LV8: Pipework associated with livestock troughs

Find out about eligibility and requirements for the pipework associated with livestock troughs item.

This item is part of Capital Grants. You must read the Capital items: guidance for applicants and agreement holders to understand the rules and how to apply.

How much you’ll be paid 

£3.31 per metre (m).

How this item benefits the environment

Providing livestock with an alternative to drinking from watercourses reduces bank erosion, sediment pollution and the faecal contamination of watercourses.

Where you can use this item 

You can use this item either:

  • in areas targeted for the reduction of water pollution caused by farming, where livestock are excluded from stream or surface waters
  • where a new trough is needed to meet the grazing requirements of a creation or management action or option

You cannot use this item:

  • to replace existing equipment in the same location
  • under housing or roof structures
  • within 10m of watercourses
  • on areas vulnerable to soil erosion as identified on your Farm Environment Record
  • within 6m of an historic or archaeological feature identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER)

What you must do to use this item

You must:

  • use pipework made of medium-density blue polyethylene with an external diameter of at least 25 millimetres (mm)
  • make sure that all the joints are watertight and made of brass or plastic
  • bury the pipework below cultivation depth and to at least 600mm (or as determined by the local water supplier)
  • cover the pipe with a tubular steel guard or sleeve pipe if it crosses an open ditch
  • lay the pipe 600mm below the ditch to allow for ditch cleaning
  • lay the pipe on a 75mm bed of sand if it crosses farm tracks and then cover it with a further 100mm of sand, before overlaying it with backfill

Evidence you must keep 

You must keep and provide with your claim:

  • photographs of the site during the different stages of construction or contracts, invoices or other documents confirming the technical specification for the completed works
  • photographs of the completed works in place and installed

You must also keep and provide on request:

  • any consents or permissions connected with the work
  • receipted invoices or bank statements where a receipted invoice is unavailable
  • photographs of site before works start

Read the record keeping and site visit requirements in the Agreement holder’s guide: Capital Grants, Higher Tier capital grants and Protection and Infrastructure grants for more information.

Other items you can use with this item

You can use this item with these capital items:

LV3: Hard bases for livestock drinkers

LV4:Hard bases for livestock feeders

LV5: Pasture pumps and associated pipework

LV6: Ram pumps and associated pipework

LV7: Livestock troughs

Advice to help you use this item

The following advice may help you to use this item, but you do not have to follow it to get paid. It’s not part of this item’s requirements.  

Site maintenance

To maintain the site, you should not:

  • allow overflow or leaks to contribute to runoff, ponding or erosion in the field
  • damage any historic or environmental features identified in your HEFER

British Standards

Check to make sure the work meets relevant British Standards.

Updates to this page

Published 2 April 2015
Last updated 3 February 2025 + show all updates
  1. General improvement for clarity.

  2. Removal of text confirming LV8 Pipework associated with livestock troughs availability under Countryside Stewardship Capital Grants (SFI pilot), as the SFI Capital offer is no longer available.

  3. 'Where to use this item' section updated to include detail on SFI pilot.

  4. Added in links to Capital Grants manual as this option is now available for Capital Grants

  5. Information updated for applications in 2016.

  6. First published.