How Do You Prevent Water Erosion?

Water can seem so benign. Try to grab a handful of water and it slips right through your fingers as if it had no substance at all. All living things need water to survive, of course. But water can also be one of the most destructive substances on earth. This seeming paradox is not lost on anyone who has tried to fight to prevent loss of land to erosion.

While erosion can also be caused by other factors, notably wind, none are as ruinous or widespread as water erosion.

Water erosion comes from three basic sources: surface runoff, rivers and streams, and the ocean tides and waves. Of those three, surface runoff is the main source of land erosion. According to Science Daily, there are several serious problems associated with surface runoff.

1. When runoff flows along the ground, it can carry surface contaminants like pesticides and fertilizers to other areas.
2. Cities, where land is covered with sidewalks, roads, and buildings, increase runoff and prevent water from seeping to aquifers. This forces the water into streams that increase erosion.
3. Runoff lowers the water table by reducing the replenishment of groundwater. This lowers the water table and makes droughts worse.

It may seem unusual but raindrops can be especially harmful when striking bare land. No one raindrop can do much damage, but the combined forces can cause immense erosion, sometimes in a small amount of time. Erosion happens much more quickly than natural forces adding soil.

Soils provide a protective layer for plants and crops by not allowing the removal of nutrients this plant life needs to survive. Without this protective layer, survivability for crops lowers dramatically.

While many of these impacts are beyond the control of land owners and operators, there are methods to reduce the impact of water erosion. The National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory estimates that 3 billion metric tons of soil are carried away by water erosion each year.

The lab does offer several ways to combat this.

mulch

Using straw, wood chips, saw dust, or some other material as ground cover can limit the effects of erosion until plants or crops can grow to the point of protecting the soil themselves. Mulch can also provide other benefits, such as reducing water evaporation, improving the quality of the soil, and preventing growth of weeds.

Image Source: Instagram of @sunshinelandscaping

Terracing

This method goes back to ancient times and is commonly used on hillsides. Employing terraces reduces the steepness of a hill, reducing runoff. There are two types of terracing: bench and broad base. Bench terracing is the type used to reduce the slope of land, while broad-base terracing creates spaces for controlling surface water on hilly land.

Vegetated Waterways

Growing perennial grasses in and along streams and other small waterways can help reduce the amount of runoff. These grasses absorb much of the runoff, which in turns absorbs much of the destructive forces of the flowing water. These grasses are especially effective at reducing the formation of gullies and channel erosion.

Image Source: Instagram - @kahikateafarm

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Contouring

Contouring refers to the way crops are planted and tilled. Planting crops perpendicular to a slope helps slow the flow of water downhill. This planting method is especially effective on moderate to low slopes.

Strip Cropping

This method combines contouring with crop rotation and can be very effective. Alternating crops and sods trap the runoff and the soils that go along with it. This is basically a way to dam the runoff and prevent or reduce erosion.

While these methods are nothing new, newer methods of fighting water erosions are becoming more common. Computer programs can estimate the strength, timing, and location of water runoff, helping landowners and farmers be more specific in their approaches to minimize damage. Artificial intelligence holds great promise to further hone the fight in the near future.

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