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Check dam: Runoff Water Harvesting

The sustainable solution for irrigating your crops and watering your livestock using rainwater collected on your farm.

Water harvesting infrastructure is a method designed to tackle the challenges of limited water availability and irregular rainfall, especially in water-scarce regions. This approach uses various structures such as farm ponds, check dams, or small reservoirs, that capture and store water from streams and surface runoff. These structures vary in size and type depending on how long and how much water needs to be stored. Small-scale systems include natural depressions, dug-outs, water pans, and farm ponds, while larger-scale options involve embankment dams and reservoirs. By collecting and holding water that would otherwise be lost, these infrastructures provide reliable water sources for agriculture, reduce runoff, and support better soil moisture and crop growth.

2

This technology is not yet validated.

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 9/9; level of use unknown

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

Others: Positive medium

The poor: Positive high

Under 18: Positive high

Women: Positive high

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

It is adaptable to different climatic environment

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

It improves farmers' capacity to adapt to climate change through more efficient water management

Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: Much less carbon released

Environmental health: Greatly improves environmental health

Soil quality: Improves soil health and fertility

Water use: Much less water used

More water is harvested for agricultural production in a sustainable way

Problem

  • Water Scarcity: Farmers often face a lack of water during the dry season because rainwater and streamflow are not properly captured or stored. This limits water availability for irrigation, livestock watering, and other farming needs, leading to significant crop yield losses, especially in areas with low or erratic rainfall.
  • Water Waste and Soil Erosion: Rainwater and runoff during the wet season are frequently lost instead of being conserved, resulting in underutilized runoff water and increased soil erosion.
  • Depletion of Water Resources: There is a progressive degradation of groundwater resources due to insufficient recharge.
  • Economic Challenges: Traditional continuous irrigation systems are often too costly and impractical for smallholder farmers.
  • Need for Water Conservation: To support farming in dry areas, it is essential to collect and store water sustainably using affordable structures like ponds, dams, or reservoirs, ensuring water is available when it is needed most.

Solution

  • Water Conservation Structures: These technologies use specially built structures to capture and store streamflow and runoff water that would otherwise be lost through optimized diversion towards artificial reservoirs.
  • Multiple Uses: The stored water supports irrigation, livestock watering, and other productive activities in smallholder farming systems, especially during the dry season.
  • Improved Water Access: Structures like farm ponds, water pans, and dug-outs increase water availability, helping farmers better manage water resources during dry periods while enhancing groundwater recharge and protecting against soil erosion.
  • Adaptability and Scale: These systems are economically viable and adaptable to different terrains, soils (preferably clayey), and moderate slopes (1-5%). They can be built at various scales, from small hand-excavated ponds to reinforced embankment dams made with concrete.
  • Cost Flexibility: Construction costs vary depending on materials and techniques used, such as manual digging, liners, clay bags, concrete, or stone.
  • Enhanced Resilience: By reducing dependence on direct rainfall during the dry season, these structures improve farmers’ resilience to climate variability and contribute to sustainable watershed management and livelihood improvement across diverse communities.

Key points to design your project

Runoff Water Harvesting has several key benefits. It captures and stores rainfall runoff to provide water for irrigation and livestock during dry periods, contributing to enhanced food security and sustainable water management. This technique supports multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) by boosting agricultural productivity, SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) through improved water availability and management, and SDG 15 (Life on Land) by preventing soil erosion and promoting land restoration. It is adaptable to different terrains and soil types, with options for small or large scale installation. These advantages lead to increased agricultural productivity and greater climate resilience for rural farms.

To integrate Runoff Water Harvesting into a project, follow these steps:

  1. Raise Awareness: Educate farming communities on the importance of capturing runoff water to improve crop yields and water management.

  2. Train Users: Provide training for farmers and extension agents on constructing ponds and embankment dams suited to local conditions and costs.

  3. Select Sites: Identify ideal locations for water collection based on topography, soil type, and rainfall patterns.

  4. Mobilize Resources: Secure necessary tools, construction materials, and skilled labor for building structures.

  5. Construct Structures: Build water harvesting ponds or dams with appropriate dimensions for optimal storage.

  6. Monitor and Maintain: Regularly check the condition of structures, manage sedimentation, and adjust water use accordingly.

  7. Engage the Community: Involve end-users actively to ensure sustainability and responsible management.

The main beneficiaries include small and medium scale farmers in areas with irregular rainfall, livestock keepers relying on stored water, rural development institutions and cooperatives working on food security, and governments or programs focused on climate adaptation and sustainable agriculture.

%

IP

Open source / open access

Countries with a green colour
Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour
Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour
Tested
Countries with a blue colour
Testing ongoing
Egypt Equatorial Guinea Ethiopia Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burundi Burkina Faso Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Côte d’Ivoire Eritrea Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Cameroon Kenya Libya Liberia Madagascar Mali Malawi Morocco Mauritania Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo Rwanda Zambia Senegal Sierra Leone Zimbabwe Somalia South Sudan Sudan South Africa Eswatini Tanzania Togo Tunisia Chad Uganda Western Sahara Central African Republic Lesotho
Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country Testing ongoing Tested Adopted
Benin No ongoing testing Not tested Adopted
Burkina Faso No ongoing testing Not tested Adopted
Ethiopia No ongoing testing Not tested Adopted
Ghana No ongoing testing Not tested Adopted
Kenya No ongoing testing Not tested Adopted
Mali No ongoing testing Not tested Adopted
Niger No ongoing testing Not tested Adopted
Nigeria No ongoing testing Not tested Adopted
Senegal No ongoing testing Not tested Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ Subtropic - warm Subtropic - cool Tropic - warm Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Sustainable Development Goal 1: no poverty
Goal 1: no poverty

The water harvesting check dam and farm pond enable farmers to harness water to boost food production

Sustainable Development Goal 13: climate action
Goal 13: climate action

Enable better adaptation to climate change

Construction of Farm Pond/Check Dam
Farm ponds are constructed by excavation to create a pond for water storage, while a check dam is a simple stone-based embankment across a stream to retain water for agricultural use.
Farm Pond

  • Identify a watercourse, runoff path, or small stream
  • Estimate the average peak runoff or flow potentially available
  • Determine the pond size
  • Excavation and construction of the storage pond
    Check Dam
    arm Pond
  • Identify a watercourse, runoff path, or small stream
  • Estimate the average peak runoff or flow potentially available
  • Determine a section where the trough is stable
  • Construct a stone-based embankment across the stream or the small river course
  • The embankment should be not exceed 2/3 of the stream depth

Last updated on 28 October 2025