Check dam
Topic: Water Resources of India: Availability, Use and Conservation · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 2 "Shaping of the Earth's Surface"
Meaning
A check dam is a small, low barrier built across a stream or gully (a small channel cut by running water). It slows the water, so the water has time to soak into the ground and recharge groundwater. It also traps silt and reduces soil erosion. Check dams are cheap and simple, and villages can build them themselves. That makes them a key tool in watershed management, which means caring for all the land and water in an area that drains to one stream.
Example
In Alwar district, Rajasthan, villagers built johads with Tarun Bharat Sangh. A johad is a crescent-shaped earthen check dam. These johads helped revive the Arvari river.
Don't confuse with
- Percolation tank: this is a pond made mainly to store runoff so it seeps down and refills wells. A check dam is a barrier across a flowing stream that slows the water.
- Large dam: it creates a big reservoir for irrigation and power. A check dam is small and local, and its main job is to slow water and recharge groundwater.
Related concepts
- Rainwater harvesting
- Rooftop rainwater harvesting
- Shillong rooftop rainwater harvesting
- Tamil Nadu rainwater harvesting mandate
- Watershed management
- Percolation tank
- Haryali
- Ralegan Siddhi
- Arvary Pani Sansad