Development of Application Tools for Determining Installation Depths and Sizing of Subsurface Drainpipes

Highlights Newly developed interactive QGIS tools automate and optimize depth placement of drainpipes, reducing the complexity of subsurface drainage design. These tools accurately estimate pipe sizes for each drainage segment, sequencing both downstream-to-upstream and upstream-to-downstream. User-friendly and exportable outputs enable efficient decision-making, cost analysis, and seamless integration with drainage installation machines. Abstract. Our suite of QGIS tools addresses the crucial final aspects before the installation of subsurface drainage systems, essential for effective water management in agriculture, civil engineering, and land development. Accurate depth placement and sizing of drainage pipes significantly impact system efficiency, enhancing overall land productivity. Developed to meet this demand, our tools specialize in estimating the installation depths and sizing subsurface drainage pipes. The primary objective is to generate buried elevation depths and pipe sizes for each line segment within the drainage network, sequencing downstream-to-upstream and upstream-to-downstream, respectively. Determining minimum drainage main sizes relies on factors like burying order, end-point elevations, distances, and specified elevation depths and slopes. These user-friendly QGIS tools, utilizing Tile Order, Cumulative Flow Lengths, Burying Slope, and specifications like drain spacing and material, are vital for accurate pipe sizing. Burying and sizing data is exportable in various formats for drain installation machines, and with built-in cost analysis features, they facilitate informed decision-making and budget planning for drainage projects. Optimized for compatibility with all QGIS3 versions, these tools are freely available for download from the QGIS Plugin Repository. Successfully tested with the University of Illinois' South Farm drainage system, they effectively simplify the burying and sizing processes for drainage networks. Keywords: Drainage coefficients, Elevation depths, Pipe estimations, Pipe sizing distributions, Spreadsheet exports, Tile burying systems.