This case study discusses the systematic conversion of borrow pits as rainwater harvesting ponds for off-season small-scale irrigation. The overall goal of this case study is to contribute to the replication and scaling up of borrow pits for off-season small-scale irrigation in arid and semi-arid areas. Borrow pits provide the source material for the construction of road embankments, which depending on the local area are: gravel/aggregates, silica sands, laterite sands and calcite. Borrow pits can become major assets in local water security. Thus, as soon as the pits are no longer used for the mining of building materials, the excavated structure can become an important and valuable water supply source. More specifically for rainwater harvesting irrigation management, rather than backfilling the pits or leaving them unattended, borrow pits can be systematically converted into sources of off-season small-scale irrigation. Read the study Technical Sheet BPs
Last modified: June 6, 2017