After having completed the first spring water dam for our client at My Kampung Life, the Soilogy team was tasked to search for a secondary water source for the farm. The first dam is doing pretty well, but it is small and of course, having a backup water source is always a good plan.

Fortunately, we did not have to travel far. We found the perfect location deep in the secondary forest of a somewhat partially abandoned neighbouring farm land which belongs to the same owner who gave us permission to build the first dam. Despite this dam being an estimated 1 Km away in distance, the elevation is certainly much higher than the first dam. It is also much sheltered with big tall trees and vegetation on steep slopes (indication of a good catchment area). All these plus points make this a much superior dam than the first.

Since this dam is not as accessible as the first dam, it has to be well constructed to minimise maintenance and need for periodical checks. The usual design of a silt trap with a long buffer run before the main intake pool still holds. The front wall has to be extremely and unusually thick/wide and higher to hold an estimated 30 times more water than the first dam! A bigger overflow channel is needed to further protect the front wall from erosion during a heavy down pour.

The dam begins at a small pool of water closed in on 3 sides with steep rock face. These rock formation serve as the dam’s rear wall. The creek that flows out from this point meanders for another 25 feet up to where the front wall of the dam is to be built at the narrowest choke point. The gulley in which this creek is located is surrounded on both sides with really steep slopes. Fortunately, these slopes have stabilised vegetation that help control erosion especially during heavy rainfall.

The client has agreed to the construction of the dam at this location. The only thing left to do now is to secure permission from the land owner. We reckon that wouldn’t be too difficult.