• Grassed Waterway: A natural drainageway is graded and shaped to form a smooth, bowl-shaped channel.  This area is seeded to sod-forming grasses.  Runoff water that flows down the drainageway flows across the grass rather than tearing away soil and forming a larger gully.  An outlet is often installed at the base of the drainageway to stabilize the waterway and prevent a new gully from forming.

• Water and Sediment Control Basin(s): An embankment is built across a depressional area of concentrated water runoff to act similar to a terrace.  It traps sediment and water running off farmland above the structure, preventing it from reaching farmland below.

Pictured on left: Gully erosion before basins are installed.  Pictured on right: Effective Water and Sediment Control Basins.

• Field Windbreak/Living Snowfence: Windbreaks are rows of vegetation used to reduce and redirect wind.  Field windbreaks reduce wind erosion, improve crop yields and water use efficiency.  Living snowfences keep roads clear of drifting snow and increase driving safety.  Vegetation and plant debris slow surface runoff and encourage sediment and sediment-bound contaminants to settle before entering surface water.  The leaves and branches intercept rainfall, reducing their erosive energy and slowing the movement of rain water.  Root growth and plant litter improve soil structure and enhance infiltration of rainfall, reducing surface runoff.

For more information on erosion control practices contact the Lincoln SWCD office at 507-694-1630; or for specific information on Waterways, Water and Sediment Control Basins, Terraces, etc. contact Ron Madsen at ron.madsen@mn.nacdnet.net; or for Field Windbreaks, Living Snowfences or Farmstead Shelterbelts contact Dale Sterzinger at dale.sterzinger@mn.nacdnet.net.