What tile drainage is for
Tile drainage removes excess water from the root zone so a crop can grow without sitting in saturated soil. It is used on many kinds of farmland in southern Manitoba: grain and oilseed fields, specialty crops, vegetables and mixed rotations. If wet spots, late planting or drowned-out patches are a problem on your land, tile is worth talking about, whatever you grow.
Tile drainage works for the field crops grown here, including potatoes.
What excess water does to a field
When the water table sits too high, roots run short of oxygen. A report prepared for Manitoba Agriculture lists practical benefits of subsurface drainage that apply across crops: more timely field operations, better trafficability, and more consistent growing conditions.[1] NDSU Extension also lists timely field operations among the reasons farms tile.[2]
Wet spots and drowned-out patches leave an uneven stand and an uneven harvest. Taking surplus water out of those areas helps the whole field grow and mature more evenly.
Design for the soil and the crop
Every field is different. Clay, sand and loam do not drain the same way, so lateral spacing and depth are matched to how quickly water moves through the soil. Crop and rotation matter too: a shallow-rooted specialty crop and a deep-rooted grain field can need different layouts even on the same land.
Our design work covers:
- Where the water will outlet
- Pipe sizing and lateral spacing
- How the layout fits your soil, slope and how you farm the field
Talk to us about wet areas, rotation and any irrigation during the field survey.
Outlets and control devices
The outlet is where the tile system empties. On flat southern Manitoba land, finding a workable outlet is one of the first design questions.[1] For registered Class B tile projects in Manitoba, every outlet must have a control device that can control or stop flow out of the tile (see drainage licensing). When gravity cannot reach an outlet, a lift station is used. Control structures are how you hold water back or release it through the season. See lift stations and control structures.
Tile and irrigation on the same land
Many fields that are tiled are also irrigated, or may be later. Planning the two together avoids burying irrigation lines across tile laterals or placing tile where a mainline needs to run. See irrigation line installation.
Working with Innovative Agri Tiling
- The whole job, start to finish: field survey, design, drainage permits and licensing, installation and the outlet. You deal with one point of contact throughout.
- An owner-operated company, founded in 2010. Every job runs under the management of the business owner.
- A small, steady crew: our main employee has been with the company since it started.
- A field survey and a written estimate before you commit.
- Drainage design for each field: outlet, pipe sizing and lateral spacing, matched to the soil and the crop.
- Lift stations and outlet control structures when the design calls for them. See lift stations and control structures.
- GPS-controlled installation machinery.
- We take care of the drainage permits and licensing for you: the provincial registration or licence application. See drainage licensing in Manitoba.
- Irrigation line installation as well. See irrigation line installation.
Related pages
Sources
- Simundsson, Grieger & Chorney, Subsurface Drainage as a Water Management Strategy: Adaptive, Economic, and Environmental Considerations, final report for Manitoba Agriculture, Project 21615, Portage la Prairie, March 2016 (revised June 2016)
- Scherer, T. & Kandel, H., Frequently Asked Questions About Subsurface (Tile) Drainage, AE1690, NDSU Extension, revised September 2021
Last checked against the sources above: November 2026.