permaculture

[Jay Woods <woodsjay@cox.net>]

The soil behind the dam runs 30% void which fill with water. You use a well 
to 
get to the water. I put the well casing on the downstream side and through 
the dam at the bottom. Putting it on the downstream side allowed me to create 
a spring there. And yet the spring is lower than the soil level on the 
upstream side.

On Friday 29 August 2008 04:30:53 pm Dieter Brand wrote:
> Jay,
>  
> I’m not sure I understand your concept.  If the area behind the dam is
> filled with soil that’s washed down during storms, how then can you use
> water from behind the dam for irrigation?
>
>  
> I use stones and fallen over tree trunks to build numerous little dams
> across waterlines so as to trap water and soil that’s washed down during
> heavy rains.  This prevents soil from being washed down into the river and
> breaks the water flow, thus allowing more rain water to enter the soil;
> however, I can’t use it for irrigation. 
> To trap water for irrigation and the household, I excavated a hole in a
> place with humidity all through the year.  I put in a tube at the bottom to
> draw off water by gravity.  Then I used large stones to build dry stone
> walls (well they aren’t really dry, I mean walls without mortar) inside the
> hole.  Upstream of the stone-lined hole, I filled in the empty space with
> stones and gravel to allow water to flow into the walled hole and to filter
> it at the same time.  Downstream, I used a type of gray clay (can’t
> remember the English word, argile in French) that is impenetrable to
> water.  In this way, all the water coming down the hill is first filtered
> and then stored inside the stone-lined hole from where I can draw it off
> into a water tank. 
> Dieter Brand
> Portugal
>
> --- On Thu, 8/28/08, Jay Woods <woodsjay@cox.net> wrote:
>
> From: Jay Woods <woodsjay@cox.net>
> Subject: Re: [permaculture] Conserving water in ponds
> To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Date: Thursday, August 28, 2008, 9:03 AM
>
> Jay, I’m not sure I understand your concept.  If the area behind the dam is
> filled with soil that’s washed down during storms, how then can you use
> water from behind the dam for irrigation? I use stones and fallen over tree
> trunks to build numerous little dams across waterlines so as to trap water
> and soil that’s washed down during heavy rains.  This prevents soil from
> being washed down into the river and breaks the water flow, thus allowing
> more rain water to enter the soil; however, I can’t use it for
> irrigation. To trap water for irrigation and the household, I excavated a
> hole in a place with humidity all through the year.  I put in a tube at the
> bottom to draw off water by gravity.  Then I used large stones to build dry
> stone walls (well they aren’t really dry, I mean walls without mortar)
> inside the hole.  Upstream of the stone-lined hole, I fill in the empty
> space with stones and gravel to allow water to flow into the walled hole
> and to filter it at the same time.  Downstream, I used a type of gray clay
> (can’t remember the English word, argile in French) that is impenetrable to
> water.  In this way, all the water coming down the hill is first filtered
> and then stored inside the stone-lined hole from where I can draw it off
> into a water tank.  On Wednesday 27 August 2008 03:27:17 pm Dieter Brand
> wrote:> I live in the South of Portugal. > Rainfall May through September: 
> 0 inches. > This is not a drought it is the regular dry season. > A drought
> is when the winter rains also fail, which happens on everage > twice every
> 14 years. > Most people around here have artificial lakes.  A bulldozer
> will close a > small valley with a dam and then compact the soil.  In some
> places the soil > holds the water well, in other places the lake
> bottom leaks so much that it> runs dry before the summer is over even
> without using any water for > irrigation.  It's a bit of gamble.  To have
> any effect it needs to be at > least a quarter acre in size.  There is no
> way to prevent evaporation.  The > deeper the lake the better your
> chances of having water all through the > summer. The depth should not be
> less then 20 or 30 feet. > I don't have a lake.  I try to increase SOM
> (soil organic matter) so as to > improve the water retention properties of
> the soil. A clay soil with high > organic content has good soil structure
> and many pores that can multiply > the amount of water held by the soil
> without being water logged. In the > garden, I have been able to reduce
> irrigation by about 80% in the last 6 > years.  Weeds and grass are cut at
> the onset of the dry season so as to > reduce transpiration.  The topsoil
> and mulch prevent evaporation through > capillary action.  There isn't much
> one can do about deep percolation > though.  Other strategies include,
> growing as much as possible during the > wet season, and learning which
> crop will survive with little or not water, > for examples: beans,
> tomatoes, squash, etc. > Dieter Brand, Portugal> >  > > --- On Wed,
> 8/27/08, Robert Waldrop <bwaldrop@cox.net> wrote:> > From: Robert Waldrop
> <bwaldrop@cox.net> > Subject: Re: [permaculture] Conserving water in ponds
> > To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org> > Date: Wednesday,
> August 27, 2008, 3:08 PM> > Other ideas about mitigation strategies would
> be> helpful too. RMW> > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Robert
> Waldrop" <bwaldrop@cox.net>> To: "permaculture" >
> <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org> > Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 9:07 AM
> > Subject: [permaculture] Conserving water in ponds> > >A report has
> recently been released by the > > Oklahoma Climatological Survey predicting
> that> > as > > a result of climate change, droughts in Oklahoma > > will
> increase in frequency and severity. As a > > result, there is a discussion
> going on among the > > producers-members of the Oklahoma Food Coop over > >
> mitigation strategies. One issue that has come> > up > > is "conserving
> water in ponds", presumably by > > reducing evaporation.> > > > Any
> thoughts about that? Would aquatic plants > > that cover the surface of the
> water help?> > > > Bob Waldrop,
> OKC_______________________________________________ permaculture mailing
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