Small walls made of loose stones wrapped in fencing or some other strong permeable material and built between a water source and a water inlet, to allow water to flow through unimpeded, while stopping sediments.
Microfilter dams, also called Rock filter dams or Block and Gravel Inlet Protection, can help stop sand, silt, gravel, and rocks which are eroded by rain or carried in the current from entering a water inlet. The microfilter dams are small walls made of loose stones wrapped in fencing or some other strong permeable material and built between a water source and a water inlet, to allow water to flow through unimpeded, while stopping sediments. These micro filter dams reduce river, storm drain, or open rain catchment tank sedimentation. Though leaving as much of the soil as undisturbed as possible is the best practice for reducing sedimentation, micro-filters can help restore areas already experiencing prior erosion and land disturbance like from deforestation as at Pedregal. Micro-filter dams also give more time for water to filter into the local groundwater, in a similar way to a swale. The design tries to recreate what happens naturally in a healthy stream, which is the formation of pools and steps, which in turn serve as habitat to many plants and animals. At Pedregal microfilter dams are combined with Filter Strips, or wide belts of vegetation that slow water down to increase infiltration and intercept or absorb sediments and other contaminants. This is one project in a series of soil conservation, groundwater recharge, and farming demonstration projects at Pedregal a Permaculture Demonstration Center in San Andres Huayapam, Mexico.
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