We think that vegetative treatment systems (VTS) have potential for the runoff from feed storage areas. However, from our experience, one of the challenges for forage storage areas is that loose, finely ground fibrous materials (such as ground hay) are a challenge for some solid separating structures. Such fibrous materials cause bridging when carried with runoff, often plugging some settling structure types. This is especially troublesome with inlets for pumping stations, such as the sprinkler VTS. An inline pressure filter (which would include the use of a large opening inlet strainer) has some potential to overcome this obstacle. The design constraint for a VTS for this application will be the management of the water, as the nutrient concentration is expected to be very low relative to an open lot. There are very little data available on this, and to our knowledge, few if any have been built for this application.
Author: Chris Henry, University of Nebraska
