07/28/2026
Properly designed and professionally installed subsurface drainage systems play an important role when farmers choose to implement regenerative agriculture, and for responsible environmental stewardship. The installation of the drainage systems allows the land to capture rainfall versus having it runoff. It also allows the implementation of great soil health building practices like no-till and cover cropping.
For the past eight years we have had the pleasure of working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service on a project to monitor and measure water quality on water removed from farmland using tile line drainage systems. The project has been monitoring water quality both before and after treatment using a Bark Bed Bioreactor and a phosphorus removal structure. Monitoring of these systems has been ongoing, and the results have proven excellent.
Tile line water draining into the bark bed system is already far cleaner than any water that may have left the land from the surface during large precipitation events, which makes sense as any water entering the tile has already percolated through and been filtered by the soil. This simple process of water treatment using the bark bed bioreactor is proving incredibly effective at further cleaning the tile drained water.
After eight years of operation, the bark in the bark bed had begun to deteriorate and needed to be replaced. A huge Thank You to the Champion Excavating Team for the hard work they put into taking care of this important project.
From the results we have seen to date, it looks like the bark bed bioreactor is a very effective tool for agriculture, and we look forward to learning more as the project continues.
Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!
