ANALYSIS OF THE CONDITION OF DITCHES AND THEIR STRUCTURES IN THE MOLETI DISTRICT

Abstract

Drainage systems in Lithuania are mostly built more than 50 years ago, and the ageing process is causing their structures to become increasingly worn and unusable. There are 2,9 mln.ha of drained land in Lithuania, so the proper drainage of fields has a huge impact on growth of agricultural crops. The depreciation of the ditch network in Lithuania reaches 88.59%, while the average depreciation of hydraulic structures is around 70-80%. Therefore, without repair or reconstruction, these structures will soon become unsuitable for their designed purpose.

The area of drained lands in Molėtai district is 29,27 thousand ha, with 808.3 km of ditches, 1079 culverts of various diameters and 7 bridges. The deprecation of ditches is 97.2%. The study found that the funding allocated to the district is too low and that the drainage structures are becoming more and more worn out. If the financing of drainage structures remains unchanged, the failure of drainage structures will cause a lot of inconvenience. The district is dominated by small family farms and it is practically impossible for them to repair the drainage at their own expense, and if major failures occur, farming in that area becomes impossible for them. In the long run, the failure of drainage systems will become difficult to supply agricultural crops.

Methods used in the research - data selection, their systematization, data grouping, data graphical expression methods.