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Performance of a Passive Feedlot Runoff Control and Treatment System

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  Paper number  022267,  2002 ASAE Annual Meeting . (doi: 10.13031/2013.10444) @2002
Authors:   B.L. Woodbury, J.A. Nienaber, R.A. Eigenberg
Keywords:   Animal waste management, Feedlot runoff control, Nutrient management, Waste treatment

Research has shown that nutrients from feedlot runoff can infiltrate beneath long-term storage ponds. Pond embankments wetting and drying cycles and weed growth form root channels that facilitate infiltration. A passive runoff control system was designed and constructed to collect and store suspended solids, provide temporary liquid storage, and evenly distribute nutrient-laden discharge water across a vegetative filter strip. The objectives of this project were to evaluate the suspended solids and nutrient removal efficiency of a passive runoff control system. The system effectively reduced the mass of total and volatile suspended solids, and chemical oxygen demand by 80, 67, 59%, respectively. Significant reductions of these constituents in the runoff water as it passed through the system were measured for most precipitation events. No water was measured exiting the vegetative filter strip during the three- year period of this study. Therefore, the discharge water was effectively used for hay crop production. The estimated total nitrogen load in the discharge water entering the vegetative filter strip was equivalent to or less than the total nitrogen removed by the crop. The system robustness was demonstrated during feedlot pen renovation when significant reductions in contaminant concentrations were measured for almost all precipitation events during the sampling period. It was concluded that the passive runoff control and treatment system adequately removed contaminants from feedlot runoff while effectively using the discharge water for hay production.

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