Landscape
Water that stays here
We want to build dozens of small check dams in the forest gullies. Water slows down behind them, is held back and soaks in — instead of running off after the first downpour.
A problem everyone can already see
You do not need to be an expert to notice what is happening. Streams that used to run all year dry up in summer. Wells are dropping. The forests are parched and more prone to fire. And when a storm finally comes, the water does not soak in — it takes the soil off the slope and within a few hours it is gone downstream.
It is the same water. It just has nowhere left to stay. Over the past decades the landscape has been levelled out, the gullies have cut deeper, and everything that falls runs off before it has time to sink in.
This is not about floods. It is about the water not leaving the valley all at once.
How it works
Slows down
A low dam across the gully stops the current. Water that was racing downhill comes to a stop and spreads out sideways.
Holds back
A small pool forms behind the structure. It stays there long after the rain has stopped, and the wildlife and the forest around it drink from it.
Soaks in
Instead of running off, the water goes into the soil and refills the reserve below the surface. Exactly the one the trees live on in August.
The dams will be deliberately small. Built of earth and of wood found on the spot, not of concrete. They will not change the shape of the valley, and once they have served their time nature will take them back.
Where we want to start
The first site is Suchá dolina in the municipal forests of Jelšava. Fifty-six measures are planned there — thirty-five of earth and twenty-one of timber. Not one of them is built yet. We have further sites in preparation across the whole Revúca district.
Suchá dolina — each square is one planned measure
