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Introduction to Underground Field Drainage using plastic tile
Tile on the farm has many advantages in crop production. During the turn of the century, clay tile was used, and dug in by hand. Since it was so labor intensive, it was only found on a few farms. There were many problems with clay tile, the two-foot lengths could sink on one end and misalign, causing the dirt above to be sucked into the tile line. This caused sinkholes that had to be repaired, as well as a reduction in the efficiency of tile. Clay tile was also not as effective on some tight clay-based soils, so some areas were never considered for this type of drainage. Most of the early tiles in Southern Illinois (south of Interstate 70) were not pattern tiles, but individual lines to individual low places in the field. Pattern tiling, where the tile is laid at regular intervals and drained to a main that directed the subsurface water to a ditch or river, was limited in these areas.
Somewhere around the 1960's, plastic drainage tile was developed. It
came in long coils that were easily connected together, and made laying tile a
much easier job, and also did not have the sinkhole problems of clay tile.
Individual slots in-between ridges on the plastic tile allowed for much area for
water to infiltrate into the flow line, making subsurface drainage more
effective. Around the 1970's,
tile plows
were developed that would
eliminate the costly and time consuming job of trenching the plastic mains
and
laterals
into a field. Laser levels
came into being, making it much easier
to maintain the correct grade for the tiles to work. The lasers continue
to be improved to the current state of the art laser that locks onto the signal
and automatically controls the depth of the plows laying the tile beneath the
surface.(To continue, click on
Wolfe Tile Plow
)
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