Re: (fwd) Re: Grey Water/Ponds

[Keith Johnson <keithdj@mindspring.com>]

Frank,
Gabions  in the higher parts of your hills and swales on the high edges of your fields
with  ponds,  chinampas and wetlands in your more level areas should reduce the
tendency of creeks to flood and erode. The design manual has pretty good details.
Finding your keylines will help you place your earthworks appropriately. Chinampas add
a lot of edge to wetland areas and will increase habitat. Gabions, essentially leaky
dams made of whatever is handy, increase the amount of water infiltrated for later
emergence as springs. Lay it out well and get good local advice. Before you get a
bulldozer or backhoe on your land, plan to give all your attention to monitoring the
work. Those big machines can do a lot of work, or damage, fast. Compute the volume of
flow in your catchment if possible beforehand. A neclace of ponds could be just the
ticket for your design. Catch it as high as possible. If your hills have a saddle in
them, that's one of the best and highest places for a  pond.
Keith
FranksFarm@aol.com wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Have read the posts with interest:)
>
> Right now it's pouring and rain/groudwater from the surrounding hillsides are
> rushing down the drainage ways built by former owner or carved out by the
> water.
>
> So I'm trying to turn this problem...flooding banks, boggy areas to an asset.
>
> First above new house site about 100' is an 8' drainage way that varies in
> depth that runs from the hillsides SE of the house for at least a 1/4 mile
> before snaking into woods and joining other small drainages, or creating bogs.
>
> I'd like to channel that water and am wondering if I widen that drainage if I
> could create a series of cascading ponds of various sizes fairly
> inexpensively.
>
> Soil is heavy clay and will hold water. Too bad there were not some beavers
> nearby. I believe they would have done this for me:)
>
> Any ideas, comments.  Thanks.  Frank
>
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