Water Retention Basin & Bio-Filter Project
A Synopsis for the Water Retention Basin Remediation
This area had a steep slope into the shallow basin pictured, which was graded back to remove the grass and to create better access.
Upon shaping the banks, the basin was lightly dredged to expose subsurface water and deepen the pool for added habitat.
Contaminated water from uphill can be seen standing in the basin.
Our mission was to slow & store the water in addition to filtering it before it enter
A rock check dam was created to store the water upstream before entering the pond downhill.
Sediment will settle in the pool to further seal the dam and filter contaminants in the water.
Future weather patterns will cause the water level to rise & fall seasonally.
The catchment area was treated with a soil fertility boosting seed mix and mulched with straw to protect the seed and mitigate erosion of the banks.
Red Alder & Willow species saplings were planted to filter the water, create shade and produce biomass for future soil building and forest succession processes.
The inlet pipe can be seen close to the chickens working in the straw and fertilizing the g
Alderlea Farm Water Retention & Agroforestry System in Progress
A Dive Into the Main Areas of Focus and Remediation at Alderlea Farm
This area is currently being underutilized and is a starting place to harvest surface water onto the terraces, which you can see in our design above.
The terraces will be multipurpose access & growing areas to be used for an agroforestry system that the farm can manage.
The roots of the trees will help infiltrate surface water into the ground, which'll recharge the aquifer and repair a small porti
The water will then flow into the existing waterbody at the bottom of the property. This waterbody is seasonal, not perennial - it's empty in the summer and full in the winter - so, it'll be interesting to see how long the season will be extended by the water harvesting features above on the hill.
Extra inflow of groundwater and use of vegetative filters will benefit the oxygenation & cleanliness
This little valley is a main source of water entering the property, but due to water velocity, lack of vegetation and access by the cattle it's turned into a gully.
Like the terraces, we're going to slow, spread & sink the water into the ground by holding it back with either beaver dam analogs (man made beaver dams) or rock check dams.
Holding back the water will decrease the force it creates by tr