With this episode, I’m beginning a five-part series on passive water harvesting earthworks creation. Let’s start with creating drainage swales like the one shown above. It’s in my front yard, and it’s busy harvesting rainwater.
At left, rainwater flows into the swale via the green downspout. As mentioned in this week’s podcast episode, I’m giving this swale a simple assignment to ensure its success. It’s directing rainwater from the downspout and into a basin that’s just a few steps away, at the right side of the photo.
And, since people walk across this swale, I’ve anchored its rocks, bricks, and pieces of busted-up concrete. This is for safety and also for keeping the materials in place when rainwater is flowing over them.