It is good to see your water reserve back full again. I wonder if someone in the area has a similar water system. Maybe their's is more accessible to understand how it's designed to function. Thanks for sharing.
Love your passion to learn and respect the tradition in that landscape arquitecture. Seems an interesting problem to try to understand. Have no experience in this. Still belive that most of the times the best to do is do nothing. Tanks for sharing this journey. Im learnning with you, and getting inspired to try a few swales and ponds again.
Is it possible, eventually, to restore this to it’s original function?, what an amazing thing that could be as it connects to things kilometres away! This idyllic pure water flowing with flowers and plants, trees, all nurtured and in harmony ❤
I would place large gabion baskets across the creek next to the rock wall in front of the cistern/ganat. Let the sand pile up in front of the gabions and the rock wall. Water will build up under sand and eventually enter the cistern. Overflow spills back into creek. Then a series of gabions across the creek further down to trap more sand. ❤❤❤
A stepped flow; pool - gabion - pool - riffle - pool - gabion - pool - etc all the way down the creek. Behind each gabion a sand dam will form, holding 10's of thousands of liters of water in the sand. Then, the creek will likely flow 9 months out of the year. In in a major storm even, the surplus water would spill over the banks onto the riparian floodplain. This would be the full restoration of the creek. As Martin said, one meter of sand has been deposited on the eroded creek bed in 3 years. The process is working. More refinements to come 💚
@@jptracy1 Cistern has no sediment. The other enormous structure has. Pumping out is costly. I'm not sure that is what's needed. Maybe it's the water filter. Keep sharing
@@SuerteDelMolinoFarm Decantadores is a clear description of it's function.(I forgot the word yesterday) The question; is that a description from antiquity or the recent past? Do I have that right Martin?
12:20 What’s the name of the bird “hooting / Chirping” in the background. I have this sound engraved on my memory from childhood in rural parts of India.
@@SuerteDelMolinoFarm Great catch! Becoming a bird watcher too? Generally speaking - since you have been on the farm almost 3 years now, how many fold has the bird population and diversity increased - best guess, not a quant analysis 😄
The edless sediment coming in will need to be managed. Perhaps consider creating terraces, as you see in the far east and south america? You have enough material, and the slopes lend themselves to it. Huge project of course!
since you already have a swale system, i'd get a high volume "trash pump," to suck the sand and mud into during the dry season. use the clean water for drip, and the qanat for infrequent high volume flood irrigation
Given the quote of 10,000 euro's I think Martin can buy a good electric trash pump, drop it into the Decantadores and empty the contents into the creek so the sand restores the creek bottom. That's the shortest distance to pump and there is no big rush - so he does not need a high capacity unit. He has a generator, so my hunch is for well under 500 EUR he could do the job himself. A trip or two a day down the ladder to check on progress. He can always stop the pump if he gets nervous. 👍
Large gasoline pumps that can pump mud and water are called "trash pumps" in the states. Someone near your area must have one to pump out well sediment. Use one to pump mud out of cistern.
After watching the video I understand the question is whether the sediment in the cistern is “a feature or a bug”. If the sediment is a filter it is a feature and if it is hogging up capacity it is a bug! Good luck with your research and thanks for sharing your journey with us.
The catchment obviously has blown out around the rocks you pointed out that wall should go there so water comes into the cistern it would be cool to see them filling at hi flood a large dam There would help I think ✌️
Yes, your water distribution system prevents water from being washed through your land- scouring deep channels, etc. But you also succeed in something even more important restoring a higher water table, and preventing the loss of soil and even trapping soil and nutrients from upstream. This is a challenge but also important for your soil and flora. I have some info on qanats, but have no experience with them, Here in Algarve, I have never heard anything about them.
Do you use a compost toilet? I assume you donWe have one in our Portugal countryside casa for solid separated into 3 containers for the year on rotation and makes amazing compost . We save urine each day to be watered down and given to the plants . More people must go back to the old systems
No expert here but the Qanat is definitely a system of “water flow” system. So the idea is that first water should get into it and flow without obstructions. Now if we discard any know how on hot it was done, the least we can do is pour more water into it without silting it or causing obstructions. There are tonnes of videos on “direct” well recharging, borewells recharging and aquifer recharging. If we can send water thru the Qanat system sans any silt, I am sure it can’t at least cause any harm.
SO this would be the time of the season when you would want to pump as much water as practical up to the fields at the top of the land. The purpose being to move the water from the qanat system up to the highest point of the land to spread it and soak it to feed any perched aquifers as well as the deep aquifer. otherwise, this water continues on its way downstream in the watershed and off your land. If you chose to pursue this activity, it is probably your best bet to restore a spring. But if you told me I had to chose, I'd say rebuild the dog food bag dam wall with recycled barbed wire as I described earlier. 😉
@@Ifyouarehurtnointentwasapplied Interesting question. It will push the sand from the sand trap to the cistern and then it needs to be removed from there. Thanks for sharing
Could the used plastic dog food sand bags serve a better purpose as a one rock dam? Don't waste, find any potential use. And even if your attempt to reuse a waste item was not a complete success, your attempt to reuse a waste item was good. Keep up the good work. Waste naught, want naught.
Quite sure this has already occurred to you but as your cistern showing signs of considerable contamination , this without any doubt suggests that water has found a way of bypassing the sand filter to get into the cistern . If the sand filter is the top of the system the breach into the cistern must therefore be lower down the system, I fear your only way of finding this breach will be to pump out the Cistern and crawl along its length marking places where you find water running in. It would be best to do this NOW whilst there is a good supply of ground and stream water as this is more likely to show you any failures of the cisterns walls. Was the cistern contaminated when you first arrived at the property or is this something that has occurred since building various dams in the stream ??. that level of contamination less likely to be moving ground water and more likely to be stream water finding it's way down through a fissure or some long forgotten pipe. Good luck with the crawl but if it shows you the problem it will be worth while you can fix it and have the cistern refill while there is still rain coming. PS pump the water out into a swale pref above the cistern that way the water will be cleaned and at least some of it will make it's way back.
@@davidprocter3578 Contamination every time it rains. Which isn't often. The rest of the time the infiltration of clean water. That's a good idea to take action to find answers. Thanks for sharing. Let me put it on my list.
@@SuerteDelMolinoFarm This water is used for irrigation exclusively. For that purpose it is filtered to remove particles which may clog emitters and drippers. The roof of the tunnel nor any part of the tunnel was made to be watertight. Rather the entire length of the qanat is a porous water gathering device. May I suggest you search the term qanat for a little history. The organic material you see floating is most likely roots from trees and shrubs that have infiltrated the tunnel. A high water flow like Martin has experienced would create a 'flush' of the tunnel. To my recollection, it has never been reported (3 years) that the water in the tunnel was this high.
@ My mistake I got the impression that this cistern had been built in the past to collect and store drinking water. If the water table high enough to reach this cistern most of the year , raises the question how hard can it be pumped and would a vertical well lower down the property yield as much. Considering how hard this land dries out through the summer it surprises me that such a short system works at all qanats are usually hand dug tunnels through mediums capable of self support and exist from China to Portugal. As the water not potable rather irrelevant that it is dirty cant see the plants objecting of course it narrows the choice of pump, Martin must be overjoyed at the water this cistern has collected but he did come across as being worried by the amount of contamination ?
@@davidprocter3578 This qanat was likely built during the Moorish occupation of Spain. THe cistern proper is a recent addition. The decantadores at the (apparent) top of qanat appears to be of ancient construction. The tunnel is cut through hard rock with all natural fissures open to ingress. The qanat supplies irrigation water to the entire 6.5 hectares through the summer (sparsely planted). 10.000 feet of irrigation tube if my memory serves. The borehole head that supplies the domestic water is at a lower elevation than the qanat reasonably close to the dwelling. The domestic water is pumped uphill to a tank and the dwelling is fed by gravity. If iwas to guess, I would suggest what we see in the water is suspended clay or calcium carbonate particles.
I really like it when it rains on your farm! Seeing full swales is my fav type of videos!
@@sophiareygrace6656 We share that opinion. Thank you for commenting
Yeah mine too for some kind of geeky reason 😝
It is good to see your water reserve back full again. I wonder if someone in the area has a similar water system. Maybe their's is more accessible to understand how it's designed to function. Thanks for sharing.
Or perhaps an architectural historian from the nearest university might ne able to help?
@ImpossibleSolution-k6w That would probably be a good path to try and easier to find.
@@TimelineRanch Several similar systems in the area but modern. No one has this old system. Thank you for sharing
Love your passion to learn and respect the tradition in that landscape arquitecture. Seems an interesting problem to try to understand. Have no experience in this. Still belive that most of the times the best to do is do nothing. Tanks for sharing this journey. Im learnning with you, and getting inspired to try a few swales and ponds again.
@@srantoniomatos Good. I am flattered. I have have inspired one person. Thanks for sharing
Is it possible, eventually, to restore this to it’s original function?, what an amazing thing that could be as it connects to things kilometres away! This idyllic pure water flowing with flowers and plants, trees, all nurtured and in harmony ❤
@@YulkGhuit We share the dream. Thank you for commenting
Again, many thanks.💜💫
@@gypsyheartsouls Thanks to you
I would place large gabion baskets across the creek next to the rock wall in front of the cistern/ganat. Let the sand pile up in front of the gabions and the rock wall. Water will build up under sand and eventually enter the cistern. Overflow spills back into creek. Then a series of gabions across the creek further down to trap more sand. ❤❤❤
@@duotronic6451 Sounds like a sane idea. Thanks for sharing
A stepped flow; pool - gabion - pool - riffle - pool - gabion - pool - etc all the way down the creek. Behind each gabion a sand dam will form, holding 10's of thousands of liters of water in the sand. Then, the creek will likely flow 9 months out of the year. In in a major storm even, the surplus water would spill over the banks onto the riparian floodplain.
This would be the full restoration of the creek.
As Martin said, one meter of sand has been deposited on the eroded creek bed in 3 years. The process is working. More refinements to come 💚
Wow, I just made a comment on the last video! Is now the time to pump out the sediment from the cistern to increase capacity?
@@jptracy1 Cistern has no sediment. The other enormous structure has. Pumping out is costly. I'm not sure that is what's needed. Maybe it's the water filter. Keep sharing
@@SuerteDelMolinoFarm Decantadores is a clear description of it's function.(I forgot the word yesterday) The question; is that a description from antiquity or the recent past? Do I have that right Martin?
@@SuerteDelMolinoFarm 10,000 EUR to pump out the decantadore is the "We don't want to do this job - but if you make us rich, ok" price 😆
12:20 What’s the name of the bird “hooting / Chirping” in the background. I have this sound engraved on my memory from childhood in rural parts of India.
Spilopelia senegalensis. I just love them. Good listening Raj
@@SuerteDelMolinoFarm Great catch! Becoming a bird watcher too? Generally speaking - since you have been on the farm almost 3 years now, how many fold has the bird population and diversity increased - best guess, not a quant analysis 😄
@stevejohnstonbaugh9171 Steve! You are killing me
@@SuerteDelMolinoFarm Sorry, I need a big dose of Ritalin. 😉
The edless sediment coming in will need to be managed. Perhaps consider creating terraces, as you see in the far east and south america? You have enough material, and the slopes lend themselves to it. Huge project of course!
@@GavCritchley Thank you for reminding me about terraces. Much appreciated
Commenting for the algorythm btw, as you deserve every single sub
THANK YOU
since you already have a swale system, i'd get a high volume "trash pump," to suck the sand and mud into during the dry season. use the clean water for drip, and the qanat for infrequent high volume flood irrigation
Given the quote of 10,000 euro's I think Martin can buy a good electric trash pump, drop it into the Decantadores and empty the contents into the creek so the sand restores the creek bottom. That's the shortest distance to pump and there is no big rush - so he does not need a high capacity unit. He has a generator, so my hunch is for well under 500 EUR he could do the job himself. A trip or two a day down the ladder to check on progress. He can always stop the pump if he gets nervous. 👍
@@danielmasuko7264 I'm trying. I'm trying. Thank you for sharing
Large gasoline pumps that can pump mud and water are called "trash pumps" in the states. Someone near your area must have one to pump out well sediment. Use one to pump mud out of cistern.
I'm looking, I'm looking. Thank you for sharing
After watching the video I understand the question is whether the sediment in the cistern is “a feature or a bug”. If the sediment is a filter it is a feature and if it is hogging up capacity it is a bug! Good luck with your research and thanks for sharing your journey with us.
@@jptracy1 Maybe even the two sides of a coin. I don't know. Thanks for sharing
I believe a true filter needs flow to maintain enough oxygen level for bacteria to thrive. Better ask aquarium people.
Thanks for showing us that 😅
@@user-vo3st8kx7s You are welcome
The catchment obviously has blown out around the rocks you pointed out that wall should go there so water comes into the cistern it would be cool to see them filling at hi flood a large dam There would help I think ✌️
Let's wait for the flood. I'm waiting in reluctant anticipation. Thank you for sharing
Yes, your water distribution system prevents water from being washed through your land- scouring deep channels, etc. But you also succeed in something even more important restoring a higher water table, and preventing the loss of soil and even trapping soil and nutrients from upstream. This is a challenge but also important for your soil and flora.
I have some info on qanats, but have no experience with them, Here in Algarve, I have never heard anything about them.
@@armandodesousa6375 Is it a qanat or not? More importantly, what is a qanat? Thank you for sharing
Yes! Every time it rains the cows on the mountain send their blessings 😉
Do you use a compost toilet? I assume you donWe have one in our Portugal countryside casa for solid separated into 3 containers for the year on rotation and makes amazing compost . We save urine each day to be watered down and given to the plants . More people must go back to the old systems
@@cybermumsue Compost toilet we don't have but grey and black separately. All stays on the farm. Thanks for the reminder
No expert here but the Qanat is definitely a system of “water flow” system. So the idea is that first water should get into it and flow without obstructions.
Now if we discard any know how on hot it was done, the least we can do is pour more water into it without silting it or causing obstructions.
There are tonnes of videos on “direct” well recharging, borewells recharging and aquifer recharging.
If we can send water thru the Qanat system sans any silt, I am sure it can’t at least cause any harm.
You are a believer Raj. Thank you for sharing
SO this would be the time of the season when you would want to pump as much water as practical up to the fields at the top of the land. The purpose being to move the water from the qanat system up to the highest point of the land to spread it and soak it to feed any perched aquifers as well as the deep aquifer. otherwise, this water continues on its way downstream in the watershed and off your land. If you chose to pursue this activity, it is probably your best bet to restore a spring.
But if you told me I had to chose, I'd say rebuild the dog food bag dam wall with recycled barbed wire as I described earlier. 😉
Yes sir Steve. Watch this space. Barbed wire and all
If you push a lot of water in the tunnels would it blow the sand out ?
@@Ifyouarehurtnointentwasapplied Interesting question. It will push the sand from the sand trap to the cistern and then it needs to be removed from there. Thanks for sharing
As one white African to another, where did you come from? I grew up in Rhodesia.
@@davidfellowes1628 Namibia. Come and visit
Looks like the same concept as a sand dam, only now the hole to collect water is already there
BTW as always good video thanks
@@pascalkuipers8099 Thank you for sharing
Could the used plastic dog food sand bags serve a better purpose as a one rock dam? Don't waste, find any potential use. And even if your attempt to reuse a waste item was not a complete success, your attempt to reuse a waste item was good. Keep up the good work. Waste naught, want naught.
Thanks for the reminder. Much appreciated
English bull rushes filter the water😉
@@mcmullen7143 Plant plant plant. Thank you for sharing
Get digging to understand the underground cistern yourself, I think. You have the knowledge to understand it 😊
Quite sure this has already occurred to you but as your cistern showing signs of considerable contamination , this without any doubt suggests that water has found a way of bypassing the sand filter to get into the cistern . If the sand filter is the top of the system the breach into the cistern must therefore be lower down the system, I fear your only way of finding this breach will be to pump out the Cistern and crawl along its length marking places where you find water running in. It would be best to do this NOW whilst there is a good supply of ground and stream water as this is more likely to show you any failures of the cisterns walls. Was the cistern contaminated when you first arrived at the property or is this something that has occurred since building various dams in the stream ??. that level of contamination less likely to be moving ground water and more likely to be stream water finding it's way down through a fissure or some long forgotten pipe. Good luck with the crawl but if it shows you the problem it will be worth while you can fix it and have the cistern refill while there is still rain coming. PS pump the water out into a swale pref above the cistern that way the water will be cleaned and at least some of it will make it's way back.
@@davidprocter3578 Contamination every time it rains. Which isn't often. The rest of the time the infiltration of clean water. That's a good idea to take action to find answers. Thanks for sharing. Let me put it on my list.
@@SuerteDelMolinoFarm This water is used for irrigation exclusively. For that purpose it is filtered to remove particles which may clog emitters and drippers. The roof of the tunnel nor any part of the tunnel was made to be watertight. Rather the entire length of the qanat is a porous water gathering device. May I suggest you search the term qanat for a little history. The organic material you see floating is most likely roots from trees and shrubs that have infiltrated the tunnel. A high water flow like Martin has experienced would create a 'flush' of the tunnel. To my recollection, it has never been reported (3 years) that the water in the tunnel was this high.
@ My mistake I got the impression that this cistern had been built in the past to collect and store drinking water. If the water table high enough to reach this cistern most of the year , raises the question how hard can it be pumped and would a vertical well lower down the property yield as much. Considering how hard this land dries out through the summer it surprises me that such a short system works at all qanats are usually hand dug tunnels through mediums capable of self support and exist from China to Portugal. As the water not potable rather irrelevant that it is dirty cant see the plants objecting of course it narrows the choice of pump, Martin must be overjoyed at the water this cistern has collected but he did come across as being worried by the amount of contamination ?
@@davidprocter3578 This qanat was likely built during the Moorish occupation of Spain. THe cistern proper is a recent addition. The decantadores at the (apparent) top of qanat appears to be of ancient construction.
The tunnel is cut through hard rock with all natural fissures open to ingress. The qanat supplies irrigation water to the entire 6.5 hectares through the summer (sparsely planted). 10.000 feet of irrigation tube if my memory serves.
The borehole head that supplies the domestic water is at a lower elevation than the qanat reasonably close to the dwelling. The domestic water is pumped uphill to a tank and the dwelling is fed by gravity.
If iwas to guess, I would suggest what we see in the water is suspended clay or calcium carbonate particles.