Technical Implementation
Prepare Turf
Use a sod cutter to cut a 20-30 foot by 24-30 inch wide of sod. Retain this sod to for placing over the installation after soil amendment and construction is complete.
Excavate
Using a backhoe with a 24 – 30in bucket, excavate a trench approximately 3ft deep. Place soil on an adjacent tarp and amend the soil with 10% - 20% biochar (to promote phosphorous removal) and 5% woodchips (to help the growth of naturally occurring bacteria that consume excess nitrates and release harmless nitrogen gas).
Complete Installation
Place amended soil in the trench and replace sod using the sod cut from the project. Repeat these steps for each of the 2-3 curtains. Each installation should take several hours and be completed in one day.
Monitor Results
3-4 piezometers are installed into the PVC caps and inset into the ground. These allow us to sample shallow GW as it flows prior to and after the practices. These will be sampled 8 – 10 times to evaluate the effectiveness of the practice and make future improvements.