CONSERVING WATER IN AGRICULTURE
Livestock Water Management
During A Drought
EM 8588-E
Revised January 2008
M.M. Borman and T.E. Bedell
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Contents
Vegetation management
Water hauling
Need for water permits
Public assistance
When normal range livestock water supplies are reduced,
the results can be (1) poor livestock performance and condition,
and (2) range damage caused by both overuse and underuse. Locating
additional sources of stock water becomes critical to avoid damaging
both animals and range resources. The following suggestions may
help make the best use of the water that is available.
Springs and seeps
Many areas still exist where springs and seeps can be
developed. Any such water source, however small, is vital in
a drought year--and it should prove helpful even in normal years.
If possible, store the water in a larger tank, then pipe it to
a trough(s); this way, you'll increase the usability of even
a very slow-flowing spring or seep. A flow of only 1/2 gallon
a minute amounts to 720 gallons a day, which is enough water
for 48 cows with calves.
Horizontal wells
Horizontal wells have proved economical and desirable
in the Southwest, but little has been done with them in Oregon.
A horizontal well consists of a pipe bored at a slight angle
down into a hillside to tap small, seepy flows of water. The
water is controlled with appropriate valve systems. As with springs,
water usually is of high quality.
Deep wells
Although initially expensive, deep wells can provide
consistent and reliable supplies of water. To extend a well's
usefulness, its water often is piped long distances. Large storage
tanks are desirable if you expect wind to be the power source.
Pipeline
High-pressure plastic pipe often is used to carry water
over large areas from a central source to watering locations.
Piping generally is by gravity. Laying pipe above ground will
work as a temporary measure, though the pipe will not last as
long as it will if you bury it. Pipelines provide flexibility
and conservation-- you can turn water on as you need it.
Top
Stock ponds
Once you're in a drought, digging stock ponds may not
provide a solution. Chances generally are poor that precipitation
will accumulate to fill these ponds. However, if you do build
ponds, dig them relatively deep in relation to surface area;
then either fence them and pipe water to a trough(s) or provide
a livestock walkway.
Fencing and troughing will minimize water loss and improve
drinking quality. Ponds lose water through evaporation and seepage.
You can reduce both--on either existing or new ponds. Reduce
seepage by introducing various soil amendments (bentonite or
sodium salts, for example) or by lining the bottom of the pond
with plastic.
Plastic bottom lining is not effective on a pond if you
expect it to dry out, if nothing shelters it from the next hailstorm,
or if it's likely to be trampled by wildlife or livestock.
If
you reduce evaporation by covering the water surface with Butyl rubber, plastic, floating wax, or polystyrene
blocks, you'll increase the yield of usable water.
Water from seasonal streams
You can develop small ponds near seasonal streams and
fill them during periods of high water. You could fence these
ponds and hold the water until the stream dries up later in the
summer, which will provide water further into the grazing season.
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Vegetation management
Manage vegetation to improve the capture, storage, and
beneficial release of precipitation. If properly managed, vegetation
helps protect the soil from raindrop impact during summer and
frost formation during winter. It also helps precipitation
to safely reach and infiltrate the ground, where it can be used
by plants or travel underground to springs and seeps.
In uplands, vegetation helps protect the soil from erosion.
Downcutting and lowering of the water table may occur if upland
soils are not adequately protected.
There are many beneficial effects of riparian vegetation,
including the following:
- Reduced stream energy and erosion during runoff
- Sediment trapping, which helps rebuild and maintain
streambanks
- Shading and insulation of water during summer
- Reduced ice formation in smaller streams
- Reduced evaporation
Although streamside vegetation loses water during transpiration,
its benefits may outweigh that loss. Therefore, manage vegetation
so that watersheds, including the riparian zones, meet overall
land use objectives.
Some vegetation manipulations may be helpful. For example,
control and eliminate noxious weeds where possible so desirable
vegetation can provide site protection and improve watershed
conditions.
Vegetation treatment in uplands, where appropriate, may
benefit groundwater conditions. For example, juniper frequently
invades mountain big sagebrush sites, aspen groves, open meadows,
grasslands, and riparian communities. Juniper can intercept,
evaporate, and/or transpire much of the precipitation in semiarid
environments.
On these invasion sites, the transition to juniper woodland
can reduce understory vegetation to the point that the soil no
longer is adequately protected. When this happens, runoff may
increase erosion and produce downcuts, which eventually may result
in lowered water tables.
Prior to this occurring, a well-designed removal of the
juniper overstory may enhance understory vegetation, resulting
in better capture, storage, and beneficial release of precipitation.
This can help maintain stream flows longer into dry season and
droughts.
Vegetation management involves complex interactions.
Give careful consideration to all vegetation management, including
how it impacts livestock water during drought. It is important
to be sure that any vegetation removal plan is carefully designed
and based on site-specific characteristics.
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Water hauling
Hauling stock water becomes a viable alternative when
no other source of water exists on range and your grazing animals
can harvest an adequate supply of forage. Haul your daily water
to existing stock tanks, or dump it directly into movable troughs.
You also can use large tanks or holding structures and pipe the
water into troughs.
On an emergency basis, scoop out small depressions in
the soil. Line them with plastic, fence them, fill them with
hauled water, and pipe the water to troughs. After the drought
is over, you might rehabilitate the area.
Design water-hauling routes in advance. You may need
to construct access roads. Try to work access roads in with other
needs. Ranchers often find that roads and trails made for water
hauling become quite desirable in later years. However, keep
in mind that weeds spread along roads, and roads can be the source
of erosion problems and sediment in streams.
Plan to water stock in small groups. This will mean more
locations but less potential damage to range plants and less
frequent movement of watering locations.
You could haul water on alternate days for mature dry
cows or yearlings if you can't develop adequate storage on site.
There should be no permanent weight loss on these classes of
cattle with alternate-day watering. Certainly, the fewer hauling
trips you make, the more economical the water will be.
However, if you haul water to cows with calves on alternate
days, some weight reduction will occur. You can expect 1/2 pound
less calf gain per day, according to research.
Table 1 shows some estimated costs for hauling water
over varying distances. Research in eastern Oregon shows these
summer water consumption rates (gallons per day): yearlings,
watered daily, 8 to 9; yearlings, watered every other day, 6.5;
cows and calves, 15; dry cows, 10 to 12.
Watering every other day reduces daily intake about 25
percent. You'll need to consider evaporation and spillage losses,
too.
Table 1.--Stock water hauling costs (cents per head per day).
| |
|
|
Water hauled (gallons per head per day) |
| Round Trip distance (miles) |
Cost/trip |
Cost/gal water each trip |
8 |
10 |
12 |
14 |
16 |
| 10 |
$33.95 |
$0.034 |
$0.272 |
$0.340 |
$0.407 |
$0.475 |
$0.543 |
| 20 |
49.90 |
0.050 |
0.399 |
0.499 |
0.599 |
0.699 |
0.798 |
| 30 |
65.85 |
0.066 |
0.527 |
0.659 |
0.790 |
0.922 |
1.054 |
| 40 |
81.80 |
0.082 |
0.654 |
0.818 |
0.982 |
1.145 |
1.309 |
| 50 |
97.75 |
0.098 |
0.782 |
0.978 |
1.173 |
1.369 |
1.564 |
*Assumptions: Labor based on driving time @ 15 mph, 1.5
hours loading and unloading time, @ $12 per hour. Only operating and labor costs are included, assuming that available trucks are used. Cost per mile of truck use is $0.795. Estimates
by Bart Eleveld, Extension farm management specialist, and Tom
Bedell, Extension rangeland resources specialist emeritus, Oregon
State University.
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Other considerations
Patrolling range areas may be worthwhile to ensure that
livestock are not without water. You could do this with a publicly
owned plane or helicopter--perhaps in cooperation with one of
the frequent Fish and Wildlife surveys--or through a cooperative
arrangement with a neighbor.
Dry cows will graze farther from water than cows with
calves--and use less water. If providing water becomes very expensive,
weaning calves early would allow you to use range forage more
efficiently, at less total cost.
Need for water permits
A permit from the Oregon Water Resources Department to
develop water is required for certain actions. These are: (a)
springs that are boxed and piped to a trough, and (b) stock ponds,
whether in a playa, a drainage way, or a site for diverted water.
No permit is needed to drill a stock water well (whether
vertical or horizontal) or to clean out a natural spring and
leave it flowing.
If you develop a seep and don't channel it, no permit
is necessary; however, for your own protection, it's a good idea
to have a permit. Check for policy and legal changes before proceeding.
The permit is for the protection of the owner. On land
administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the BLM gets the
permit. On National Forest land, the permittee obtains it.
Agency policies also are being evaluated for changes.
Check with them in advance.
You can obtain a permit application from watermaster
offices and most Natural Resources Conservation Service offices.
Enter the legal description of your location to the nearest 40
acres. Address your permit application to: Water Resources Dept.,
3850 Portland Rd. NE, Salem, Oregon 97310.
After you file a permit, the Water Resources Department
(WRD) normally takes 3 to 8 months to process the permission.
However, if you request speedier action because of need--and
if your letter accompanies your permit application--you'll usually
receive a waiver of this time period. (You might speed up the
process by phoning after you file.)
File a completion notice after you complete the development.
A representative of the WRD normally will check on completed
developments.
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Public assistance
Public assistance might be available for some practices related to livestock water. Check with your local Farm Services Agency (FSA) to get information about potential assistance.
Prepared by Michael M. Borman, Extension rangeland resources specialist,
and Thomas E. Bedell, Extension rangeland resources specialist emeritus,
Oregon State University. This publication replaces EM 8360, Livestock Water
During A Drought. M.M. Borman and T.E. Bedell
Published April 1995. Revised January 2008.
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