Innovate watering tank benefits livestock and wildlife

"Like a lot of people, we were losing a lot of rabbits and birds in the tanks,” says Weston County rancher Curtis Rankin, about what inspired him to design a new type of watering tank. The result is a tire tank that provides benefits for both Rankin’s livestock and local wildlife.

Rankin expects that he will see fewer drowned animals in his tanks in coming years due to the design of the new tanks, resulting in cleaner water for his livestock.

After learning that most animals that become stuck in tanks swim around the edges of the tank in an effort to get out, Rankin designed and welded a wildlife escape ramp that runs from the edge of the tire rim to the interior culvert pipe protecting the float valve and overflow pipe.

Benefits to wildlife extend beyond the ramp. In addition to the main water tank, Rankin installed a buried pipeline that feeds overflow water from the tire tank to a smaller wildlife water source about 40 feet away. This source consists of a diagonally-halved 55-gallon plastic barrel partially buried and staked in the ground that collects the small amount of overflow from the larger tank. A board is inserted in the barrel for small animals or birds to stand on and the entire structure is fenced to exclude larger animals.

The benefits for livestock are also numerous. One unique feature in the tire tank is a concrete “step” that is mounded at the bottom of the tire. Using one-half yard of concrete, the step is several inches high and allows a calf or other animal that enters the tank to get its footing and be able to jump out of the tank.

Rankin also developed the tire tank to have a drain located in the bottom of the tire a few inches away from the concrete step. This drain allows Rankin to empty the tank and then use a broom to start on one side of the concrete step and sweep dirt and other debris from the bottom of the tire, around to the drain for removal.

“I probably clean each tank two or three times each summer, just to keep good clean water in front of the cattle,” says Rankin.

“I’ve never seen a drain installed in a tire tank, but it is a great idea,” added Chad Ostenson, NRCS soil conservationist. “You don’t have to siphon or use buckets to empty out your tank at the end of the season. And it allows you to clean it better, easier, and more regularly.”

The new design has proved so innovative that the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Fund recently approved cost sharing, along with Inyan Kara Grazing Association and local grazing permitees, to construct seven more of these types of tanks on U.S. Forest Service property in Weston County. The 12 tanks that Rankin currently uses were constructed using EQIP funds.

While the effort and concrete involved in constructing one of these types of tanks is higher than average, about $2,300, both Ostenson and Rankin believe the money is well spent.

Anyone with questions about the tank and its design can contact Chad Ostenson at 307-746-3264.