Catching RAIN

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Rain replenishes reservoirs, parched lands and watersheds with precious water for drinking, irrigation, power generation and various other important purposes.

Population growth, industry and development increased the demand for freshwater exponentially while supply continues to be finite and in most cases decreasing.

Efforts to capture and store rainwater are major initiatives everywhere in the world by concerned governments, non-government organizations and various entities.

Individual or small-scale efforts to capture rainwater, however, are unpopular, limited and largely taken for granted.

This photo essay addresses this later problem and proposes inexpensive and practical “Do-it-yourself” solutions. Collectively, they can become valuable, dependable and speedy solutions to assist prevent worsening conditions and catastrophes.

“Never-before” flooding in Rosales, Pangasinan and Laguna Bay, Laguna

The careless and unplanned sudden release of water in the San Roque Dam caused flash floods in areas that have never anticipated such floods to possibly occur.

Water levels in Laguna Bay rose by over ten (10) feet and submerged all lakeside communities comprising a population in the millions for a period lasting about three (3) months.

Flash floods in Marikina reach unprecedented levels and cause many deaths and destruction.

Before and after photos of devastation caused raging rainwater

Note presence of 45 coconuts above before Typhoon Santi in 2009 washed away 36 trees & inundated over 0.5 hectares of precious riverfront land.

The well-built Balanac Dam in Magdalena, Laguna was overcome by raging rainwaters that crested and damaged its fortifications.

Tree planting, deforestation, kaingin-control, dams and reservoirs

Without a doubt, tree planting, deforestation and kaingin-control are excellent rainwater catching projects. Like the building of dams and reservoirs, however, they are not ideal individual and/or small-scale projects.

In addition, besides being expensive, many years have to pass before dams are built and trees grow before they can serve their purpose.

Keeping trash (specially plastic bags and those contained in them) from getting into waterways is highly recommended. They are the bane of flash floods (from the esteros) in Metro Manila. The efforts of merchants in Paete, Laguna to stop using plastic bags and residents of Liliw, Laguna to keep their streets clean of trash (even cigarette butts and candy wrappers) are commendable and should be emulated by others as these efforts will also help minimize and control flash floods in addition to their other great benefits.

Streams, creeks, canals and ponds

The water in this stream, if it had not been impounded by the small dam shown, would have simply flowed downhill and become useless to anyone.

The above shown dam (with a larger one upstream and a third downstream) built as the 2009 rain season was ending helped make three vegetable farms more profitable.

Man-made dams like these are easy to build and become immediately useful. However, they would not have been built without the author’s encouragement and persistence.

Although, they must be promoted, building these dams should be done carefully and intelligently. Not doing so can produce more harm than good.

The author recommends these dams must be built:

· Towards the end of the rainy season;

· Without strong fortifications (i.e: They must be easily removed by heavy water flows.); and,

· With the supervision of trained technicians.

Mountain springs (sibols) and the “tibig” tree

As most rainwater now simply cascade or flow over land surfaces instead of being impeded or blocked by vegetation that would cause absorption into the ground, many mountain springs (sibols) have dried up.

The “tibig” tree is an indigenous plant known to grow in the immediate vicinity of mountain springs (sibols). Some survive even if the mountain springs (sibols) have dried up indicating that spring water still may be present in the ground.

The author thinks that mountain springs (sibols) can be restored where “tibig” trees still exist by:

· Planting vegetation and trees in the vicinity of the “tibig” tree to create some kind of watershed and

· Putting-up man-made dams as described above and holding ponds as described below to allow water to satuarte the ground and be absorbed by it.

The “tibig” tree is easily recognized by its leaves and fruits.

Water holding ponds

By having these ponds, rainwater that simply flows-over or passes-by would be trapped, absorbed and kept from making floods worse – in less time that it would take trees to grow and/or for huge dams to be built.

This is not to say, these ideas are better than or should displace the latter, but they are a practical, easy-to-build and inexpensive that should be promoted sooner than later.

Pointers:

· Build the ponds to saturate the ground, help it absorb more water to replenish the water table (aquifer.)

· Provide shade (tree canopy and/or netting) to prevent direct sun exposure and minimize evaporation.

· Use ponds as fishponds. (Provide a drainage system to let clean water in and old water out.)

· Build in clay soils preferably where depressions or pooling of waters exist. Not in sandy and fast-draining soils.

The above pit dug in Magdalena, Laguna was before typhoon Santi in 2009. Despite being filled with rainwater by the typhoon and suceeding rain. It showed only small traces of absorbed water when dug again 30 days later showing that ground was VERY THIRSTY for water. Imagine how this scenario is occurring everywhere else and a severe problem becomes apparent.

The above pit was enlarged and deepened into a water holding pond before the rains of 2010. It should repeatedly fill-up and allow contents to be absorbed into the surrounding soils. A second holding pond was also built nearby for the same purpose.

When the rainy season ends in 2010 and after the ponds dry up, the pond bottoms and surrounding locations will be dug-up in 15 day intervals to assess water absorption, retention and availability for plant use. Favorable results are anticipated and these will be reported later in this website.

Rainwater should be ENJOYED. Not feared.

Rainwater provides water for drinking, irrigation, electricity and relaxation. It should NOT drown and devastate.

This river with cool rushing waters from Mt. Banahaw is crystal clear. It is only a 2.5 hr drive from Manila and a short 15 minute trek. With our efforts, we hope we can help keep it that way.

Conclusion

Capturing rain, allowing it to be absorbed into the ground, storing it there and preventing it from rushing down to lowlands will help minimize flooding. More importantly, it will help provide water in elevated areas where said water can be scarce during the dry season.

Check this site again in the future. A report on the performance of the holding ponds will be provided.

About the author:

The author is a Mechanical Engineer. While his primary interest revolves around machinery and equipment, his interest in farming and agriculture come next. He has an on-going egg-layer poultry business and is currently busy with fruit tree planting efforts. He can be reached at biofuelswork@gmail.com

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Date first uploaded: 17 July 2010 Date of last update: 17 July 2010