Irrigating out of swamp

With the Drought going on here and everything dying I am looking for a way to water some pastures. We have cattail swamps, heavy bog with muddy water underneath, no open water at all. Wondering if anyone had ever pulled water out of a swamp like this before? I was considering drilling many small holes in a 55 gallon barrel and burying it most of the way in the swamp, hopefully water would flow in and could be pumped out without a ton of debris.

Any thoughts before I get muddy trying to bury a barrel in a swamp?

Might goggle information about developing springs. I'd assume the ideas would be similar. We use plastic sewer lateral here.

I'd be careful. I don't know about MN but here in WI I think you might need DNR permission.

You are not going to be able to pump much out of a 55 gallon drum with holes in it. The drum won't fill very fast and a 3 acre slough with a small water hole won't water much pasture. There is not nearly as much "free" water in a boggy, muddy slough as one would think, if there was it would be a lake or a pond.

Bryce

This swamp is probably 600+ acres of continuous swamp. I could see a barrel being to small to fill quickly enough. I'm not looking to do major irrigation at this time, just a bit of a test run on a couple acre pasture.

As long as I don't use over 10,000 gallons per day no permit is needed from my understanding.

If there is water underneath and there is sand or gravel, wonder if you could drive a sand point. If its not got enough water capacity to keep from out pumping your water supply then your back to your barrel idea or maybe just a hole if the muck don't fill it up too fast. With a trash pump you can pump a pretty good hole out, ( maybe ).

Not sure on the legality of a sand point but that is a really good idea. This fall we're hoping to get a permit and turn part of the swamp into a pond, that should solve the issue long term.

Dig a trench with an excavator and line it with drilled barrels, laying down end to end, or plastic drainage tile. You want something similar to a giant French drain to pull from.

Keith

Hay is also expensive. If I could even irrigate 5-10 acres it would help a lot

If it's really soggy wet like you say, I don't see why it wouldn't work fine. The barrel is just a big filter. I'd wrap it in silt fence or landscape fabric to keep the crud out of your barrel

Got a creek on your land, that you can pump out of ?

If you can pump the water in the first place I’m not sure why you would need a permit to build a pond? The excavator idea is the best, when you go to dig your pond try to get to the gravel layer and it’ll work like a big sand point.

Sump pump in that 210 liter barrel, goes on and off as the water comes in. flows into a drip irrigation feed. lots of fussing about

I would just dig a hole for a sump with a trash pump. I have been taking 100 gallons a day from the lake to help water and got a verbal warning from the CO. If I were you I would do it anyway.

While a 55 gal barrel seems big it really isn't ---- if you are looking for 1 small (3-5gpm) sprinkler it would probably be fine -- if you are looking for larger capacities -- you need to increase your "screen area" which decreases the velocity of the water coming through the screen. I have pumped manure lagoon water through a center pivot and have had to fight those same issues -- 600gpm sprinkler package -- 2500 gpm rated self cleaning screen. It barely kept up. I do irrigation service work for a living and be happy to talk to you about it. pm me- if you are interested and we can touch bases via phone.

Just to put into perspective it takes 27,900 gallons of water to irrigate ONE surface acre with ONE inch of water- So If you want to water 5 acres of pasture and are limited to less than 10000 gallons per day ( without obtaining a special permit) then you could theoretically put a 1/2 inch of irrigation down on 5 acres each week Without getting apermit. That might work out just fine and could be the difference betweengetting a cutting of hay or not having one . BUt and f you would want to do more acres ( you mentioned up to 10) - to be on the safe side of the law, it would pay to see what a permit for more usage would be if it turns out to be an adequate source of water. Like you had mentioned digging out a pond would probably be the best long term solution for irrigation to provide adequate water for that amount of area.

ponds or other temp storage devices are a great thing --- do the math on 10,000 gals per day ---- times 365=== don't forget to pump into the pond in the winter. I know you have temp issues. Also remember your house well is probably regulated to the same 10g per day -- I don't know what shape it is in -but consider it. That could give you 20g per day -- don't know your soils or climate (summer or winter) but in our area 1.5 inch every 7-10 days is adequate. I'm sure nrcs has your local info available.

This is my exact plan, build a pond on the high point of the farm as well as dig out the swamp a bit, pump out of the swamp up into the pond then irrigate out of the pond when needed. These are all long term plans so I'm hoping it unfolds the way I imagine.

Lots of good ideas in this thread, thanks.

It might not be applicable but it is amazing how much water can be moved with a grain auger and tank truck

A quarry I worked for had to haul in replacement water for pumping out of a creek in Iowa. They were using the water to was rock to make cement.

It's Minnesota, you need a permit to get a Permit

A permit to get a permit ? ahahahaha