Water retention landscape

[Ludi]

"Sepp Holzer and Bernd Mueller explain the construction, the effect and the basic ideas for the construction of a water retention landscape: a local and natural solution to the global problem of disturbed water balance."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hF2QL0D5ww

[spacecase0]

water retention is the trick to having things grow well,
we need more of this sort of thing

[Ludi]

I find it very encouraging. That part of Portugal looks very similar to my part of Texas and they're having the same problems we have here due to the same mismanagement of clearing the land or overgrazing, which has lowered the water table. Here on my little chunk of land we're fortunate to have two seasonal creeks (arroyos aka gullies), and we've very slowly begun implementing earthworks to slow the runoff. Here's our infiltration basin at the highest point of the upper seasonal creek, after a heavy rain:



We have so much more to do. We plan to put in a couple more basins as well as brush dams throughout the arroyos and, I hope, some swales in our small pastures. Trying to take the long view, because we don't have a lot of spare $$.