Grass Treatment Systems for Livestock

by Kelly J. Klausmeyer, Agricultural Engineer
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Hays, Kansas

An option for confined livestock producers that is increasing in use is a grass filter to treat the runoff. The practice is called Wastewater Treatment Strip by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and can be a simple and cost-effective way to deal with runoff from feedlots.

The strip works by spreading the runoff from a feedlot over a large area to infiltrate it into the soil. The nutrients in the runoff water then can be used as fertilizer by the grass growing on the filter area. Normally, cool-season grasses such as smooth brome will be planted on the strip. The grass is then cut and baled into hay, recycling the nutrients back into the cattle.

A properly designed treatment strip will consist of three parts: a settling basin, a flow distribution device, and the grassed strip. The settling basin is a must to keep solid manure out of the treatment strip. The settling basin looks similar to a terrace, placed directly below a feedlot to catch the manure and allow for easy cleaning. The flow distribution device is necessary at the upper end of the strip. This device can be gated irrigation pipe, a concrete or timber weir, or similar device used to establish a shallow, uniform flow over the strip and help prevent channeling and erosion.

Cost and size of the treatment strips vary according to many factors--size of the operation and layout of the site usually being the most limiting. The maximum size operation usually will be about 500 head of backgrounding cattle. The strip also will take a relatively large area in order to be effective with typically one acre of grass needed to treat one acre of feedlot runoff. The site will have to be leveled to strict tolerances otherwise the runoff will tend to form channels and not infiltrate as designed.

Maintenance of the treatment strip is very important in order for the practice to be successful. Solids must be removed from the settling basin in order to maintain capacity. The treatment strip should have any eroded channels filled so the water can spread out. Farm equipment should be kept off of the strip during wet periods because water will concentrate in tire tracks. Trees or brush should not be allowed to establish in the strip. The pipe should be inspected after large flow events and any debris removed.

For more information about wastewater treatment strips, go to your local U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Service Center and talk to the NRCS or conservation district staff.

For more information about NRCS programs, visit the Kansas NRCS Web site at www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov.

This article is also available in Microsoft Word format.

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Last Modified: 08/20/2008