Prue Batchelor
Supervisor: Dr Margaret Grose
Give A Dam
Can the ordinary farm dam be improved by design? An exploration of the Great Southern agricultural landscape and its fresh water management.
Farm dams—clay-based, rectangular or square, stock-driven and compacted — are placed on degraded soils and disrupted groundwater tables. On-going water deficiencies in the region, susceptibility to drought, and dryland salinity mean that improved freshwater capture is vital for the sheep that maintain my community.
The stabilisation of fresh water resources is the foundation for continued agricultural practices in this region. This thesis positively positions the farm for short and long term economic viability and reworks existing environmental relationships to ensure fresh water solutions on farms. The proposal suggests improving fresh water efficiencies by minimising evaporation, mitigating salinity by lowering the groundwater table, utilising saline groundwater and maintaining and enhancing biodiversity by creating habitat. There is not one single outcome; it’s a compilation of factors and options combined to achieve the greatest synergy between productivity, resilience and regeneration.
