Swales
Swales collect runoff rainwater, preventing it from flowing straight into the stream valley. They are man-made depressions positioned along the contour lines of the terrain. By intercepting the runoff water, the peak of a flood is reduced. The water is given time to slowly seep into the soil. Swales are covered with vegetation.
Natural solutions
- Developing natural grasslands
- Developing natural forests
- Food forest
- Making space for beaver activity
- Making room for natural floodplains
- Making room for meandering
- Raising the stream bed
- Lowering banks
- Removing drainage systems
- Planting scrub hedges and copses
- Standard orchard
- Wide infiltration strip
- Grafts
- Swales
- Keylines
- Converting (maize) fields on slopes into grassland or woodland
- Wadi
- Intercepting runoff on (sunken) roads