In our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we will see the different types of Water Harvesting Methods from a farmland point of view. We will highlight each one of them and anybody wishes to implement them can look for more detailed information elsewhere.
- Trenches
- Trenches need to be created against the flow of the water to get maximum benefit
- Trenches are best suited water harvesting method where plants or trees are the main crops. For eg, Coconut Tree Plantations, Mango Tree Plantations etc
- Trenches can be created in between the rows of the Trees
- Swales = Continuous Contour Trenches
- Swales need to be created against the flow of the water to get maximum benefit
- Swales generally are bigger in size (in terms of width, depth & length) compared to trenches
- Swales are best suited water harvesting method where plants or trees are the main crops. For eg, Coconut Tree Plantations, Mango Tree Plantations etc
- Bunds
- Bunds are created around the borders or periphery of the farmland to retain maximum water
- The size of the bund is bigger and deeper so that water is retained as well as ensuring that cattle and other animals do not trespass
- Open Wells
- Open Wells are best suited water harvesting (storage) method when there is run-off of rain water
- Any excess water needs to be channelled into this after filtering the sediments
- Farm Ponds
- A small portion of the land is allocated for Farm Ponds
- Generally, the Farm Pond is located at the lowest point of the farmland
- Farm Ponds are best suited water harvesting (storage) method when there is run-off of rain water
- Farm Ponds is required when we need to store large amounts of water
- Any excess water needs to be channelled into this after filtering the sediments
- Check Dams
- Check Dams are built for retaining the water in the upstream
- Check Dams ensure seepage of water into the soil thereby increasing the ground water
- Check Dams can be built in Swales and other similar structures
