Also keep in mind pointreturn/Mr. Sridharan recommends distributed percolation in swales over accumulation in a pond.
I am quite curious if anyone has thoughts on why this is better than a swale/CCT. The principle seems to be the same where the runoff is collected in distributed channels; so if a swale is filled with any porous material to prevent silting, you should achieve exactly the same results? would the plastic cover on some of the sides really make any difference?
Chandra,
KFP claims that the PVC sheet makes all the difference as it prevents absorption of water by the upper layers of soil and pushing it down (at least by 8 ft) and the plastic sheet directs the water up the slope. They claim that water absorbed by the upper layers of soil is lost due to evaporation and water absorbed by the lower layers rises up due to capillary action and reaches roots of plants and trees in a form that they like most.
Thanks,
AK.
Hi All?
In addition to referring websites and getting opinions from others it is just and necessary to know complete reality of the land for which resolution is sought. If any one can completely understand what is where in their land and study for one rainy season to know ground reality, it will be great to plan for feature at one time. After all this will not be for short term and it is for permanent solution.
Without knowing exact facts of land, rainfall and water distribution in any specific land, all informations, executions, opinions may become waste of exercise. One should not come up with problem, but should come up with profile of the land in which rain water benefits are required to get sustainable solutions for life.
Preparation of profile of your land includes its coordination, total/average rainfall in one year, top hight of land to lowest highest withing the boundary, neighboring farm activities and similar remedies they have adopted, getting opinions from local farmers who are already adopted such benefit. Using your mobile phone which is GPS enabled in camera settings and taking photograph of each and every important spot to record its accurate coordination etc will makes profile of lands situation. In addition to above all, you can gather more information even with the help of other technologies also make helpful to address the issue.
See the attached photo in which what ever GPS information you can get is more or less is the same as any latest scientific measurement will provide you.
Wherefore first should try to understand ground reality of the land for one rainy season and than you get rough remedial solution. With that information and experience any one can do justification to address permanent solution for utilizing rain water not only for production of Agri produce, but for generating energy, rearing fish and other aqua species and maintaining ecology for sustainable agriculture.
Wishing all the best for all.
Hit water at 51 feet! Finally a glimpse of a water source, right at the centre of the well! That too on Akshaya Thritiya!
Hopefully, should be a good source. Adopting a wait and watch approach for now.
Hi AK,
Congrats for that effort. So your one lakh has gone down the well in a right manner.
Regards
Murali
Whohoo!
Man, that is liquid gold. 
On Akshya Thritiya. No wonder it will multiply molecule by molecule
Go deeper you may hit some solid gold also 
Regards
Murali
Rain water harvesting in farms is being advocated by both agriculture and horticulture departments. they also provide technical knowhow and extend financial assistance. pl contact your nearest agriculture /horticulture office for guidance.
Congrats Arvind, Hope your trenches will provide enough resource to keep the water table up and have abundant water in the well.
Thanks Murali. I am satisfied with liquid gold for now! 
kskarnic - I will be at my farm this weekend, let me contact the agriculture/horticulture department. Thanks for the suggestion. If anyone knows any cotact close to Tirthahalli (Shimoga), please let me know.
Thanks Hegde! Hopefully… fingers crossed.
AK1311,
I understand there are various options in the type of bore - the width/inches, casing type, type of drilling, motor type etc.
Do throw some insights if you managed some insights into selecting the right options.
Thanks.
I went for an open well Chandra. Somehow, didn’t like the idea of drilling a hole 500 ft deep into mother earth…
Took the risk of sinking up to 1.5 lakh into this project against the advice of many people… thankfully, my faith in mother earth was well placed. The diviner had told me that I should find a water source at 28-30 ft. Finally got water at 51 ft! Hopefully it is a good source and won’t dry up in a month or so.
I intend to get some swales and a pond dug this year as well. Should be an interesting proposition. I will make sure I take lots of pictures (if I am there in person during the process). It might make an interesting case study.
Thanks,
AK.
Ah ok, got it now. I thought you dug a 51 ft bore in the 50 ft well.
Await pics.
Does anyone have ideas if swales or CCTs should be done only across slopy land, or can go together with bench terracing?
whats a CCt?
Swale = CCT = Continuous Contour Trench
Mr. naren has explained how the situation would be in western ghats. You please approach watershed department in your area. They definitely plan suitably for water harvesting. In the meantime visit some of the farms in your neighbourhood to understand the technologies. Many a times it is the locals who provide better inputs than many a learned persons from elsewhere…
“Adequate irrigation facilities are provided through two farm ponds and one bore well whereas round the year household requirement is met through a suranga – the unique water harvesting structure of Kasaragod district,” says Dr.George V.Thomas, Director of the Institute.
We too use suranga, its like a cave which you dig horizontally at the bottom of the well, we have 2 wells with this type of structure. Will try to get a pic, i should have a old pic of my well. Idea here is to have well at lesser depth, but to store water have this tunnel that could be 50-80 ft. But i am not sure if its unique to karsargod.
