Water from Small Dams

Another very positive feature of hillside dams is that it is possible to start by constructinga relatively small dam for storing water from the first rainy season, and then enlarging itduring the following dry seasons. This can be done a number of times until the reservoirhas been significantly enlarged to the desired capacity as shown below.During the first dry season, it is possible toexcavate a shallow water reservoir and usethe excavated soil to build a low dam wall.Result after deepening the water reservoirand heightening the dam wall withexcavated soil from several dry seasons.The enlargement process of hillside dams can also be illustrated as above.Source: Water from ponds, pans and dams by Erik Nissen-Petersen, RELMA/Sida 2004.25