A do-it-yourself affordable round dam for farms

Water is absolutely essential for life, therefore also for food production – whether it is used for drinking for humans or livestock watering, irrigation of crops or vegetables, fish farming, or processing of crops.

In order to use water productively, it needs to be stored in a tank or reservoir, depending on the purpose. The cost of one or more reservoirs or dams for the on-farm storage of water can form a considerable part of the investment in infrastructure.

In order the provide an affordable water storage solution for farmers, ARC-Agricultural Engineering therefore examined possible alternative and cheaper ways to store water. A reservoir was erected for this purpose and its durability was evaluated over a period of three years. It was exposed to all weather conditions and typical usage was simulated, by irrigating a vegetable plot from water stored in it. This included emptying, refilling, and cleaning on a regular basis. The reservoir fulfilled its purpose during the evaluation period.

The conventional round concrete / brick reservoir is a more durable structure, but costs considerably more and requires more labour during construction.

The affordable reservoir described in this article, requires regular maintenance due to normal wear and tear. It is also vulnerable to mechanical damage and must be fenced off in order to limit damage by animals. However, it could be a viable option to consider this structure, as it is much cheaper than commercially available dams.

The cost of erecting this dam is less than half of the cost of erecting a round concrete dam and less than a quarter of the cost of installing a commercially available, prefabricated concrete damThe full article is for subscribed members only. To view the full article please subscribe. It’s FREE!Log In Register