Ephemeral gullies are channels that form in natural 

concentrated flow areas (see photo below). They are too 

often filled in by annual tillage and form in the same 

location after additional runoff events. 

Ephemeral gullies can be controlled by using conservtion 

practices such as terraces, water and sediment control 

basins, grassed waterways, critical area seeding, cover 

crops or no-till. Each of these practices has limitations as 

to when and what situation is effective.

The primary factor in what practice is best suited to 

control an ephemeral gully is the size and slope of the 

watershed. The larger the watershed and steeper the slope 

the more effective the control practice needs to be. 

USDA Program Participants

The Food Security Act of 1985 (Farm Bill) requires 

USDA program participants who farm fields designated 

as Highly Erodible Land (HEL) to control sheet and 

rill erosion and wind erosion to an acceptable level, 

control all ephemeral gullies, and maintain wetlands. 

Uncontrolled erosion puts you at risk of losing USDA 

farm program benefits and crop insurance eligibility. 

Each spring, the Natural Resources Conservation Service 

(NRCS) conducts compliance reviews on a random 

selection of highly erodible fields to determine if erosion 

has been adequately controlled. Non-compliance can 

affect program benefits.

To learn more about conservation planning assistance, 

visit the staff at your local NRCS office to improve 

management for all resource concerns. NRCS staff and 

your local soil and water conservation district (SWCD) 

are available to help you make the best choices to protect 

your operation and resources.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resources Conservation Service

Des Moines, Iowa

www.ia.nrcs.usda.gov

@IowaNRCS

CONSERVATION CHOICES

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

Conservation practices that help provide the best erosion control from ephemeral gullies.

Controlling Ephemeral Gullies
Ephemeral Gully Control Practices

Conservation Practice How it helps/Tips Comments

Grassed Waterways

A shaped or graded channel that is planted to grass or 

other perennial vegetation to convey surface water at 

a non-erosive velocity using a broad and shallow cross 

section to a stable outlet.

• Since grassed waterways 

are incorporated into 

the landscape, how you 

farm around them means 

everything in how long they 

will last and how effectively 

they will serve their purpose.

• The waterway design 

incorporates the predicted 

volume of runoff and velocity.

• Maintenance will be needed 

to keep water from running 

along side of the grassed area.

• Plant crop rows into the 

waterway, not alongside it.

• Shut the sprayer off before 

crossing the waterway to 

maintain good grass cover.

• Limit driving on a wet 

waterway. Tire tracks can start 

gullies.

Terraces

Terraces are earthen structures that intercept runoff on 

moderate to steep slopes. They shorten the slope length, 

reducing the effects of sheet and rill erosion, and help 

control ephemeral gully erosion.

• Terraces cross the drainage 

way, which segments the 

ephemeral area into short 

sections.

• Ephemeral erosion can still 

occur between terraces if 

they are not properly spaced, 

deviate from the natural 

contour, or below the bottom 

terrace.

• Keep terraces functioning 

properly by adding soil to low 

spots and reestablishing any 

lost grass cover.

• Inlets or standing drainage 

pipes should be clear of 

sediment, crop residue and 

foreign material.
Conservation Practice How it helps/Tips Comments

Water and Sediment Control Basins (WASCOBs)

An earth embankment or a combination ridge 

and channel constructed across the slope of minor 

watercourses to form a sediment trap and water detention 

basin with a stable outlet.

• Designed to segment the 

watershed into smaller 

drainage areas by creating a 

dam across the drainage way.

• The outlet is either an 

underground outlet that 

takes water underground 

and outlets it in a stable area 

or a restricted flow pipe that 

limits flow of water below the 

structure.

• Ephemeral erosion can still 

occur above and below the 

structure if it is not properly 

spaced.

Critical Area Planting

Establishing permanent vegetation on sites that have, 

or are expected to have, high erosion rates, and on sites 

that have physical, chemical, or biological conditions 

that prevent the establishment of vegetation with normal 

seeding/planting methods.

• In areas with ephemeral 

gullies, seed perennial grass 

in the flow channel of the 

drainage way.

• Seed with the natural shape of 

the land.

• Seeding is effective for smaller 

watersheds with a defined 

channel or draw that can be 

seeded.

• Controlling larger storm 

events is a challenge due to 

water running on the outside 

of the vegetation or not 

flowing into the grassed area.
Ephemeral Gully Control Practices

Conservation Practice How it helps/Tips Comments

Cover Crops

Annual crops, including grasses, legumes and forbs, for 

seasonal cover and other conservation benefits to the soil. 

Plant prior to grain crop harvest or immediately after 

harvest.

• Effective in medium to small 

watersheds when the drainage 

way is small and flat (not 

channelized in a ditch.)

• Use a winter hardy cereal 

grain, such as rye, and seed it 

as soon as possible in the fall.

• Seed at a rate of about 2 bushel 

per acre.

• In the spring, allow the cover 

crop to grow to at least 8 

inches before terminating with 

chemical control.

• Do not till the cover crop, but 

instead plant through it.

• Seeding with a drill will 

be most effective, but 

broadcasting with an ATV or 

tractor spreader is quick and 

effective with adequate ground 

moisture or a timely rain.

No-Till

Growing crops without disturbing the soil from planting 

through harvest.

• No-till keeps the soil covered, 

helping to reduce soil erosion.

• No-till is effective in 

reducing ephemeral gully 

erosion in small watersheds 

with relatively wide and 

flat drainage ways (not 

channelized in a ditch).

• It takes several years of 

continuous no-till for it 

to be effective in reducing 

ephemeral gullies.

• In a combination no-till/

tillage system, once a 

depression is stabilized, raise 

tillage equipment and skip a 

20-30 ft. path of the lowest 

part of the depression to 

reduce erosion potential from 

loosening the soil.

Courtesy of Dan Gillespie, Nebraska NRCS

October 2018