Lesson Summary:

In this lesson you’ll learn about different water management strategies you’ll be able to employ on your property. You’ll also start planning your water management systems and laying the foundation for the water design that will follow in the next lesson.

The goal of your water management plan is to distribute precipitation evenly across time and across the landscape. There are two main paths you can take to achieve this: 1. storing water in the soil, and 2. storing water on the surface in ponds or dams and tanks.

For No. 1 you need to build up the soil’s organic matter content and we must shape the land in such a way as to slow, spread and sink it so that soil sponge can absorb it.

For No. 2 you must build large water storages, such as ponds, dams, or water tanks in the appropriate places in the landscape and create water harvesting and distribution systems (networks) that move that water around the site.

To develop the water systems you need you’ll first have to do some planning. You’ll need to know what are the water resources available to the property and what exactly your needs will be.

Action Steps:

STEP 1. Download or make a copy of the water systems planning worksheet. (Est. time required: 5 min.)

STEP 2. Plan your water systems: get clear on your goals, needs and your water budget. (Est. time required: 1 h.)

STEP 3. Proceed to the next video lesson: Water Systems Design

M3. Downloadable materials (for offline viewing and use):

• -> Worksheets and instructions
• -> Handouts (slides and transcripts)
• -> Videos

M3. Curated Resources on the Subject:

• -> Books
• -> Web articles
• -> Podcasts
• -> Videos
• -> Vault Resources

Peer Support Discussions: