Backflood Swale with Dam part 1

    This series will document the explanation, layout and installation of a backflood swale attached to a dam with a road crossing the swale with culverts under the road.
    A backflood swale is a rain water harvesting earthwork on contour which is attached to a dam and is used to divert water from a catchment area to a dam and to move water from the dam across landscape. It is useful to increase the catchment area that feeds a dam and can be used to put the spillway farther from the dam.
    A backflood swale fit into my design because I wanted to hold more water up higher in my pasture and I needed an access road to run close to the dam so I had to find a different location for the spillway.