Malaysia is a tropical rainforest. With that we get abundant rain year round – around 2500mm yearly.
Great thing about that is that we have abundant rain to grow and store the water for the few dry spells.
Does that much water also come with problems? How can we deal with them? Read on to find more.
Good water and Bad water
Is there such a thing as good or bad water?
Well, just like a knife it all depends how we use it.
Typically in Malaysia, rainfall can be quite heavy. Typically a heavy rainfall is considered more than 60mm rain per day and can easily go upto 150mm regularly.
Just recently in December 2021, Malaysia recorded 363mm of rain in just 24 hours.
Even though that was extreme – dubbed as “once in a century” when we design, we must design for the extremes conditions.
These heavy rainfalls create floods landslides and massive erosion if left unchecked.
On the other hand every time it rains it brings lot of greenery on every dry and dead soil. Even in deserts where one would assume that there are no seeds life suddenly finds it way to spring up from nowhere.
With the lack of top soil in typical Malaysian soils, the water is not absorbed and thus just drains off. That is why the tropics are considered a dessert waiting to happen.
Water needs to work. Slow it down!
So how can we manage this water?
One of the easiest way to do is to create swales.
These simple structures slow the water down. They allow the water to seep into the ground as well as accumulate good organic matter at the same time.
At our farm, we recently made a swale. Here are the details of how one can go ahead with managing water.
We know there is water coming down the slope and it washes away further down the area.
So first we mark out the flag on contour using an A-Level or Water level. The line does not have to be straight and should follow the terrain.
So first we mark out the flag on contour using an A-Level or Water level. The line does not have to be straight and should follow the terrain.
This allows the water to slow down and be absorbed into the ground. At the same time the organic matter also accumulates within the swale over time.
Below are examples of various swales at the farm
Finally we need to prepare for the heavy rains.
When it does rain and the excess water cannot be absorbed, then we need to have a safe spillway to allow the water to go out smoothly.
Preferably, it is best to have a sink before letting the water out. Something like a banana circle works best as it again absorbs the water and organic matter as shown below.
If there is no space, then a simple structure – like small staircase can be made for the water to trickle down smoothly – to help divert the water safely.
Whats Next?
Water is abundant in Malaysia.
According to the National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM), rain water is also one of the cleanest sources of water in Malaysia.
So you need not worry if there is no stream on your land. With proper water planning we can have our sites as resilient for both extremes – be it too much or too little water.
Connect with us if you are interested to learn more or simply drop by at our Sunday Markets to get some fresh produce while exploring our urban farm.