Leaky weirs are ready to be weather tested.
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- Опубліковано 23 вер 2024
- A leaky weir is a type of low barrier constructed across streams or gullies to slow down water flow, allowing it to be absorbed into the surrounding land and recharge groundwater. This practice is particularly beneficial in regions with eroded landscapes, as it helps to rejuvenate soil fertility and biodiversity[2][5][6].
History and Usage
Leaky weirs have been used as part of Natural Sequence Farming (NSF), a method developed in Australia to restore eroded farming landscapes. The approach takes inspiration from the pre-European hydrology of the Australian landscape, which featured wide floodplains and chains of ponds rather than flowing rivers[5]. They are primarily used in Australia, but the concept can be applied globally in similar environments[5][6].
Function and Benefits
Leaky weirs help in reducing erosion, improving water quality, and enhancing agricultural productivity by slowing water flow, allowing sediment deposition, and rehydrating the landscape[2][4][5]. They also create habitats for wildlife and contribute to more resilient ecosystems[4][6].
Materials
Leaky weirs are typically constructed using natural materials such as rocks, logs, soil, and vegetation, which help bind the structure and integrate it into the landscape[4][5].
Pros and Cons
*Pros:*
- Reduces soil erosion and improves water quality.
- Enhances groundwater recharge and agricultural productivity.
- Supports biodiversity and creates wildlife habitats[4][5].
*Cons:*
- May require significant planning and permits for construction.
- Can be controversial due to differing views on land management practices[5][6].
Future Development
The future of leaky weirs lies in their integration into broader land rehabilitation and regenerative farming practices, potentially expanding their use to combat climate change effects and improve landscape resilience globally[5][6].
Citations:
[1] Weir - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.o...
[2] Creating a leaky weir - UA-cam • Creating a leaky weir
[3] Resources - Irrigation - Diversion Weirs - ICID www.icid.org/r...
[4] Leaky weirs and landscape rehydration - UA-cam • Leaky weirs and landsc...
[5] Leaky weir - Everyday Futures - National Museum of Australia everydayfuture...
[6] Water Resilience in the Landscape smallfarmscapi...
[7] Leaky Weirs - Natural Sequence Farming Home www.naturalsequ...
[8] Healing country with leaky weirs - UA-cam • Healing country with l...
WOW...I look forward to seeing these structures in action.
@@steverapisura5418 I'm sure the first rain will be at 3am and I'll be there. Thanks for sharing
😱
That was a great walkthrough! This will be a great comparison video to rewatch after a rainy season has passed, to see how the flow has further "evolved" your creek. =)
I do like the idea of a settlement pond near the bottom of your system. With all the sand and sediment that is brought to you through the culvert, plus all of the organic material in the creek, it would be a shame to lose all that material as it gets washed away. Slowing the water down should definitely help, as you're doing. Having a place for it all to settle would be excellent, if it works, and provide you with a near-limitless supply of sediment for gardens or other projects. So I really hope it holds and doesn't get washed out!
The only suggestion I can think of for that bottom wide pond/outlet area is to make sure wherever the water does leave (aka the lowest areas) to make sure to line it with stones to prevent erosion. And to monitor how much sediment is deposited - what is now a pond may quickly become a plateau with enough volume! I think you're on a great track though and can't wait to see how it all operates, and how you adapt to whatever surprises nature has in store.
@@DustinHarms Yes. I agree. At least we have the blueprint ready. Time will help us to reevaluate. Thank you for sharing with us.
Lots of work y'all put in. May the rain be plentiful.
@@ourrockydreamontheelephant4188 Thanks for the sharing. Yes, lots of expectation on our side.
Congratulations on implementing some very good engineering.
Be great to see the creek organism in action with some water flowing soon.
Looks like your venturing into stage 2 of leaky weir development. At 10,55 you show the "wheel barrow access" dam which is a stage 2 development.
Stage 2 meaning building the leaky weir slightly higher than the creek bank level and flooding the flood plain. Even if the floidplain in some areas is half a tennis cout size, its still a floodplain, and can absorb heaps of water.
The thing that will protect wheel barrow dam is lots of reeds growing up stream that can bend over the dam wall in a flood a provide a " carpet" for water flow, in conjunction with a little swale to take water to the floodplain.
@@adammac4381 Great to hear that I've reached stage two already. Thank you for sharing that information
@@SuerteDelMolinoFarm looks like you have actually reached stage 5. Its something you'll tinker with for a long time,,,, the next stage is actually 3 days off with an inch of rain each day for priming the system.
You have built a wonderful system, but there's more stages and add ons coming.
Thanks for the tour down the creek it seems all that's missing is rain now.
@@TimelineRanch Yes yes. Let it rain. Thank you for commenting
Excellent essay Martin. Suggested reading for anyone who wants to learn more about leaky weirs.
3:33 OH MY GOODNESS! You are such a tease 😉 Well you know I will be looking forward to your big reveal! 👍
Perfect tour of what was a severely eroded creek (down to bedrock) created by the state when they channeled so much of the up watershed runoff through that single culvert. It is clear that many of the structures that have been in place for a season or two have completely filled with sediment - in some cases more than a meter deep! In these locations the creek bed has been restored.
You have built many new structures this season. It will be exciting to see how they perform in this years rainy season.
As of today, there is no meaningful rain in the forecast until November 5th. So if you have the means to water seed beds with impact sprinklers, you have almost 2 months to get roots established on your bare soil. Could you temporarily use the fire fighting waterline for that purpose?
SO happy to learn of the abundant bird nests. Birds are a good indicator of biodiversity. It is happening every day Martin.
My suggestion about the 'walk over' leaky weir is to excavate shallow swales going easterly and westerly so that the surplus water can run across the land. If you are inclined, you could even build water retention pools at the end of the swales. The earth that comes from the swales I would add to the top of the walkway to raise the height. From past experience, you know this has to be done when the soil is wet so it can be compacted.
A good place for the repurposed gabion from the eastern culvert is any of the locations where you have collected many smaller stones. Unitizing them in a gabion will insure they do not wash downstream in one of the torrential water flows. If you key the gabion into one bank, you can direct the water toward the opposite to make a serpentine flow.
My suggestion with the poles you have collected is to use them at the end of your swales as level spillways. Bed them into the soil just enough so all of the water coming from the swale must flow over the top of the entire pole in a sheet flow. Pin the logs in place once they are level with a metal pin that you can pound flush to the top of the pole so there is no trip hazard. The benefit - the water is spread across the land and the probability of any erosion is practically zero as it flows through the grasses.
I hope something here may be useful. The entire team has been working like rented mules. The flow of rainwater across the land will be very different this coming rain season. You have done so much work to slow, spread and sink the water into the land. Congratulations on everything you have accomplished! 😊👍
This is a very good advise, I agree.
@@stevejohnstonbaugh9171 Thank you for sharing Steve. I'm tired. The heat is taking it's toll. We are tired. Now building the distribution pond at night to be able to see the laser light. Another two years and most of the big jobs will come to an end. Thank you for walking with us. Blessings to you and your family
@@SuerteDelMolinoFarm I believe you are tired. You took on two monster projects this summer. Fortunately, it appears you don't have rain storms threatening in the next few weeks. Once the masonry is finished on the eastern distribution pond, I hope you all can take a break to rest and recharge your 'batteries'.
Much gratitude for building an inclusive community. Now 2,700 subscribers! 😊
@@stevejohnstonbaugh9171 Applause to Steve
from Canada, you have done so much to slow the flow done, I am inpressed at the way you are doing what has to be done, really thought through very well. you must have been a water manager of some type to do this. I hope you see all the best results. looking forward to the videos of the first freshets of your endeavors........
@@rickdommett Your sweet talk is much appreciated. I'm an anthropologist who learned to observe well. Keep sharing. Much appreciated
This looks way way better than the last year. You will collect a lot of sand there. I can imagine that you will fill half the size of creek with sand and you will spread it out.
Really great job! Maybe, as you have said, you will need to put some rocks on the lowest dam, so it will be stronger, but also strength of water will be way less because water will spread over large area.
@@drazencvija8166 I really hope the water will be less aggressive than last year. Thank you for sharing
Wow, the beavers have been busy in the creek this summer. That is a lot of small dams you've managed to assemble. This should definitely help with trapping sediment/sand, which will help with even more water retention/infiltration in the rainy season. How tall are your minidams in the creek? As far as I know, ideally, the top of the downstream dams should reach the height of the base of the upstream dams in order to calm the waters efficiently. I like Steve's idea of making spillways at the creek crossing dam to spread the water even further from the creek. This might also alleviate some of the pressure on the crossing, making it less prone to erosion. More work for the already busy farmer 🙂 Take care.
@@BrianJensen-ym5gk Send more beavers. I'll try to work out the hight. Thanks for sharing
Wow 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
@@mena2138 Thank you for sharing
Well done, that's a lot of work. I worry that some of your weirs are a little too leaky, and that you should be retaining a little more as well as slowing the flow. Give that water time to sink in. Keep it up, you are doing great and I can't wait to see the first rain.
what you've done is incredible and amazing, and i can't wait for the rain. that being said, i wonder how many big succulent plants, such as agaves, it would take to do a better job of catching, storing and exchanging the rain water. an agave will exchange water with a nearby acacia for its nitrogen, via fungi. it wouldn't make sense for any plant to be a jack of all trades. they specialize and have a division of labor just like we do.
@@epiphyte8646 Great suggestions with the Agave. Much appreciated
Wow, nice. It seems you are running out of stones, it is a good idea to stack them into structures before covered in sediment.
What about building some minidams with cinder blocks, just 2-3 layers tall, while bedrock is still accessible?
Some beaver dams are 1000+ years old, but it's an ongoing process, they are maintained daily. This creek requires the same.
Bags failed in the past, and they look, well, not the best. Stones or a 2-3 cinder blocks high dam would do better. That log might get washed away.
Never too many leaky weirs/dams in the creek, great direction, and great progress!
@@hotbit7327 Thanks for the suggestions. Much appreciated
Our 'winter' has arrived all at once. It is nearly always wet, so that has not changed, but suddenly it is much colder and it is possible we had a touch of ground frost the other night.
What I mostly noticed was that I had to get out the 'window schlooper' to schloop off the condensation that might bring black mould if I left it.
@@SMTRodent Amazing what you say. Here we are still in full summer. Let's exchange and mix temperatures.
Im glad you are optimixtic and think you are running out of time, i hope it rains but during working days in the nigth
@@jaimetorrens9551 Yes yes. Let it rain. Thank you for sharing
In the spring the land plot looked much more attractive, but don't despair, I think the weather will improve soon and you will get the fruits of your efforts, but in Spain everywhere except the north we need to build dams and levees to retain water and grow multi-tiered productive forests.
@@andrewk2338 I'm building but I'm alone. The locals still stare and shake their heads in disapproval. Thank you for sharing
Ooow wouw can't wait till the next video
Maby crayz thought what if you block the (kenat🤷♂️) system to make some under ground basin
You did a lot of work for the kenat so a that water will end up there
Always love your video's 🍻
@@pascalkuipers8099 Thank you for sharing. Much appreciated
It will be exciting to see how much water you can slow and sink into the ground as well as how much sediment you can capture to rebuild the gully
@@markodeen4105 I'm excited to see tons and tons of the neighbour's land taking permanent residence here. Thank you for sharing
@@SuerteDelMolinoFarm Their loss is truly your gain!
@@markodeen4105 Yes yes. Thank you for sharing
precipitation passed along the eastern coast of Spain and 30 km sometimes have a huge significance even 10 km. On my site fell about 5 mm and in 10 km 50 mm and in 30 km 150 mm of precipitation. Yes, Spain attracts with the price of land plots for everything that is not the north of Spain - this is a difficult situation with water.
@@andrewk2338 I know! The rain is always more on the neighbour's land. Ha ha. The land is dry and is getting dryer by the day. Where in Spain are you?
@@SuerteDelMolinoFarm I live in Ireland and earn money because I am from Ukraine. I have a plot of land in the southern part of Catalonia. I bought 5 hectares of land last year for 12,000 euros and 4,000 euros went to duties and taxes. I initially considered buying a plot in northern Spain, but I didn't like the plots of land there or the price was too high, on average it is 3 times more expensive. My plot is at the foot of a mountain and partly in a mountainous area surrounded by pine forest with terraces, I really liked it. The soil there is also a good balance between clay, sand and limestone, the soil is permeable, well drained but at the same time moisture-intensive. There is a system of irrigation from the Erbo River, but water is not a cheap pleasure. When I studied the maps of annual precipitation, there should have been 450-550 mm of precipitation per year. But last year there was 380 mm of precipitation, this year the situation in that region was better, but August was with 0 precipitation per month and September only 40 mm. Although spring and early summer fell above the annual norm. All the fields are plowed, water evaporates from the fields and the temperature rises, which ultimately repels water in the atmosphere and rain successfully falls into the sea :) I still hope that permaculture techniques can improve the situation on the site many times, there is a lot of pine forest nearby and a lot of biomaterial that I will use for mulching the soil and carry out maximum planting of all tiers with plants to create shade, in the beginning of course an irrigation system will be necessary. But in general, Colombia is very attractive for this, but they banned planting paulownia there - and I really love this tree and the prices for land plots have jumped over the past 5 years and they have become more expensive than in Spain, of course, a lot depends on the region.
I love your videos! It seems you are far enough down on the watershed that you are impacted by runoff from above your property significantly. Is there much organic matter in the floods when they come, I was wondering if in future years you could catch it in a net like they do the litter now in the ocean cleanup project. It maybe could help improve the sandy infill you are getting behind the dams. It would be super interesting too to see some video of the flood when it arrives, good luck!
@@Xperimenter I had the same thought when I saw the image of rubbish collection with nets. I want to observe what is happening this rainy season. Keep commenting. Much appreciated
Hello
I think there is a mis conception. If you put obstacles in the stream, keeep the same width and the same slope, you will not slow water but accelerate it localy.
If you are successfull at slowing water in those condition, it means you will store it and be at risk of structural failure.
Anyway you worked a lot. Bravo
@@user-vo3st8kx7s Very good observation. Let me chew on this one.
कर्म करो ; फल की इच्छा ना करो । Every action in faith shall deliver. I wasn’t translating.
@@rajsinghji-84 Thank you Raj
Have you thought about paying a person to help you in the rainy season?
@@mena2138 The first person I pay is to have a break for myself. Thank you for the suggestion.
Hi Martin, I cannot wiat to see how the creek will behave when the first torrents will pas into it. I did a lot of anti-erosionworks in Bukina Faso in the 80's and was always trying to see the water flow. However the most projects were at 10 to 40 km away and the rain did often not fall there when it rained at my house. But in 3,5 yrs I managed around 10 times to really see it flowing and it exited me always. I think you do a gooed job there. Maybe a suggestion: the big light logs could be a bit more stable if you tie them together with rope or wire.
@@maup1154 Super suggestion. I'll try.
OUHHHH - this is a really good suggestion! It is straightforward, does not require a great deal of additional labor hours or material costs and ensures that no individual logs get moved downstream. Unitizing the pile in this manner also gives you the opportunity to incorporate bundles of cistus/hera and smaller branches to reduce some of the bigger gaps, if you like. 👍