Location of Agricultural Subsurface Drainage Systems Using Geophysical and Geotechnical Methods

At least 40% of Ohio cropland contains subsurface drainage systems. These systems remove excess soil water, thereby increasing crop yield potential. Many subsurface drainage systems were installed close to a century ago, and records showing their placement have since been lost. These old systems are typically still operational, and locations need to be determined in order to reduce system modification expenses or to avoid problems often associated with initiation of new construction projects on former farmland. At present, there are no adequate procedures for finding subsurface drains. A research investigation, funded by the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, has been initiated in an attempt to solve this problem through the innovative development and extensive testing of several geophysical and geotechnical methods that are capable of detecting buried features.