There are myriad ways to alter the earth, subtly or more robustly, to catch and store water for maximum benefit to the ecosystem and to you. Water harvesting can rehydrate landscapes, reverse desertification, bring back food supply for regions that are starving because of clear cut and desertification, revitalize forests and perennial prairies that draw down massive amounts of CO2, and save cities and towns that have depleted their underground water sources.
Many of the techniques covered here were developed in drylands settings but would work in many places. I’ve used the Zuni bowl to prevent erosion in headcuts in the cloud forest of Costa Rica, which has 80” of rainfall per year or more. I’ve used one rock dams (using logs) on our farm in Florida to control erosion, and many other drylands techniques in different parts of Florida, even in swampy areas. Water is a magical energy in the landscape, and it is well worth it to learn to “think like water.”
When I first moved to Florida, I would run around in the rain, looking at the erosion patterns to learn more about how water behaves on Florida sand. This was a lot nicer than running around in freezing rain or even hail at Pine Ridge reservation or the cold rain in Los Angeles!
There are three other main ways to catch and store water. One is to create soil that will hold mass amounts of it. This is the primary method I use in Florida. Those techniques are covered in our next section on Soils. Another is to build ponds. This is covered in the section on Aquaculture. The other is to build catchment tanks. We cover some options for this in our Built Environment and Appropriate tech sections.
We dive into water catchment before soil or plants because it is often a neglected part of permaculture design but such a key part of creating permanent agriculture. It is well worth it to ensure you incorporate water catchment techniques into the other aspects of your design.
Even in wetter areas, we have been seeing more drought lately. Florida just experienced a severe drought state wide, which most gardeners felt pretty severely. Those who live in the Western US or other parts of the world experiencing historical, exceptional drought, desperately need these techniques. The more of these (including those we will cover later) you can incorporate into your landscape, as appropriate, the better. These water catchment techniques are for use and they work!
Here are a few questions you can ask yourself before completing your water design.
Does your design include ensuring the ecosystem remains healthy?
Does it store more water than you think you need?
Do you have more than one water source for your basic needs in an emergency situation?
Hands On Activity
Walk around your site (do this in the rain if you have a chance), and note slope and water patterns. Does it flow onto your land from somewhere? Where does it go on your land; where does it flow off of it?
You can often see signs of erosion by looking for where leaves or organic material settles, or by crevices or furrows in the landscape. This indicates your low points. Think about areas where it might be easy to capture water or send it elsewhere. Especially note where you might catch it high on the land - most people put a pond at the lowest point on their land by default but it often isn’t the best place.
Note areas where you might not want water (like your house) and note how water is flowing in relation to those areas. Take your time with this. Do your observation of water in more than one session if needed.
Further Study
We’ve included a lot of resources here because there are just so many good ones, for those who are interested in diving into this area more deeply. This is one area of permaculture that we need many more experts working in.
If you want to learn more about the water cycle, this is a good resource.
https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/.
If you want to learn more about your watershed, google your county or state +watersheds. Most states have very good resources on this topic.
Rain Garden Construction, Florida (most of this applies elsewhere too). They of course recommend Roundup to handle weeds. 🙁 But there are some good tips in the article outside of that.
Brad Lancaster’s wonderful online resource.
His books are classics and should be in every serious permaculture library.
Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands by Brad Lancaster, Pt 1 and Pt 2
TED talk by Brad
An inspiring talk by Brad about his mentor, an African master of rain catchment.
And his talk at the Agriculture Conference 2016.
Darren Doherty has created earthworks for millions of acres. He specializes in the use of keyline and has created some great innovations in the area.
Water Stories, an excellent educational resource and community forum on regenerative water solutions.
Quivera Coalition, a wonderful organization offering quality free resources for capturing water in drylands.
Others with great earthworks projects:
Bill Zydeek, the Water Whisperer - “Think Like Water”
Book, “Let the Water Do the Work”
Sepp Holzer
Does earthworks for any climate but his own site is humid temperate in the Swiss alps.
Book: Desert or Paradise
(There are many, many more)
This site traces one’s watershed. Not totally accurate yet in Florida (July 2021). But if they keep improving this, will be a great learning tool. https://river-runner.samlearner.com/?fbclid=IwAR0L5bUhJ6JyJhdJ9hFLCcnkM1O0Vm88FUyewfp5qicrTh7FZNOxMkd6hQI