2024 Drainage Workshop: Contemporary design concepts to increase profit
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EmailRegister by Feb. 1 for a 30% discount for early registration at the 2024 Drainage Workshop.
Join Michigan State University Extension in partnership with the Michigan Land Improvement Contractors of America on Feb. 27-29, 2024, for the 2024 Drainage Workshop in East Lansing, Michigan. Learn from university specialists and drainage industry professionals.
Impact of workshop: Quotes from a one-year follow-up survey of former attendees
- “It helped me better size outlets and spacing, saved me time with summer tile installation and gave me confidence that I was doing the right thing on my farm.”
- “Helped me make the choice of tiling myself or sub-contracting.”
- “It has helped me evaluate fields for planting. I do hay and I need to understand the wet areas.”
- “Assisted me with helping landowners improve their drainage in a residential setting.”
- “It helps me connect with my customers better. When I have a better understanding of what they do.”
- A drainage contractor attendee who had also attended another drainage school had this to say: “… [the Michigan workshop] covers all of the necessary info needed to understand drainage installation.”
View photos of the 2023 drainage workshop.
Why should you attend the drainage workshop?
First, we offer a modern and straightforward approach to drainage design with user-friendly online tools and hands-on exercises. Second, we offer training in making contour maps with the free QGIS software and exporting the contours to your GPS design and machine software. Third, we offer a demonstration of drainage design software. Fourth, we offer a live demonstration of properly connecting a lateral to a main pipe.
What will you learn?
The drainage design process will include basic design considerations and a step-by-step design procedure. Other topics include:
- Soils and water movement in soils.
- Surface drainage (shallow ditches and grassed waterways).
- Subsurface drainage principles and economics.
- Selection of pipe style: 4-row or 8-row pipe? Sand-slot versus knitted-sock pipe?
- Design procedure (a step-by-step guide to design).
- Legal considerations of drainage.
- Drain Spacing Tool to maximize profit.
- Determining if drain sedimentation is a problem.
- Properly sizing the main pipe to avoid drainage underperformance.
- Determining if upsizing of the existing main is necessary when splitting lateral spacing.
- Determining the original drainage coefficient used to size the main of an existing system.
- Installation and safety.
- Controlled drainage design.
- Conservation drainage: controlled drainage, saturated buffer, blind inlet and shallow drains.
- Making contours with QGIS free software and exporting data.
- Demonstration of drainage design software.
Registration
Register early for a 30% discounted price of $210 by 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 1. The price will be $300 starting Feb. 2. Registration deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 23. This workshop is limited to 20 participants, and on-site registration will be unavailable on the day of the workshop. The registration fee covers breakfast and lunch. The food will be catered by local restaurants.
Contact ghane@msu.edu for any questions.
