Mastodawn

I'm going to be creating more erosion/flood control channels and infiltration pits today.

Water has been streaming down the path to our composting toilets then depositing silt up against the foundation of the community kitchen. redirecting that with a couple infiltration pits before exiting to cross the driveway further up from the kitchen then into the pre-existing channels.

the much bigger project will be creating a slightly draining swale around the far edge of our ceremony fireplace to prevent water from getting to and filling the pit.

Also need to figure out a way to keep water off another section of road that has never been a problem before, but has been seeing flows with the major rains we've received this year.

#OffGridLiving

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Hippy Steve Feb 21

First step to cutting #Swales is building a landscape contour level.

Pretty easy. connect a couple lengths of wood together to form a /\

Then find and check a level surface. attach a cross piece between to make an A such that the cross piece is perfectly level.

Tape a level to the cross piece. Or if you don't have one, use a string and plumb bob from the top of the A, and draw a line where it crosses the cross piece when level.

Then you just plant one leg and move the other around until it's level. drop flags or stakes at the legs. then lift one leg and 180 it and find the next level spot. drop a flag or stake. Keep doing this and you'll mark a contour line across the landscape pretty quickly.

If you need a drainage swale, put a 1-2" block under one leg when you set level on the cross piece. you have to keep the contour level oriented the same way. but now your flags will mark out a contour with a slight drainage grade.

#Landscaping #Permaculture #OffGridLiving

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Hippy Steve Feb 21

The problem: water streams down this trail and rushes against the foundation of the community kitchen, where it slows and deposits silt, endangering the foundation.

Solution: a speed bump berm at just the right spot and then I'll make a channel that sends it to the right, where I'll cut an infiltration pond to give a couple pines the water. It'll have an overflow that crosses the road where the existing channels and ponds will handle it.

But it's not just the trail. Water sheets down the whole hillside there.

Solution: An on-contour swale to slow and sink the water. As the swale approaches the trail, I've added a small grade so if the swale fills, water will go to the new infiltration pond and channel.

#Swales #Permaculture #Landscaping

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Hippy Steve Feb 21

Finished #Swale

And there were some buckets and tubs that filled with water from the rain, so was able to test it too. Works great. Most of the water sits there and sinks. As it approaches the trail, the swale empties into the new channel.

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Hippy Steve Feb 21

BTW. There is another way to make a contour landscape level. just get 2 poles. tape a clear funnel to each, with a tube connecting the bottoms of the funnels. fill with water. calibrate on a level surface, drawing a line at the water level of each funnel.

This version is best suited as a 2-person job where you want to cover a large distance and flag like every 5-10'.

Flag the starting point and hold one pole there. other person moves their pole around until they find the spot where the water is at the line. flag it. repeat.

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64 mastodonz logistics co-op Feb 21

@exador23 that's very well-explained!