Saturated Buffers
A saturated buffer resembles a traditional buffer or filter strip, but it is designed to capture and treat water from underground tile drains. As water seeps slowly through the buffer, high organic matter in the soil promotes denitrification.

Illinois NREC Saturated Buffer Video
Jon Schoonover with Southern Illinois University has designed a unique Saturated Buffer configuration that he has installed and tested in Moultrie County Illinois. The project is funded by NREC in partnership with Illinois Farm Bureau, Land Improvement Contractors of America (LICA) and others.
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IL Farm Bureau Saturated Buffer Field Day
Illinois Farm Bureau, Southern Illinois University College of Agriculture, Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association, and USDA-NRCS partnered together to bring Illinois farmers an educational demonstration of our latest edge of field practice. Together they are striving to protect our natural resources and seeking out new ways to be better stewards of our land.
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University of Illinois Saturated Buffer
A grassed buffer between a field and a stream provides important benefits to the environment but underground a tile pipe can send nitrogen straight to the stream. Dr. Laura Christianson of the University of Illinois talks about how we can modify grassed buffers to remove nitrogen from the tile drainage water before sending the water downstream.
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Transforming Drainage: Saturated Buffers
The Transforming Drainage project brings together research from experimental saturated buffer sites across the U.S. Midwest to evaluate the full potential of this new and exciting practice, and develop tools and resources that will help farmers, drainage contractors, conservation staff, and others locate, design, and install saturated buffers within tile-drained landscapes.
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University of Illinois Extension: “Buffing Up” Water Quality
This saturated buffer fact sheet outlines the benefits of this practice and lists several considerations and requirements of installment.
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