Abstract

Drainage systems may be broadly divided into surface drainage (comprising land grading and open ditches), shallow drainage (such as subsoiling to mechanically loosen the upper layer of soil), subsurface or groundwater drainage (buried perforated pipes or deep ditches), and the main drainage systems (commonly open channels) used to convey the drain water away. Drainage will inevitably affect the quantity and timing of water flows from the land and into the receiving watercourses. It is these downstream impacts of farmland drainage on the timing and magnitude of peak flows that are considered here, using the results of experimental studies and computer simulations, to present a coherent picture, and to answer most of the apparent anomalies and conflicts.