There is a purpose behind the grass waterways and berms people see in fields and ditches when driving through farm country. Chad DeWyre, soil conservation engineer for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) describes the benefits of having grass waterways and knowing when to implement them.

“Grass waterways are very important due to multiple reasons as they protect the soil,” explains DeWyre. “Once grass is established within the grass waterway, it actually acts like shingles and folds over and protects the soil. Grass waterways can also filter out sediment.”

When you see gullies in a field, they can be corrected by implementing a grass waterway. The waterway would be designed through the NRCS or a private engineering firm to store the proper capacity and put up with the proper velocity to make sure that that waterway is stable.