SA

Kersbrook Nature Festival Event Focusses on Dam Restoration
Source: Hills and Fleurieu Landscape October 2023 Newsletter

The event focused on restoring focuses on restoring farm dams to a more natural state. Photo credit: The Branded Story

Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu hosted a dam restoration workshop at Kersbrook on Saturday October 14 as part of this year’s Nature Festival. Facilitator Kim Thompson from Environmental Connections shared information about what you can do to renovate and restore your farm dam to a more natural state.
Information about financial incentives available for dam fencing was also passed on to attendees.

There was also a demonstration of a simple dam syphoning system. This system is an inexpensive but robust setup to get water from a fenced dam to a trough and for environmental flows into the creek below the dam.

• The swing check valve secured to a simple PVC pipe float provides a more robust valve in the dam that doesn’t get blocked like a poly non-return valve does.
• The breather/filler T piece on top of the dam wall allows the pipes to be filled and a way to depressurise the pipe if needed.
• The trough outside the dam fencing allow livestock to drink fresh dam water and protect the dam surrounds and dam water from livestock impacts
• The piping from the trough to the creek below the dam allows environmental water to be released at critical times such as late autumn/early winter and in summer to imitate natural flows

The diagram below shows dam renovation options and the dam siphoning system.