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A check dam is a small, often temporary, dam constructed across a swale, drainage ditch, or waterway to counteract erosion by reducing water flow velocity. Check dams themselves are not a type of new technology; rather, they are an ancient technique dating all the way back to the second century A.D. Check dams are typically, not always, implemented as a system, consisting of several check dams situated at regular intervals across the area of interest.

Function

A check dam placed in the ditch, swale, or channel interrupts the flow of water and flattens the gradient of the channel, thereby reducing the velocity. In turn, this obstruction induces infiltration rather than eroding the channel. They can be used not only to slow flow velocity but also to distribute flows across a swale to avoid preferential paths and guide flows toward vegetation. Although some sedimentation may result behind the dam, check dams do not primarily function as sediment trapping devices.

Applications

Grade Control Mechanism

Check dams have traditionally been implemented in two main environments: across channel bottoms and on hilly slopes. Check dams are used primarily to control water velocity, conserve soil, and improve land. They are used when other flow-control practices, such as lining the channel or creating bioswales is impractical. Accordingly, they are commonly used in degrading temporary channels, in which permanent stabilization is impractical and infeasible in terms of resource allocation and funding due to the short life period. Or, they are used when construction delays and weather conditions prevent timely installation of other erosion control practices.This is typically seen during the construction process of large-scale permanent dams or erosion control. As such, check dams serve as temporary grade-control mechanisms along waterways until resolute stabilization is established or along permanent swales that need protection prior to installation of a non-erodible lining.

Water Quality Control Mechanism

Many check dams tend to form stream pools. Under low-flow circumstances, water either infiltrates into the ground, evaporates, or seeps through or under the dam. Under high flow - flood - conditions, water flows over or through the structure. Coarse and medium-grained sediment from runoff tends to be deposited behind check dams, while finer grains flow through. Extra nutrients, phosphorus, nitrogen, heavy metals, and floating garbage are also trapped by check dams, increasing their effectiveness as water quality control measures.

Arid Regions

In arid areas, check dams are often built to increase groundwater recharge in a process called managed aquifer recharge. Winter runoff thus can be stored in aquifers, from which the water can be withdrawn during the dry season for irrigation, livestock watering, and even drinking water supply. This is particularly useful for small settlements located far from a large urban center as check dams require less reliance on machinery, funding, or advanced understandings as compared to large-scale dam implementation.

Mountainous Regions

As a strategy to stabilize mountain streams, the construction of check dams has a long tradition in many mountainous regions dating back to the 19th century in Europe. Because of the steep slopes in the mountain region, it may be difficult for large construction machinery to reach mountain streams; therefore, check dams have been implemented in replace of large-scale dams. Because the typical high slope causes the flow velocity to move faster, a terraced system of multiple closely-spaced check dams is typically necessary to reduce velocity and thereby counteract erosion. Such consolidation check dams, built in terraces, attempt to prevent both headward and downward cutting into channel beds while also stabilizing adjacent hill slopes. They are further used to mitigate flood and debris flow hazards.

Design Considerations

Site

Before installing a check dam, careful inspection of the site must be undertaken. The drainage area should be ten acres or less. The waterway should be on a slope of no more than 50% and should have a minimum depth to bedrock of 2 ft. Check dams are often used in natural or constructed channels or swales. They should never be placed in live streams unless approved by appropriate local, state and/or federal authorities.

Materials

Check dams are made of a variety of materials. Because they are typically used as temporary structures, they are often made of cheap and accessible materials such as rocks, gravel, logs, hay bales, and sandbags. Woven-wire can be used to construct check dams in order to hold fine material in a gully. They are typically utilized in environments where the gully has a moderate slope (less than 10%), small drainage area, and in regions where flood flows do not typically carry large rocks or boulders. In nearly all instances, erosion control blankets, which are biodegradable open-weave blankets, are used in conjunction with check dams. These blankets help enforce vegetation growth on the slopes, shorelines and ditch bottoms.

Size

A check dam should not be more than 2 to 3 feet high. and the center of the dam should be at least six-inches lower than its edges. They may kill grass linings in channels if water stays high or sediment load is great. This criteria induces a weir effect, resulting in increased water surface level upstream for some, if not all flow conditions.

Spacing

In order to effectively slow down water velocity to counter the effects of erosion and protect the channel between dams in a larger system, the spacing must be designed properly. The check dams should be spaced such that the toe of the upstream check dam is equal to the elevation of the downstream check dam's crest. By doing so, the water can pond between check dams and thus slow the flow's velocity down substantially as the water progresses downslope.

Advantages

Check dams are a highly effective practice to reduce flow velocities in channels and waterways. Contrasting big dams, check dams have a faster implementation timeline, are cost effective, and are smaller in scope. Because of this, their implementation will not typically displace people or communities nor will they destroy natural resources if careful design considerations are undertaken. Moreover, the dams themselves are simple to construct and do not rely on advanced technologies – thereby they can be applied in more rural and less advanced communities, as they have been in India’s drylands for some time now.

Limitations

Check dams still require maintenance and sediment removal practices. They become more difficult to implement on steep slopes, as velocity is higher and thereby the distance between dams must be shortened. Check dams, depending on the material used, can have a limited life span but if implemented correctly can be considered permanent though not encouraged.

Maintenance

Check dams require regular maintenance as they are used primarily as a temporary structure and thereby are not designed to withstand long-term use. Dams should be inspected every week that it is sited in the channel and after every large storm. . It is important that rubble, litter, and leaves are removed from the upstream side of the dam. This is typically done when the sediment has reached a height of one-half the original height of the dam.

Further, maintenance is required when removing the check dam altogether. In order to ensure the future flow is not adversely altered, the check dam must be fully removed, including any parts that may have been dislodged and washed downstream or any newly developed bare spots where the check dam once was situated.