By Michelle Domocol @inflourish_
Back to Inflourish: Cebu Blog
This past August and most of September, we experienced a terrible heatwave and extended drought. Fortunately, the rains have returned. The recent drought reminds us of Cebu’s vulnerable, declining groundwater reserves. Excessive groundwater extraction, river pollution, and intensive irrigation historically threaten our water supply. Additionally, the continued construction of impervious surfaces worsens our groundwater crisis. Pouring cement over every urban surface stops rain from naturally seeping into our soils and refilling groundwater.
During August, Healing Present’s forest shrubs and gardens suffered from dehydration. Luckily, our long-standing water conservation methods delayed plant root death and irreversible dehydration. Our water reserves helped plants recover. Water conservation also maintains supplies for daily cooking, bathroom, and property maintenance. Our water-saving and storage methods include aboveground rainwater tanks, retention ponds, mulching, and groundcover. We plan to add percolation pits, recharge ponds, and drought-resistant groundcover.
Below are some of the main features of our water management techniques. Perhaps you want to protect your land, family, or community from seasonal water shortages. This may inspire you to integrate methods that maximize rainwater storage and groundwater recharge during wet/typhoon seasons.
Groundcover & Vegetation
Groundcovers are low-growing plants that can spread quickly and cover bare soil. Vegetation like shrubs and trees soften the impact of heavy rainfall and replenish natural water reserves. As their leaves and root networks increase, they hold soil together. Groundcover and vegetation help soil absorb stormwater and refill groundwater. During torrential downpours, that means less water erosion and no landslides. Groundcover can also keep the soil moist. This essential reservoir of moisture helps plant roots survive droughts and recover when rain returns. Here are some examples of groundcover we install in our gardens and forest pockets:
Retention and Recharge Ponds
Retention ponds collect rainwater throughout the year. They are typically constructed with a cement or plastic pond liner. The liner blocks water from flowing into the soil. If our aboveground rainwater tank supply or groundwater levels were low, we could pump water from these ponds for activities like plant irrigation. In contrast, recharge ponds do not have a liner. They are seasonal dug-out ponds that store stormwater during the wet season. In Healing Present, these ponds can feed forest roots, springs in underground caverns, and groundwater.
Inspired by water management in South Asia, recharge ponds are built in sloping or low-lying areas. Like the groundcover technique, they protect us from unstable soils and landslide damage. The ponds are surrounded by groundcover, shrubs, and trees to increase rainwater absorption. Combing techniques ensure rainwater is not wasted, flowing off the property and causing flood damage. Below is an example of a standard recharge pond:
Percolation Pits
Percolation pits are special rainwater drainage basins. They filter surface runoff and stormwater before it refills groundwater. Percolation pits are built in areas with high rainfall absorption and permeable soil. You can install percolation pits next to buildings so they receive water from roof gutters and rainwater drainage pipes. Or you can place them in the middle of gardens and forests on sloping areas with high rainfall. Percolation pits should be built in soils with high water infiltration and percolation rates. Simple soil tests determine if rain would easily travel through the percolation pit layers, into surrounding soil, and towards groundwater. Below is a diagram of a percolation pit:
I hope this inspires you to find stormwater solutions and water-saving methods. Positive changes can preserve water supplies and divert pressure off our finite groundwater reserves.
