Ditch

Ditch
For other uses, see Ditch (disambiguation).
A well maintained ditch in the Netherlands
Ditches at the Ouse Washes nature reserve.
Waterplants growing in a ditch in the Netherlands, showing Sagittaria sagittifolia to the right.

A ditch is usually defined as a small to moderate depression created to channel water.

In Anglo-Saxon, the word dïc already existed and was pronounced 'deek' in northern England and 'deetch' in the south. The origins of the word lie in digging a trench and forming the upcast soil into a bank alongside it. This practice has meant that the name dïc was given to either the excavation or the bank, and evolved to both the words 'dike'/'dyke' and 'ditch'. Thus Offa's Dyke is a combined structure and Car Dyke is a trench, though it once had raised banks as well. In the midlands and north of England, and in the United States, a dike is what a ditch is in the south, a property boundary marker or small drainage channel. Where it carries a stream, it may be called a running dike as in Rippingale Running Dike, which leads water from the catchwater drain, Car Dyke, to the South Forty Foot Drain in Lincolnshire (TF1427). The Weir Dike is a soak dike in Bourne North Fen, near Twenty and alongside the River Glen.

A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. A trench can be defined as a long narrow ditch. Ditches are commonly seen around farmland especially in areas that have required drainage, such as The Fens in eastern England and the Netherlands.

Roadside ditches can provide a hazard to motorists, especially in poor weather conditions. It is not uncommon in some rural areas to see cars, motorcycles, or bicycles that have crashed into ditches, or to hear of such accidents.

Contents

Sustainability of drainage ditches

Drainage ditches play major roles in agriculture throughout the world. Improper drainage systems accelerate water contamination, excessively desiccate soils during seasonal drought, and become a financial burden to maintain. Industrial earth-moving equipment facilitates maintenance of straight drainage trenches, but entrenchment results in increasing environmental and eventually profound economic costs over time.[1]

Sustainable channel design can result in ditches that are largely self-maintaining due to natural geomorphological equilibrium. Slowed net siltation and erosion result in net reduction in sediment transport. Encouraging development of a natural stream sinuosity and a multi-terraced channel cross section appear to be key to maintain both peak ditch drainage capacity, and minimum net pollution and nutrient transport.[2]

Flooding can be a major cause of recurring crop loss — particularly in heavy soils — and can severely disrupt urban economies as well. Subsurface drainage to ditches offers a way to remove excess water from agricultural fields, or vital urban spaces, without the erosion rates and pollution transport that results from direct surface runoff. However, excess drainage results in recurring drought induced crop yield losses and more severe urban heat or desiccation issues.

Controlled subsurface drainage from sensitive areas to vegetated drainage ditches makes possible a better balance between water drainage and water retention needs. The initial investment, allows a community to draw down local water tables when and where necessary without exacerbating drought problems at other times.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ See also hypoxia, dead zone, nonpoint source pollution, desertification, and urban heat island
  2. ^ Geomorphic Characteristics of Drainage Ditches in Southern Minnesota, and the concept of a Two-Stage Ditch Design (Brad Hansen, Bruce Wilson, Joe Magner, and John Nieber) http://d-outlet.coafes.umn.edu/presentations/DrainForum06/J.%20Nieber-2-stage%20ditch%20design.pdf
  3. ^ Drainage Water Management Updates (G. Sands) http://d-outlet.coafes.umn.edu/presentations/DrainForum06/G.%20Sands-WTM%20Updates.pdf

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ditch — Ditch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Ditched}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Ditching}.] 1. To dig a ditch or ditches in; to drain by a ditch or ditches; as, to ditch moist land. [1913 Webster] 2. To surround with a ditch. Shak. [1913 Webster] 3. To throw into a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ditch — [dich] n. [ME dich < OE dic, a ditch, drain: see DIKE1] a long, narrow channel dug into the earth, as a trough for drainage or irrigation vt. 1. to border with a ditch 2. to make a ditch or ditches in 3. ☆ a) to cause (a car, wagon, et …   English World dictionary

  • ditch — O.E. dic ditch, dike, a variant of DIKE (Cf. dike) (q.v.). As a verb, late 14c., surround with a ditch; dig a ditch; meaning to throw into a ditch is from 1816, hence sense of abandon, discard, first recorded 1899 in Amer.Eng. Of aircraft, by… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Ditch — Ditch, v. i. To dig a ditch or ditches. Swift. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ditch — (?; 224), n.; pl. {Ditches}. [OE. dich, orig. the same word as dik. See {Dike}.] 1. A trench made in the earth by digging, particularly a trench for draining wet land, for guarding or fencing inclosures, or for preventing an approach to a town or …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ditch — [n] gulley canal, channel, chase, cut, dike, drain, excavation, furrow, gutter, mine, moat, trench, watercourse; concepts 509,513 ditch [v] get rid of abandon, desert, discard, dispose of, drop, dump*, eighty six*, forsake, jettison, junk*, leave …   New thesaurus

  • ditch — ► NOUN ▪ a narrow channel dug to hold or carry water. ► VERB 1) provide with a ditch. 2) (with reference to an aircraft) bring or come down in a forced landing on the sea. 3) informal get rid of; give up. DERIVATIVES ditcher noun …   English terms dictionary

  • ditch|er — «DIHCH uhr», noun. 1. a person who makes and repairs ditches. 2. a machine used to make ditches; ditching machine. 3. Bowls a bowl which runs or is driven off the green …   Useful english dictionary

  • ditch — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun ADJECTIVE ▪ deep, wide ▪ shallow, small ▪ open ▪ The drainage system consisted of a few open ditches to facilitate run off …   Collocations dictionary

  • ditch — [[t]dɪ̱tʃ[/t]] ditches, ditching, ditched 1) N COUNT A ditch is a long narrow channel cut into the ground at the side of a road or field. 2) VERB If you ditch something that you have or are responsible for, you abandon it or get rid of it,… …   English dictionary

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