Check with a local NRD office for details. Vegetative Filter Strips Vegetative filter strips capture sediment and organic material by slowing runoff water leaving a field. As water is slowed, larger soil and organic particles rapidly settle out. Smaller clay particles need a longer flow distance to settle out in the filter. Therefore, a larger strip width is needed for removing finer soils.
Filter strips work best when water flows at a shallow uniform depth across the filter.
If water becomes concentrated in small channels, the effectiveness of the strip is drastically reduced. Filter strips also work best on relatively flat slopes. Vegetative filter strips are a best management practice for reducing runoff of some agricultural nonpoint source contaminants, such as soil nutrients, organic material and pesticides bound to soil particles. They should be considered part of a conservation system. Filters, however, cannot remove all runoff water contaminants.