Tiling Question

Bob in SD · Oct 9, 2013

Hello,

I live on a small parcel surrounded by farmland. They are preparing to tile, and it looks like they want to run pipe across my land to drain a low spot (a couple of acres) on one side of my property. They are also tiling the other side, and even have ditches in the section past that, so it looks like they have a plan for where the water is going to go.

I don"t know the owners, but the renter is a good guy and I don"t want to get in his way, but I really don"t know anything about this and am wondering what are the potential downsides for me.

The field of mine that they would cut through is pretty wet, and I stuck a weeping willow tree out there several years ago (far from the house!). Snow melt currently flows from the renter"s field through my field and tries to wash out the driveway every year, so this might actually help me?

OTOH, I do have some fruit trees nearby, and the willow that mom really likes looking at. Our well is about 300 feet from the wet area, and 130 feet deep. It is the well that folks drove from miles around to get to during the dust bowl, so probably a pretty good well and I"m not sure how much of the surface water would even get down there (it was in an aquifer on the old maps, but when they put a dairy in about 15 miles away 20 or so years ago they needed to show that the dairy didn"t impact aquifer, and this aquifer disappeared when the maps were redrawn. I suspect it"s really still there).

So, what do I need to worry about? Sound like an OK idea, or do I need to be "that guy" that gets in the way of progress?

Thanks,

glennster · Oct 9, 2013

if it were me, i would let them run the tile tru. it will help remove excess surface groundwater from your property. as long as they do it with no cost to you, i wouldnt have a problem with that. i have a neighbor that has 80 acres next to one of my fields, and has no real good way for his tile to drain. i let him hook his tile up to one of my mains so his field would drain better. helped to keep run off from his field from going in to mine, so it was a win win for both of us.

paul · Oct 9, 2013

Where I love tile is a good thing. Nearly anything grows better with tile, because the spring snow melt floods our clay soils. Even in a drought, the crops do better on the tiled ground, because they could grow better roots in the drier spring ground.

If you do not want your property drained, request that they use no-perf tile through your property. It will not drain your land then. It will simpler pipe their water through your property. This would not stand in their way but not drain your property. Price will be about the same no difference to them. Let them know early, so they get the right tile ordered.

Paul

rabbit-1 · Oct 9, 2013

Well, willows are the arch enemy of tiles. They can and will put out roots to incredible lengths, especially down tiles. Father-in-law tells of a fellow who opened up a tile line, and pulled out a quarter mile of roots on his place.
Tile on your field might be to your advantage. Why not talk with the renter, and owner and see what exactly they're doing.

paul · Oct 9, 2013

Wow, auto correct really botched my message, hope you get the points.....

Non-perf plastic tile won't drain your property.

Here, my land, I would be hugging them for getting some drainage on my property.... But that is up to you.

Paul

fixerupper · Oct 9, 2013

(quoted from post at 06:27:42 10/09/13) Hello,

I live on a small parcel surrounded by farmland. They are preparing to tile, and it looks like they want to run pipe across my land to drain a low spot (a couple of acres) on one side of my property. They are also tiling the other side, and even have ditches in the section past that, so it looks like they have a plan for where the water is going to go.

I don"t know the owners, but the renter is a good guy and I don"t want to get in his way, but I really don"t know anything about this and am wondering what are the potential downsides for me.

The field of mine that they would cut through is pretty wet, and I stuck a weeping willow tree out there several years ago (far from the house!). Snow melt currently flows from the renter"s field through my field and tries to wash out the driveway every year, so this might actually help me?

OTOH, I do have some fruit trees nearby, and the willow that mom really likes looking at. Our well is about 300 feet from the wet area, and 130 feet deep. It is the well that folks drove from miles around to get to during the dust bowl, so probably a pretty good well and I"m not sure how much of the surface water would even get down there (it was in an aquifer on the old maps, but when they put a dairy in about 15 miles away 20 or so years ago they needed to show that the dairy didn"t impact aquifer, and this aquifer disappeared when the maps were redrawn. I suspect it"s really still there).

So, what do I need to worry about? Sound like an OK idea, or do I need to be "that guy" that gets in the way of progress?

Thanks,

Go ahead and let them run it through as long as it's a big enough tile to handle everything that's upstream. If it's undersized for the anticipated flow your wet spot will be wetter. We have a drainage ditch going through our farm. A tile running from the neighbor's land went across our land to the drainage ditch and this tile was grossly overloaded in wet years, making our land wetter than it already was in that location. One July the neighbor came to us asking if he could run a bigger tile to the drainage ditch parallel to the overloaded one across our land and he would pay for the crop damage since this was in the summer. We agreed to it and now that the bigger tile is there our land has never been wet since then in that area. In fact, it's some of the best land on the farm now. By the way, we take any money for the crop damage because we knew it would improve our land. Jim

old harv · Oct 9, 2013

I'm jealous. I wish someone wanted to tile my land. It won't hurt your well at all if it's in an aquifer. Even if it's not it will only slow it down a little bit when it's that deep. Around here land that is tiled is worth double or more than land that is not tiled.

paul · Oct 9, 2013

I would guess they would want to run solid, non-perf tile past that willow tree anyhow, as mentioned, they love to send feeder roots into the slots and plug up the tile. Either stay far away, or use solid tile there for sure!

Tiling and willows do not go together. A good tile guy will know, but in your part of the world tiling might be kinda new, so might not be real experienced? Most trees you want to be well away from the drip line of the tree with tile, or use solid tile. With willows, double that distance.

Paul

Bob in SD · Oct 9, 2013

Thanks guys,

I have been talking to the renter, like I said, he seems like a good guy and I don"t want to impact his business. He had discussed running tile down the ditch out by the road, and was going to come by some day to talk about it. Last night they had the flags up right in the middle of my place, so I called and asked him what was up. He had talked to the tile guys on the phone, but not seen where the flags were yet.

He"s willing to work with me, put down no-perf, or just call the whole thing off if I"m uncomfortable. I was mainly worried about it getting clogged downstream from me and/or slowing down the well (the ethanol plant 4 miles away has already killed off many wells in the area, I"m just outside of their effects, until they expand again).

They did take a healthy zig zag around the willow, but as fast at that thing is growing I don"t think they are far enough away.

Anyway, thanks for all the responses. I"ll let you know how it turns out.

Bob

Cas · Oct 9, 2013

The only thing I would add is to have the tile line added to you abstract or deed(I am not a lawyer). My neighbor bought a lot and dug a basement there was a 50 year old tile line going thru that got cut. Cellar filled to ground level in about 12 hours. He rerouted the tile line. You might never dig there, but who knows what will happen years after you are gone.
We always dug out trees anywhere near tile lines.

Tiling Question

Bob in SD

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glennster

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paul

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rabbit-1

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paul

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fixerupper

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old harv

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paul

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Bob in SD

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Cas

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