Water: water battery

[Edgewise]

A water battery (I've also heard it called a living sponge) is a deep trench dug dead level and directly on contour. It is closed on both ends like pond and even has a level sill for overflow. It is then filled material that holds more water than the native soil. This allows it to impound water that would otherwise be lost to sheet flow. It is not sealed tight so this water soaks into the soil downhill over time. If you plant your fruit trees or other productive perennial plants down hill, it stops mattering so much when the rains come so long as they do.

We dug this one near a downspout that was inconvenient for rainwater catchment. In future we will plum our kitchen sink and dishwasher water to it ( with a 3 way valve to turn it back to septic in freezing weather). This trench is 6 ft deep, 8 ft wide and 18 ft long. The bottom is lined with bentonite and a little compost.

[Edgewise]

Then we filled it with wood chips. It should hold about 300 times as much water as my native sand.

[Edgewise]

A simple home depot box filled with gravel serves as a filter to keep the plumbing clear.

[Blackfire]

Thanks Nate! Good to see you posting. Check around site...there are bounties to be found and claimed.