 quote we've had seems really expensive! They suggested mole drain the soil and then direct those to a new pipe they'd lay with gravel on top of it which would take the water away to a roadside ditch.

Any advise or experience of getting professional drainage done anyone can share with me would be greatly appreciated. I can't risk making an expensive mistake.

 

[ameeyal]

Im not really going to be much help, but i have a clay field, that like yours is very wet, over the years we have mole plowed {sp} it, drained it twice {all properly done with gravel and pipe} and its still wet in the winter BUT not as bad as before, we now have a large area of tarmac plainings where the horses spend most of their time in winter eating hay ect, which has drainage underneath it, and it has been dry{ish} all winter. { sorry carnt give you a price for any thing as we do our jobs ourselves}

 

[PennyJ]

Not quite the same, our Town Council had part of their sports fields drained a few months ago, it is costing £200,000.00 in total. That would include consulting fees too, but the process is basically the same as they would do in a field.

The difference it has made is absolutely incredible. The former sceptics are now eagerly looking forward to Phase 2 this summer/autumn when the rest of the field is done. No longer is it the waste of money they were saying it was before the bottom part of the field was done.

I'm afraid I can't remember total acreage, I think it is about 11 or 12 acres.

One of my fields has some kind of drainage in it. I'm not exactly sure what, but I think there are very basic land drains running down the full length of it and discharging into the ditch at the bottom. There are definite channels (not deep enough to be ditches) about every 10-15 feet in which water collects in a big downpour. What I would say is it can dry out very quickly indeed in a prolonged hot and dry spell, but is not bad at all in winter and never gets unbearably muddy.

 

[MillionDollar]

Drainage is VERY expensive! Think about thousands. I would personally get as much drainage done as you can, including getting a sward lifter in, and then get a large area covered in road plainings and turnout on that when it is wet! Save the rest for summer.

 

[amandap]

Drainage is expensive but don't forget you need somewhere to drain to. Just putting drains in your field wont help much unless you have a run off the field.

 

[Honey08]

We have 20 acres of really wet clay land, so know where you are! We have two fields that we can't use full stop in winter for the horses as they are practically underwater and churn up so badly the horses virtually have to swim in! We have looked into drainage, and it would basically be many thousands to do it. It wouldn't magically dry them up either, but would help a lot. We didn't have horses on it for 15 years, just sheep, and it was way better. Horses and clay soil are a nightmare.

We have an area surrounding the stables which we have tipped hardcore and road chippings on, which we turn out the horses on in winter with hay. We have one of the dryer fields that we use as a trash field in winter too. It looks like a mud bath by spring, but we harrow and roll it every year, and it comes back like magic every year. Be aware that you really need planning permission to put hardcore etc down..

What is the land like? Can you see any ditches around the edges of the fields that have got filled with grass/reeds - we find cleaning these out with a digger helps a lot. In our fields you can also see depressions in the surface, where old stone land drains have collapsed - hints as to where new drains should be run...

I'd have a chat with local farmers in the area around your field, see what they would do, and who they would suggest..

 

[putasocinit]

if it was me - I would - get a digger to dig a 2ft deep drain along the side of the field going in the direction of stream/river or main drain pipes, then in the field where it is at its wettest I would dig a trench or a couple of trenches towards the drain outside the field and fill the trench with big sized gravel (the grass will cover over this in time), basically water will go to where it can pool and continue to flow where it can from there, this is my way of doing it with no spare cash to waste.

 

[Pebble101]

Not quite the same, our Town Council had part of their sports fields drained a few months ago, it is costing £200,000.00 in total. That would include consulting fees too, but the process is basically the same as they would do in a field.

The difference it has made is absolutely incredible. The former sceptics are now eagerly looking forward to Phase 2 this summer/autumn when the rest of the field is done. No longer is it the waste of money they were saying it was before the bottom part of the field was done.

It might not have all been down to the drainage.

I'm not sure how wet it has been where you are but my normally boggy clay fields have been extremely dry this year, I can count the days I had muddy legs on one hand.

 

[flirtygerty]

Is there a chance you have underground springs, we do and have constantly wet fields in places, I intend putting a path of grass mats down for next winter to try and ease the mud problem

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Have a look at Google Earth type maps. They were done in the summer and if anything like ours will show very clearly where any existing drains are. They may exist and just be blocked, which would save a lot of money, they will show up as dark lines, usuallu herringbone (diagonal) to the field boundaries. But the drainage quotation probably isnt a rip off, it is very expensive to do, having said that you do it once and then save a packet in future from increased value of the land and also not having to bring the horses off the land and feed forage nearly so much,

 

[Deborahm]

Thanks all. We decided to get a few land drainage contractors to come see it. Their quotes are now all 1 (bar 1) and v expensive, but I think we will be forced to do it. We bought the house to keep the horses at home so I am devestated that we've been able to get so little use from it. Now just need to save up the money :-(

 

[patseyr]

Some really good advice here re looking for any blocked drains already there and cleaning the ditches surrounding the fields. This is always a good place to start.

But its like the "how long is a piece of string" cliche how dry would you like your field and how much are you willing to spend.

Best of luck with it let us know how you get on.

 

[Deborahm]

Thanks. Will let you know what happens. The surrounding ditches don't seem to be filling with water, even though we've had torrential rain this last week or so, so the problem seems to be the field itself which has standing water all the time and boggy bits :-(

 

[Hairy Old Cob]

First off are the ditches clean or could you pull out new ditches which might pick up existing field drains? cheapest options ditching and Mole ploughing into the new ditches.

 

[now_loves_mares]

My advice would be to focus your efforts. Choose a small area to completely hardcore, including gate and shelter and water area. In winter fence this off with maybe a smaller area of "grazing" that you drain. For the rest of the field, we had a guy come in and use a sub-soil lifter which is a bit like a mole plough but better I believe as it loosens the compacted soil underneath. Use this area when drier in winter and in summer, then hay in the small turnout area in wet winter days. They will still have somewhere to roll and play but you'll save the rest of your field. Agree horses + clay = disaster. I'm worse in that I rent the land so can't even spend much money!

 

[abercrombie&titch]

I absolutely sympathise with you - we are on clay soil too. We had all our ditches re-dug, and put in land drains a pond which takes a decent amount of run off. The best thing we did was to turn the boggiest area into a menage - double the number of drains under it (it drains into a main drain) which has significantly helped to keep the fields better drained ,and also means that, as now, when it is really wet the ponies can be turned out onto the menage rather than the fields (much safer and helps preserve them too). We did a DIY build for the menage which significantly reduced the cost - its been down for several years now, rides fabulously, gets loads of use and was by far the best thing we did!

 

[Deborahm]

Thanks for the ideas

Do I need to get planning permission for putting down hardcore?

The field is agricultural status and we're already in a battle with local council about having mobile field shelters on it.

Sadly I don't think that I will be able to get permission for a menage on it, given I'm already having to point out to the Council that mobiles DON'T need permission.

 

[Goldenstar]

Have just had a discussion about draining fields and am told that £10,000 an acre is what it's expected to cost eek !
I think you need PP for putting down hardcore.

 

[Booboos]

As far as I know you do not need planning permission for putting down hardcore, you could hardcore the whole thing if you wanted to (not that you want to), but a quick call to your planning office will confirm.

However you cannot leave the mobile field shelters on the hardcored bit as that makes them permanent structures. The council may well demand that you move them every couple of months which could be a nightmare. Have you considered putting in planning for permanent stables? Have the council indicated that they are likely to object to that?

 

[JanetGeorge]

I have 45 acres of HEAVY clay soil and I have played with improving drainage (at considerable expense) and - frankly - it's a waste of money! The BEST thing for clay is to convert it to being NOT so clay - and that means hundreds of tonnes of organic matter - and years of work.

Drains in clay only work if they are put in very close together and are kept free draining. That means using permeable pipe, LOTS of (expensive) drainage gravel and membrane - without the membrane and the gravel the drains will clog very quickly (and cause huge swamps!)

Mole ploughing helps if you can do it when weather conditions are 'right' (and they hardly ever are!) But your best friends are earthworms and moles! And for them you need lots of organic matter! I have a couple of fields close o the yard which have had 4 times more stable muck on them (over 15 years) than the rest of the fields - and they remain noticeably drier! Poaching is the biggest problem - and a hardcore area to enable you to keep horses off the fields in the very wettest weather will be vital!

 

[Hairy Old Cob]

Thinking about this again it wouldnt be a long term approx 5 -8 yearssolution Mole plough around 24-26 inches deep wheel to wheel or better still Track to Track nothing beats a Steel Track Crawler for Moling then cross the moles with a 2 leg sub soiler at about 15Ft centres hope the conditions are right then flat roll as the surface will be well heaved. the mole plough needs to have an expander fitted and pulled up hill so the feathers in the mole aid water to run down hill.

 

[Deborahm]

Drains in clay only work if they are put in very close together and are kept free draining. That means using permeable pipe, LOTS of (expensive) drainage gravel and membrane - without the membrane and the gravel the drains will clog very quickly (and cause huge swamps!)

Whereabouts does the membrane go? We've just had a few quotes in and it's around £6-£7k plus VAT. One of them is putting in lots of permeable pipe drains (these people also drain sports fields), but they warn that it's very disruptive and will prob need reseeding etc.

All the quotes are putting in 2 drainage pipes (with gravel) around the outside of the field to connect with the council road drains on the other side of the hedge and some are also suggesting a pipe across the centre that then also meets up with the other 2.

I really don't want to spend £8k on the field if it's not going to work...

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

To connect to the main sewer drain under the road, you must get permission from your Local Authority, who act as agents for the Water Company, and they will impose certain conditions, assuming they sanction the connection. These may include use of their own work force or an approved contractor etc. It can end up costing a lot....

Also any hardcoring of floor within field shelter or surrounds is in some council's opinions a breach of the planning law without PP being granted for it, whether or not it gets moved around which most require anyway as well. So take care on that, although the worst that can happen is they order you to remove the hardcore. Certainly any larger area of hardcoring a surface would require PP, tho lots of people do it and hope they dont notice.

 

[Mainland]

You aren't allowed to pipe groundwater into the sewer.The sewer is for foul only. It's has to go into a ditch, pond or soakaway.

 

[Honey08]

Hardcore definately needs planning permission. I would say just do it quietly and cross your fingers, but if you're already in dispute about the field shelters they will already have their eye on you and will probably come down on you like a ton of bricks! The other option could be to dig out, (under the disguise of laying drains??) put down your hardcore, then tip a layer or soil on top and reseed - that way you will have an area that grasses over but won't get deeply muddy...

This is a couple of pics of our hardcore turnout area that has been a godsend for out two this winter. This was taken at the start of the winter, so there is now a lot of hayseed fallen, and we think it will grass over a bit this summer..

If you can manage some way of keeping them on an area that doesn't get muddy for the winter you will be able to use your fields in summer, and then it will all seem worth it!

 

[meesha]

I am on clay and would second Honey8 with her suggestion of keeping the horses off the field in the wet - I kept my 2 on 2 acres for a few years and it got trashed if I left them out - I now have 4 acres and have put in an arena which cost 7K - in wet weather and at night in winter they live on hardstanding which has 18x12 field shelter with mats that adjoins arena - no bedding required as they can sleep on the arena or in the field shelter. It also means they wee on arena which has tons of drainage underneath so whole place doesnt smell of it in winter.

Lady next door to me has had drains put in her clay fields by drainage professionals (runs to existing ditches around field which run into river) - it does drain quicker and she doesnt get the big lakes I do but the horses still churn it up so she has to keep them off it alot in winter (also try heaving wheelbarrow through wet clay !).

Hope you find a good solution - clay is a nightmare but if you have a dry area to keep them off it its not a problem.

 

[Deborahm]

A bit of an update: we have now narrowed it down to 2 quote from professional drainage contractors, both of which are roughly the same price.

However one is recommending trenching and the other using a trenchless machine. Both seem to own both types of machines, so I'm not sure who will give a better result. I've spoken to the Land Drainage Contractors Association and apparently both types will work and in 1-3 years will the field will look the same.

Does anyone know in the short term which method will be best for horses? We weed killed yesterday and I think at some point I will need to drill the field, as it doesn't have much grass on it anyway (it's been used for sheep one year by previous owners, but before that was apparently used for growing carrots, even though it's clay!). However I don't want my horses breaking any legs/doing tendons in when we put them back on the field.

Any advice welcomed! We really want to crack on with this project now whilst the weather is dry (so less impact on field of large machinery). Also my neds are now living 30 miles away with family, so involves a daily commute!