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Swales and Keyline

Swales on contour and keyline layouts are earthworks designed to intercept rainfall and distribute it slowly across a slope rather than letting it sheet off. These articles cover how to survey and mark contour lines, keyline plow patterns, swale sizing for catchment area, overflow spillway design, and the soil-moisture and pasture-recovery changes documented after earthworks are installed.

2 articles

PIONEER · WATER·5 min read

How to read keyline on a quarter-acre — a Pakistan smallholder primer

Keyline design has a reputation for being something you do with a bulldozer across a thousand acres. It is not. The idea P. A. Yeomans set out in the 1950s is fundamentally about reading how water…

SECONDARY · WATER·5 min read

Swale maintenance in year seven (not what year-one taught you)

A swale in year one is an earthwork. A swale in year seven is an ecosystem, and the maintenance it needs is the opposite of what year one taught you. The contour ditch you dug to catch and sink rai…