Practical Drainage is easy to read and presented in a non-technical style generously supported with helpful illustrations. There are three key messages in this book: water moves sideways only slowly through soil—leading to a detailed description of how drains work; the how-and-why of perched water table methods of construction; and sands are different from one another—they must be tested before use in turf root zones. These key messages are preceded by detailed descriptions of how water moves into soils and the effects of compaction on that movement. The final chapters give step-by-step guidelines for calculating drain spacings and depths, based on measurements of the hydraulic conductivity of the soil and its various layers. There are also chapters about how to measure hydraulic conductivity and how to design and install sub-soil drainage systems.

Chapter 1. Soil Structure. Chapter 2. Water Intake and Retention in Soils. Chapter 3. Compaction and Particle Movement. Chapter 4. The Capillary and Lateral Movement of Water in Soils. Chapter 5. The Capillary Fringe and How Water Gets into Drains. Chapter 6. Perched Water Table--The Concept and Its Use. Chapter 7. How to Calculate Drain Spacings for Various Soils. Chapter 8. Designing Subsoil Drainage Systems. Chapter 9. Installing Subsoil Drains. Chapter 10. Surface Drainage. Chapter 11. Slit Drainage. Chapter 12. Methodology for Determining Soil Hydraulic Conductivity. Appendix: USGA Recommendations for a Method of Putting Green Construction. Bibliography. Index.