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Holding Water | Waternet

A Top Idea that holds water

From WetNews 6 October 1999

Introduction

Internationally renowned soil scientist and cropping advisor in the USA Neal Kinsey, says that that a sand will hold maybe 1 inch of water in the topsoil "to the depth a post will". He says a clay soil will hold maybe 3 inches. The research carried out in the U.K. by the author shows that we now have the ability to hold 5 to 10 inches.

BILL BUTTERWORTH, a geo-recycling specialist, reports on research that points to the potentially huge and far-reaching agronomic and environmental benefits.

One way of using organic waste in the UK - most of which is currently put to landfill - is to recycle it to topsoils, where - as research shows - it can hold 2 to 10 times its own weight in rainfall. Some believe that - in effect - this practice would create a 100-billion gallon "reservoir" - but at no capital cost and whose environmental impacts even the most extreme lobby would find difficult to reject.