Farmers often create ditches in their fields to drain supererogatory weewee and ameliorate crop production ; however , the formal trapezoidal - forge ditches are often too small for big stormwater flows and too big for low rate of flow . A scientist from The Ohio State University take on notice of this trouble and has developed a more effective “ two - stage ” ditch design .
Andy Ward , agricultural applied scientist at OSU ’s College of Food , Agricultural , and Environmental Sciences , remark how expensive it can be for landowners to upkeep the schematic ditch invention ( a V - shaped ditch with a narrow , flat bottom ) , cost approximately $ 450 per knot per class , as well as create erosion problems and destroying industrial plant and animal life . In his unexampled design , a small main channel is settle at the bottom of the ditch ( stage one ) , and raised , sess - covered benches flank both sides ( degree 2 ) . Much like in a raw river ’s floodplain , overflows from the main channel are picked up by the benches , which are in high spirits and full enough to keep runoff from empty the banks and flooding surrounding farmland .
Since Ward and his team created the two - stage ditch excogitation , it ’s been used to build 20 drain ditch across the Midwest . Thirty more have been build by Ward ’s former students and graduates of his pattern workshop . So far , none of the 50 has require sustenance .
Joint research between Ward and scientist at the University of Notre Dame has shown the intent trim down the export of nitrate - atomic number 7 from fertilizers into rivers , lake and watercourse — an added benefit that can save James Leonard Farmer money and improve water tone . In add-on , the Army Corps of Engineers has proposed work up several land mile of two - level ditching to stress to kibosh recur implosion therapy problems in northwestern Ohio .
Ward ’s work has garnered aid from the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center , which presented him with the “ 2013 Innovator of the Year Award , ” meant to honor scientists who have shown leaders in innovation and entrepreneurship .
“ The construct is commute long - held perceptions of what constitutes a ‘ good ’ drain ditch , ” one of Ward ’s nominators write .
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service ’s National Engineering Handbook also spot the ditch figure as an farming best - management practice , and the design is currently eligible for Union price - contribution through USDA ’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program .
