8 ms·

What arguments do people have for resisting it?

hinkley 5y ago
Some people think 'store water' and immediately jump to cisterns, or above-ground storage tanks. You simply cannot store a useful amount of water above ground, and exposing it to light and air (and thus mosquitoes) is a whole other set of problems. Some people do it anyway, others get very upset about what they see as wasted time and resources. Storing water [this way] is fundamentally about reserving the right to be wrong about where water 'needs to be' on your property, and I think without a way to correct it they feel like their hands are tied. The person I know who is loudest against this strategy is also very philosophical about not fighting nature. If a tree is happy, great. If it's not happy, then it wasn't meant to be. Let it go, get over the sunk cost, and try something else. To his thinking, trying things is cheap, forcing things is expensive (and arrogant).
- baxtr 5y ago
  What is the right way to do it then? Can share any resources on this topic? I think it's very interesting.
  - nanomonkey 5y ago
    Basically you want to slow the flow of water and increase the soil's permeability and retention capabilities. Beaver dams are a good way to start, but things like Hugelkultur burms, terracing and swales are all methods of capturing water run off and directing them into the ground where they can enter aquafers or be absorbed by the immediate soil.
    - secondcoming 5y ago
      That technique has led to conflict for over 4000 years though [0] [0] http://www.worldwater.org/conflict/list/ http://www.worldwater.org/conflict/list/
      - hinkley 5y ago
        Stopping is different from slowing. Slow water keeps streams from drying up in the summer. Lots of stories of seeps and seasonal streams coming back after years of having dried up.
      - nanomonkey 5y ago
        These aren't large scale projects across rivers, but just enough to capture the run-off on one's own property. Mostly you are improving soil retention, and refilling the aquifer. Often times it's as simple as creating repeated depressions in the desert so that dust, seeds and wind blown matter can collect along with just enough water to start plant growth so that the topsoil can be stable once again.
  - AareyBaba 5y ago
    You might find this project in India informative https://youtu.be/-8nqnOcoLqE?t=60 https://youtu.be/-8nqnOcoLqE?t=60
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
throawayaaaaa 5y ago
Pumping groundwater can cause subsidence https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/land-subsidence?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/scie...

Some people think 'store water' and immediately jump to cisterns, or above-ground storage tanks. You simply cannot store a useful amount of water above ground, and exposing it to light and air (and thus mosquitoes) is a whole other set of problems. Some people do it anyway, others get very upset about what they see as wasted time and resources. Storing water [this way] is fundamentally about reserving the right to be wrong about where water 'needs to be' on your property, and I think without a way to correct it they feel like their hands are tied. The person I know who is loudest against this strategy is also very philosophical about not fighting nature. If a tree is happy, great. If it's not happy, then it wasn't meant to be. Let it go, get over the sunk cost, and try something else. To his thinking, trying things is cheap, forcing things is expensive (and arrogant).

baxtr 5y ago
What is the right way to do it then? Can share any resources on this topic? I think it's very interesting.
- nanomonkey 5y ago
  Basically you want to slow the flow of water and increase the soil's permeability and retention capabilities. Beaver dams are a good way to start, but things like Hugelkultur burms, terracing and swales are all methods of capturing water run off and directing them into the ground where they can enter aquafers or be absorbed by the immediate soil.
  - secondcoming 5y ago
    That technique has led to conflict for over 4000 years though [0] [0] http://www.worldwater.org/conflict/list/ http://www.worldwater.org/conflict/list/
    - hinkley 5y ago
      Stopping is different from slowing. Slow water keeps streams from drying up in the summer. Lots of stories of seeps and seasonal streams coming back after years of having dried up.
    - nanomonkey 5y ago
      These aren't large scale projects across rivers, but just enough to capture the run-off on one's own property. Mostly you are improving soil retention, and refilling the aquifer. Often times it's as simple as creating repeated depressions in the desert so that dust, seeds and wind blown matter can collect along with just enough water to start plant growth so that the topsoil can be stable once again.
- AareyBaba 5y ago
  You might find this project in India informative https://youtu.be/-8nqnOcoLqE?t=60 https://youtu.be/-8nqnOcoLqE?t=60
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

throawayaaaaa 5y ago

Pumping groundwater can cause subsidence https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/land-subsidence?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/scie...