In view of their crucial role in water and solute transport, enhanced monitoring of agricultural subsurface drain tile systems is important for adequate water quality management. However, existing monitoring techniques for flow and contaminant loads from tile drains are expensive and labour intensive. The aim of this study was to develop a cost-effective and simple method for monitoring loads from tile drains. The Flowcap is a modified Sutro weir (MSW) unit that can be attached to the outlet of tile drains. It is capable of registering total flow, contaminant loads and flow-averaged concentrations. The MSW builds on a modern passive sampling technique that responds to hydraulic pressure and measures average concentrations over time (days to months) for various substances. Mounting the samplers in the MSW allowed a flow-proportional part of the drainage to be sampled. Laboratory testing yielded high linear correlation between the accumulated sampler flow, q total, and accumulated drainage flow, Q total (r (2) > 0.96). The slope of these correlations was used to calculate the total drainage discharge from the sampled volume, and therefore contaminant load. A calibration of the MSW under controlled laboratory condition was needed before interpretation of the monitoring results was possible. The MSW does not require a shed, electricity, or maintenance. This enables large-scale monitoring of contaminant loads via tile drains, which can improve contaminant transport models and yield valuable information for the selection and evaluation of mitigation options to improve water quality. Results from this type of monitoring can provide data for the evaluation and optimisation of best management practices in agriculture in order to produce the highest yield without water quality and recipient surface waters being compromised.
Keywords: Agriculture; Drainage; Environmental monitoring; Passive sampling.