Benefits of installing shallow buried pasture water pipelines

“When water sources are diminished due to lack of quantity or quality, shallow buried pasture water pipelines should be considered as a practical and economical way to supply livestock with water on pasture,” says Shawn Elgert, agricultural water engineer with the Alberta government. “Instead of constructing a dugout where the runoff is not consistent or dependable, a pasture pipeline can bring the water to the cattle instead of forcing the cattle to go the water.”

Shallow buried pasture water pipelines have many benefits, such as improving animal health and performance by providing clean and fresh water, reducing soil erosion and nutrient runoff by providing an alternative to accessing natural water sources, enhancing pasture productivity and quality by enabling rotational grazing and better distribution of manure, saving time and labour by eliminating the need to haul water, and increasing land value by adding permanent water infrastructure.

These pipelines are designed to be used during the frost-free part of the pasture season. They are polyethylene pipes that can be installed between 6 and 30 inches below the ground and can deliver water from a pressurized source (such as a dugout, well, or municipal line) to a trough or a tank.