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- Title
Investigating the environmental response to water harvesting structures: A field study in Tanzania.
- Authors
Eisma, Jessica A.; Merwade, Venkatesh M.
- Abstract
Sand dams, a popular water harvesting structure employed by rural communities, capture and store water for use during the dry season in arid and semi-arid regions. Most sand dam research has been performed on the <q>ideal</q> sand dam, despite approximately fifty percent of sand dams not functioning as intended. This research involves a year-long, in-depth field study of three sand dams in Tanzania, one of which is essentially non-functioning. The study investigated a sand dam's impact on macroinvertebrate habitat, vegetation, streambank erosion, and the local water table. Surveys of macroinvertebrate assemblage were performed each season. Vegetation surveys were performed every other month, and erosion was recorded semi-monthly. Water table monitoring wells were installed at each sand dam, and measurements were taken twice a day. The study showed that sand dams are not a suitable habitat for macroinvertebrates. The non-functioning sand dam has a thick layer of silt preventing infiltration of rainwater. The functioning sand dams store a significant amount of water, but most is lost to evapotranspiration within a few months of the last rainfall. Unlike the non-functioning sand dam, the functioning sand dams have a positive impact on local vegetation and minimal impact on erosion. Sand dams can increase the water security of a community, but site characteristics and construction methods must be strongly considered to maximize the sand dam's positive impact.
- Subjects
TANZANIA; WATER security; FIELD research; WATER table; VEGETATION surveys; ARID regions
- Publication
Hydrology & Earth System Sciences Discussions, 2019, p1
- ISSN
1812-2108
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5194/hess-2019-147