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Selection of Alternative Livestock Watering Systems 1
PB 1641
Agricultural Extension Service
The University of Tennessee 2
Table of Contents
Introduction _________________________________________________________________ 4
Controlled Direct Access _______________________________________________________ 4
Figure 1. Full Stream Crossing_____________________________________________ 5
Figure 2. Cattle Access Area ______________________________________________ 5
Gravity Systems ______________________________________________________________ 5
Figure 3. Equipment Tire Tank _____________________________________________ 5
Figure 4. Insulated Tank __________________________________________________ 6
AC Electric Pumping Systems ___________________________________________________ 6
Ram Pumps__________________________________________________________________ 7
Figure 5. Ram Pump Components __________________________________________ 7
Figure 6. Ram Pump _____________________________________________________ 7
Solar DC Pumping Systems _____________________________________________________ 8
Figure 7. Solar Panels ____________________________________________________ 8
Figure 8. Pressure Tank & Batteries _________________________________________ 8
Sling Pumps _________________________________________________________________ 8
Figure 9. Operating Sling Pump ____________________________________________ 9
Figure 10. Sling Pump ___________________________________________________ 9
Figure 11. Inside of Sling Pump ____________________________________________ 9
Nose Pumps _________________________________________________________________ 9
Figure 12. Nose Pump ___________________________________________________ 9
Summary___________________________________________________________________ 10
Table 1 - Comparison of Alternative Livestock Watering Systems ________________ 10
Table 2 - Installation Considerations for Livestock Watering Systems _____________ 11 3
Introduction
Due to efforts to use improved grazing strategies, such as intensive rotational or pad-
dock grazing, livestock producers need dependable and economically alternative methods of
providing water to livestock. In addition, efforts to improve water quality have resulted in a
new emphasis on the establishment of buffer strips and riparian zones along streams. In most
cases, the establishment of these zones requires the exclusion of livestock. Livestock produc-
ers who rely on streams to provide water for their animals must develop alternative watering
systems before they can rotate animals into grazing paddocks that do not adjoin streams or
ponds, or before they can implement best management practices that require livestock
exclusion from streams.
Several options are available to producers when choosing a livestock watering sys-
tem. These systems can be divided into three basic types: direct access, gravity flow and
pressure systems. The best system type for a particular producer will depend on many
factors, including site layout, water requirement, availability and cost of utility water and
electricity, as well as water source type and location. This publication provides basic
descriptions of some livestock watering system alternatives, and discusses some of the
positive and negative aspects of each.
Controlled Direct Access
Allowing animals to water directly from a stream or pond is historically the
most commonly used livestock watering method. While this method is simple and
inexpensive, it has limitations. Animals may have to travel long distances to drink
when only one water access point is available in a large pasture. This is particularly
a problem in rotational or paddock grazing systems. In scenarios where direct access
is a viable option, benefits may be gained by the use of controlled access points
designed to better facilitate livestock watering. Benefits such as reduced stream
bank damage, reductions in erosion and the resulting sedimentation, improved
riparian areas along streams and safer animal access to streams can be realized by
excluding animals from all areas of the stream except well-designed and constructed
improved access points.
Examples of improved access points are geotextile and aggregate reinforced
stream crossings or access points. These crossings are constructed in full crossing
Selection of Alternative
Livestock Watering Systems
Robert T. Burns, Assistant Professor
Michael J. Buschermohle, Associate Professor
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering 4
and limited access configurations.
Figure 1 illustrates a full stream
crossing that can be used by animals
as a water access point and also
serves as an equipment crossing
point. The crossing is underlain with
synthetic geotextile material and
finished with gravel to provide an
all-weather stream access and
crossing area. Figure 2 illustrates a
cattle access area in a stream. The
electrified chains prevent cattle
from going up or down the stream
from the access area provided. See
the Agricultural and Biosystems
Engineering departmental publica-
tion Construction of Farm Heavy
Use Areas Using Geotextiles (WQ-
01-00), for information on using
geotextiles to construct heavy-use or
high-traffic areas such as improved
livestock access areas to streams.
Figure 1. Full Stream Crossing
Figure 2. Cattle Access Area
Figure 3. Equipment Tire Tank
Gravity Systems
When a water source is higher than
the deliver or usage point, gravity flow
systems may be a good choice. Like
direct access systems, gravity systems
are relatively simple and inexpensive,
since no external power source is
required to move the water. Every 2.31
feet in elevation change is equal to 1
psi (pounds per square inch) in pres-
sure. So, if 5 psi of pressure is required
to operate a livestock water-tank float-
valve, 12 feet of fall from the water
line to the usage point is required.
Most gravity systems are simply tanks equipped with float valves located lower
than the water source, which is usually a pond. The water delivery pipe should be
sized appropriately, so adequate flow into the tank is achieved. When building a pond,
the outlet pipe should be installed during construction of the pond. It is difficult to
install a pipe through a pond berm or levee after construction due to potential leakage
problems. Figure 3 shows a heavy equipment tire modified as a livestock water tank.
Used pan and large rock quarry truck tires of this size can be converted into livestock
water tanks that hold approximately 300 gallons of water. These tires can usually be 5
obtained free because of the cost
companies must pay for their proper
disposal. The tank shown in Figure 3
uses a float valve to control the water
supply. As animals drink, the valve
opens and allows more water to grav-
ity flow into the tank. When the tank
reaches the full level, the float holds
the valve in the closed position.
The use of gravity systems is
limited to locations where the water
supply is above the delivery or usage
point. Ponds or springs may fit this
requirement and work well as gravity supply water sources, while streams are usually at
the lowest point in a pasture and seldom can be used in this manner. Gravity tank sys-
tems can be installed so they are freeze-proof in all but the coldest weather by using
insulated tanks or employing electric heaters or solar-powered bubblers. Several types of
freeze-proof tanks are currently available. Heated tanks may not be feasible, since
electricity for heater operation may not be available. Many freeze-proof tanks are simply
well insulated and have some type of closure, such as floating balls, to seal off the water
opening and help prevent freezing when animals are not drinking (Figure 4). An air-gap
heat well is used to insulate the water delivery pipe where it enters the tank and to allow
warmer air from below the soil freeze line to contact the tank. Allowing continuous
water flow through the system will also reduce freezing problems. This may be an
option when using a spring as the water source, but is not feasible with a pond.
AC Electric Pumping Systems
Standard AC-current, electric-pressure water systems are many times the best choice
for providing livestock water on the basis of all-around convenience and dependability.
The use of these systems is limited by the proximity of electric power to the water source.
AC-pumping systems may use ponds, springs, streams or wells as their water source. The
distance limitations vary with the power requirement of the pump to be used. As the
distance between power supply and pump location increases, larger electric wire is re-
quired to avoid excessive voltage drop. The distance at which it becomes too costly to
install an AC system depends on the pump current requirement and the cost of other
feasible alternative systems at a given location.
The pump amperage requirement can be minimized by selecting 220-volt pumps
over 110-volt units, when a 220-volt power supply is available. Submersible and stan-
dard suction-lift model electric AC pumps are available for pressure water systems.
Submersible pumps are commonly used in wells, but may be installed in ponds or
streams with pro