#irrigation

Maxfield Parrish (American, 1870-1966), Water Let in on a Field of Alfalfa, 1902. Oil on paper laid down on board by the artist, image: 15½ x 10 in.; board: 17 x 11¼ in.

Orange trees being watered in a Spanish courtyard.

Tire Sign, Enterprise, Washington County, 2020.

Ramón discovered that designs for the Pisaca lagoon were recorded in maps, wills, accounts of land disputes, property titles and interviews. He realised the Paltas had developed a system for sowing and harvesting water that involved collecting and infiltrating rainwater, groundwater and underground runoff (sowing) to recover it later when it reappeared in springs and wells downstream (harvesting). That system enabled the Paltas to regulate water flows and store water in aquifers for domestic use and irrigation during periods of drought. “The springs tend to increase significantly during the rainy months and then dry out by August due to poor soil permeability. Without the Paltas’ system, water runoff is rapid, so you don’t have a permanent source to feed the spring,” Ramón says. The main element of this system is the artificial lentic – or still water – wetland (cocha in Quechua) created at high altitudes to collect rainwater during the rainy months. The Paltas built these lagoons on fractured rocky terrain – the permeability of the pond bottoms allowed for slow water infiltration and aquifers to recharge.

Natsuko Dam

The beginning of my irrigation project in the Withered Wasteland. Also me and my bestie Lapras.