Evaluation of a measurement system for agricultural contaminant losses by runoff and subsurface drainage in cold areas
This technical note presents an automatic measurement system for measuring losses of agricultural pollutants in surface runoff and subsurface drainage outflow. This system can be operated during rainfall events and snowmelt periods. The runoff system was composed of a sediment trap, a V-notch weir and an automatic system for flow measurement and sampling. The subsurface drainage system consisted of a tipping bucket, connected to a pulse counter, and a sampling unit. This system was used on nine experimental plots for the measurement of pollutant losses by surface runoff and subsurface drainage. The total depth of surface runoff measured was low for the two years of measurement (4.6 mm y-1) compared to subsurface drainage (227 mm y-1). Seventy six percent of the annual surface runoff occurred during the snowmelt period. The principal advantage of this system is to measure runoff volume and flow while taking water samples.