Water Quality
Offstream
Watering to Reduce Livestock Use of
Watercourses and Riparian Areas
Introduction
Degradation
of water quality from agricultural non-point sources has long
been a concern throughout the province. Concerns of bacterial
contamination from Cryptosporidium and Giardia,
excess nutrient inputs and the physical damage to riparian and
streamside habitats are common. The cost of pursuing these problems
within the current legal framework makes proactive prevention
of water quality problems an attractive option.
Staff from
the Ministries of Water, Land and Air Protection and Agriculture,
Food and Fisheries have been working with the Kamloops Stock Association
and landowners to demonstrate how offstream livestock watering
can reduce livestock use of unfenced watercourses. This in turn
should reduce the adverse impacts on water quality and habitat
associated with livestock access. To date, four sites have been
established.
Why
Offstream Watering?
Two reasons
for considering offstream livestock watering are:
- to provide
a properly sited, easily accessible and reliable water source
- to reduce
the impact livestock may be causing by having direct access
to a watercourse
Impact concerns
will relate to the type of watercourse, the presence of fish,
the downstream use of the water (including drinking water) and
the livestock use (density, duration and timing of use). For example,
winter feeding sites may have more risk of impacts to a watercourse
than a grazing area on rangeland.
While the
first thought in water and riparian protection may be to prevent
access by fencing the watercourse, this is not always the best
solution. An appropriate offstream water system, properly sited
and installed, can help determine if fencing is required at all.
| Site
# 1: South Thompson River
Summer
Grazing and Winter Feeding Site
Propane
Heated Waterer
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|
Wolf
Ranch.
This site is a post-calving area for approximately 150 cow-calf
pairs and is used from late-February to late-April. Summer
grazing may also occur. Livestock have easy access to the
South Thompson River for water in two or three locations which
all have good footing. The rest of the riverbank is too steep
for livestock to use as river access. The
waterer was installed about 400 feet back from the river
on an existing trail to the river. It is a 'typical' waterer-on-concrete-pad
installation of a Ritchie Model #5 cattle waterer. A water
line was trenched approximately 300 m from the ranch water
system to the waterer. Electrical power was also this distance
away so the propane-heated option was chosen to provide
frost protection. The system was installed in November 1998
with the assistance of the Wolf Ranch.
|
|
The
feeding locations are 60 to 180 m back from the waterer
(180 to 370 m from the river). By mid-April the grass 'greens
up' and livestock are attracted towards the river as shown
below. Before 'green up' use of the waterer is approximately
95% but is reduced to 65% as livestock graze near the river.
With the installation of the waterer, overall livestock
use of the river is estimated to be reduced by 80%.
|
Wolf Ranch site along the South Thompson River near Pritchard
| Site
# 2: North Thompson River
Fall
Grazing and Winter Feeding Site
"Earth-Heated" Waterer
|
|
Puhallo
Ranch.
This site is a fall grazing and winter feeding area for
approximately 175 cows. The area was already fenced from
the river with gates used to allow river access. Due to
its riparian importance, and to observe livestock response,
this site was chosen to demonstrate a unique, 'earth-heated'
waterer.
The
waterer is installed between two fields, 250 m back from
the riparian fence. It is approximately 600 m to the main
ranch site for the water line and electricity. Although
the water line could reasonably be trenched that far, it
is too far to run electricity. The system was installed
in November 1999 with the assistance of the Puhallo Ranch.
|
The waterer design
consists of three, 2.4 m long tanks set 1.8 m in-ground using
'earth-heat' for frost protection.
Two tanks are drinkers rated for up to 200 cows. No concrete pad
is required. No ground reinforcement was used around the waterer,
but this may be required at some sites. The waterer goes by the
trade name "Thermo-Sink" and is manufactured in Alberta.
A one-drinker version is available for 100 cows.
Some icing
on the drinkers had to be broken up but was manageable.
Puhallo Ranch site along the North Thompson River
| Site
# 3: Campbell Creek
Fall
Grazing and Winter Feeding Site
"Flow-Through-
Heated" Waterer
|
|
Frolek
Cattle Company
This site is a fall grazing and winter feeding area for
approximately 250 cows along Campbell Creek (south of Kamloops).
Access to the creek for watering is by a few low-bank areas;
the remainder of the creek is mainly high-bank. Water is
pumped from a shallow well to the waterer. Electricity is
available approximately 55 m away and ground water is within
1.2 m to 1.8 m.
A Ritchie
WaterMaster 90 waterer [with flow-through] was installed
on a concrete-pad. Instead of using an electrical heat element
for frost protection, water is continuously pumped through
the waterer with flow back to a rock pit near the well.
Heat loss from the waterer is balanced with heat gain from
the circulating water. The pump is wired with a pre-set
timer and the trough was installed so it would self-drain
when the pump is shut off.
The
feeding area runs long and narrow along the creek. The waterer
is located approximately 1/3 the distance from one end of
the site and is approximately 75 m from the creek, centered
between the creek and the upper side of the field. The system
was installed in October 2000 with the assistance of the
Frolek Cattle Company.
|
Frolek Cattle Company site along Campbell Creek, south of
Kamloops
| Site
# 4: Laurie Guichon Memorial Grasslands Interpretive Site
Spring
and Fall
Grazing Area
Gravity
Energy
"Pumps" Water
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This
site is a grazing area in Lundbom Lake Commonage, south
of Merritt, where a public Grasslands Interpretive Site,
named in honour of Laurie Guichon, is being developed. A
pond and wetland area on this site is the water source for
the grazing livestock of Chutter Ranch Ltd. It was decided
to make a 'typical' gravity-fed livestock watering system
part of the public education information at this site. Initially
the pond will not be fenced off from the livestock. Approximately
250 cows may use the site in a spring /fall grazing rotation.
The technical
challenge of this site is the small elevation difference
between the pond and a good waterer location. The best site
(greatest head) would be too wet in the spring; most upland
sites were too high for gravity flow. The site chosen is
120 m from the pond with a 0.5 m elevation between 'average'
low pond level and full waterer level.
To ensure water
flow at this low 'head', 10 cm diameter PVC pipe is used
that has an very low friction loss at the flow rate required.
A 'typical' culvert-on-end is used for the intake. A screened
inlet, shutoff valve and air inlet stand pipe are inside
the culvert, which has openings along its side for water
entry and is back filled with drain rock. A modified steel
waterer [courtesy of Forest Service] is used. |
The system
was installed in November 2000 with the assistance of Ducks Unlimited
and with equipment donated by Sanders & Co. of Merritt.
The Laurie Guichon Memorial Grasslands Interpretive
Site Pond / Wetland
Project
Funding Partners
These
four projects grew out of funding for a demonstration project
from the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks (now called
Water, Land and Air Protection), Water Quality Section, [Non-Point
Source Pollution]. This funded the first project at the Wolf Ranch
in 1998.
With additional
ministry funding, matching funds from the Kamloops Stock Association
[from the Beef Cattle Industry Development Fund], in-kind assistance
from the landowners and Sanders & Co equipment, and planning
and installation from the Ministries of Agriculture, Fisheries
and Food and Environment, Lands and Parks (now called, Water,
Land and Air Protection), as well as Ducks Unlimited, three more
projects were installed.
Total funding
was $16,000. With in-kind contributions estimated at $6,000, each
installation cost an average of $5,500.
What
Has Been Learned?
To date,
observations have been made at the Wolf Ranch, site #1, on the
behaviour of the cows, as noted. Limited observations have been
made on sites #2 and #3. No livestock have used site #4 yet.
Observations
and livestock tendencies noted so far include:
- Cows seem
to be opportunistic, using the most readily available water
- however,
a water source close at hand but with poor access or footing
may not be initially chosen
- Drinking
patterns [i.e., time of day, herd instinct] may affect whether
cows will 'wait-their-turn' at a waterer or walk away from it
to drink at a somewhat distant, but uncrowded water source
- winter
waterers generally have small drinker openings to reduce
the heat loss and this requires cows to be patient
- this
is not usually a concern once cows know that the waterer
is reliable and they can drink whenever they want during
the day
- however,
if an alternate water source [i.e., unfenced watercourse]
is easily accessible it may reduce their use of the waterer
What
Is Next?
Agriculture
and AgriFood Canada, Kamloops Research Station, is collecting
watering behaviour information on the Wolf Ranch, site #1, to
more accurately assess livestock choice of either the waterer
or the river.
These project
sites are representative of many ranch situations that have established
watercourse access. A temporary barrier, such as an electric fence,
wooden debris, etc., may allow natural vegetation to re-grow,
creating a permanent barrier at access points. A temporary barrier
would allow a 'transition' period that may be necessary to change
livestock watering behaviour.
Offstream
systems, while potentially reducing watercourse and riparian impacts,
(up to 80% reduced use by livestock on site #1 is estimated) come
at a cost that can be significant:
- Livestock
benefits need to be documented
- Riparian
/ water quality benefits need to be documented
- Costs
may need to be shared between landowners and others who benefit
