Water security is on people’s minds

 

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Last month, 765 people enquired about dams

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Over 14% of enquiries were international

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The top overseas countries enquiring about dams were 1. India  2. South Africa  3. USA  4. Great Britain  5. Canada

THE FUTURE OF WATER

IS BEAUTIFUL

PROJECT | herons creek

Build it. And the rain will come

WHAT A DIFFERENCE 30 DAYS MAKES

1. Former pro skateboarder and present permaculture future farming enthusiast Troy Roberts stands at the site of his new eco-dam on day one of construction.

2. The finished four megalitre dam sits ready to capture and harvest rainwater.

3. Only three days later, the dam is full.

Same place. Different time.

Some people are blessed with perfect timing.

 

PROJECTS

In 2020, Big Ditch partnered with Australia’s evaporation specialists evap.co to solve Australia’s evaporation crisis

They are both are indulgent & wasteful

The 2010 Hummer H2 on the left gets 3.8 kilometres per litre – and it indulgently wastes valuable natural resources.

The dam on the right loses 3% of it’s total volume every day, and will lose it’s total volume three times over every year due to the effect of evaporation on its naked water surface.

It’s wastes Australia’s most valuable resource.

Water.

How close to disaster do we need to be before we act?

Australia November 2019 | Australia’s worst ever drought

This is a preview of our future

WE HAVE BEEN WARNED

The average farm dam loses 15,000,000 litres of water a year to evaporation.

There are approximately 50,000 dams in Australia

That means we lose 750 billion litres of water every year

Temperatures are getting hotter

And we are receiving less rain

We are headed for big trouble

But there is a simple solution

This is the dam of the future

If all dams looked like this, we wouldn’t have had the water emergency we just suffered through

Beautiful water plants stop 90% of evaporation losses

And they give you cleaner water

Inspiring Sustainable Innovation 

We advise dam owners about organic evaporation solutions using our unique nature-based biomimicry strategies

We also advise the mining, oil, gas, power  industries & major infrastructure projects

PROVIDING STREAMLINED WATER PRACTISES & MANUFACTURED EVAPORATION MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS TO ENABLE EXCELLENCE IN CORPORATE WATER STEWARDSHIP

Permaculture specialists

We implemented our earthwork project in August of 2018 with the amazing Angus from Big Ditch. He is the perfect mix of expert, talent, and artist

We are now the proud owners of three beautiful organic dams holding over 8 million litres of rainwater

500,00 litres of that 8m litres is sitting in deep catchment swales, and will be enjoying its slow journey over the next week deep into the soil – the best place to store water!

Scott Wilson / Seedpod Permaculture Co

Innovative Specialist Emerging Water Technologies

practical solutions to challenging water issues for mining, oil, gas, government & major infrastructure

In 2020, Big Ditch teamed up with international environmental water specialists AQUALL

Industry innovator Dr Daniel Couton created Aquall to provide specialist services in environmental water chemistry

With projects in Oceania, North America, South America and Europe – Aquall offers a unique blend of science and engineering capabilities in specialist & emerging technologies, water balance, water process design & water concept design for mining, oil, gas, government & large infrastructure clients

We are proud to be able to work with Dr Couton, and join Aquall’s international network to provide our specialist services to their extended industry clients
EVAPORATION MANAGEMENT

WE TOLD A POWER STATION TO ‘CHECK OUT OUR BALLS’

When one of Australia’s largest power stations wanted to stop evaporation losses from their two massive dams – Big Ditch & AQUALL introduced them to shade balls from our exclusive supplier in the U.S.A

 

Shade balls are small plastic spheres floated on top of a reservoir. They reduce evaporation losses by up to 90% – and prevent sunlight from causing reactions among chemical compounds present in the water.

In 2014 and 2015, our US shade ball partner put 96 million shade balls onto Los Angeles’ largest reservoir. The balls saved 1.7 million cubic metres of water from evaporating during their deployment from August 2015 to March 2017.

96,000,000

Shade balls deployed

1.7 billion

Litres of water saved

$34.5 million

Cost

THINKING ABOUT A NATURAL SWIMMING POOL?

Big ditch + Living image design

In 2019, we teamed up with Australia’s best landscape architect

To take our concepts of natural swimming pools & dams to the next level

EXTRAORDINARY IDEA REALISATION

PHILLIP KNOWS DESIGN

With over 20 years of landscape design experience, and a wealth of knowledge gained in Australia and internationally, master landscape architect Phillip Cummins’ design studio ‘Living Image Design’ brings unique creativity & cutting edge style to dam design.

In 2019, we took on the Razorback Project together.

And in 2020, when the Wilton Buddhist Monastry needed specialist advice, they talked to us

Now we’re ready to take on your project

Talk to us about your natural swimming pool

PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT

“Not all earth moving contractors have the experience or ability to build dams to an acceptable standard. If you are considering a dam project, you should seek out a professional specialist dam builder” – Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development

 

 

The Rainbow Serpent Dam

 

“The Rainbow Serpent was one of the Dreamtime creatures who shaped the earth.

In the beginning the earth was flat – and as the Rainbow Serpent wound his way across the land, the movement of his body formed the mountains, valleys, rivers & deep waterholes.

Our friend, Angus from Big Ditch, has single handedly transformed our property with water harvesting features that remind me of this old story.

He used a dozer & excavator to turn the most unproductive desert into a thriving future farming oasis.

Just like the good old rainbow serpent”

 

Troy Roberts | Former pro-skateboarder | New permaculture dam owner

BET ON EXPERIENCE

To be great at something, you must do it every day

We have over 17 years experience, and we are the industry leader in the art of earth dam construction

2003

Building dams for 17 years

 

251

Dam engagements

 

18,800

Machine Hours

 

CORPORATE CONSULTATIONS

When Australian Unity needed  water design advice

THEY TALKED TO US

 

Visual water design for corporate brands

Australian Unity operate 19 upmarket resort style retirement communities up and down the east coast of Australia.

Their residents are sophisticated and stylish people who appreciate the serenity of beautiful water features.

When the installation at Sienna Grange needed an upgrade, we worked closely with senior management on the opportunity to create spectacular visual highlight for their landscape design.

And it all starts with the mood board that defines what success looks like.

 

 

View our design portfolio

Australia Unity | Sienna Grange

Before

 

Australia Unity | Sienna Grange

Proposed

 

LATEST PROJECTS

Dams are all we do.  Everyday.  And to be good at something, you need to do it every day

see more

Drop dead gorgeous. He’s good. He’s very very good

Troy Roberts | The Permaculture Co | Herons Creek

Thank you so much!

Melanie Coles | The Seed To Soul Permaculture Co | Rainbow Flat

EVAPORATION MANAGEMENT

BHP COPPER MINE CHILE

When BHP wanted to more accurately record the evaporation losses from their Chile tailings dam, we talked to them about all the new alternatives

CORPORATE CONSULTING

Water is important to BHP

They were looking for technological solutions to monitor water losses in their Chile tailings dam more frequently and accurately, in order to improve the accuracy of the water balance.

Currrent water loss information is taken from satellite image
analysis and bathymetry, but these measurements do not allow for timely operational decisions because the data is obtained infrequently.

BHP’s challenge was to suggest a better way to measure evaporation – because when we did that, we could better quantify the real impact of the of water losses – and generate a baseline for management to make better decisions.

This solution could then be applied to any tailings dam around the world.

That’s a huge innovation for the global mining industry

What are people saying?

Thank you for the wonderful job you did with our dam.
I love how it fits into the landscape!

Brenda | Crescent Head | NSW

Artist! You are really good at what you do. So thanks again

Scott Wilson | Seedpod Permaculture | Johns River

Many thanks for doing a great job. Really appreciate what you have done

Michael Parry | Kendall | NSW

You did an amazing job of redesigning our dam!

Jim Blanchard | Crescent Head | NSW

I am very happy with my beautiful dam. You are a perfectionist

Sue Coren | Crescent Head | NSW

I love my dam!

Pam Wehlow | Port Macquarie  | NSW

Thank you. I know you are really good at what you do. So thanks again

Andrew | Kempsey  | NSW

Large scale farm dams
Golf course water features

A title

Image Box text

Irrigation channels
Recreation reserves
Irrigation reservoirs
Aquaculture facilities
Natural swimming pools
Community lakes
Resort lagoons
Accordion Panel

CORPORATE CONSULTATIONS

Robert Oatley Olives are obsessed with perfection

SO THEY TALKED TO US

 

Robert Oatley Olives make the world’s best Olive Oil

The Oatley family own Hamilton Island, so they know quality.

And their Olive Oil operation at Gulgong NSW continues that heritage.

When they wanted their old leaking dam to be something they were proud of, we pushed the design boundaries of what was capable in the harsh surrounding geography that is so suitable for growing premium olives.

 

View our design portfolio

Robert Oatley Olives | Gulgong NSW

Before

 

Robert Oatley Olives | Gulgong NSW

Proposed

 

NEED ADVICE?

Are you worried about making the wrong decision about your dam project?

Sometimes it’s best for one of our specialists to pay a visit to your dam, or proposed dam site.

During an on-site consultation, our focus is on providing practical recommendations communicated in easy to understand terms.

We’ll discover your goals, study site specific circumstances, raise awareness to possible issues –  and provide a range of solutions to assist with your choice of action.

Find out more about our consulting services

DAM CONSULTING

You have a new dam, now what?

Besides praying for rain, what else should you do after your new dam has been built?

Here’s our complete to-do list for post-build dam maintenance and dam experience enhancement

Read our checklist

Want to seal your leaking dam yourself?

A guide to making good decisions

Here’s something no-one will tell you about fixing leaking dams

 

Sealing dams is easy if you know what you’re doing

There are fours ways you can do it, but…

One method is too expensive

One method doesn’t work

One method requires a lot of luck

And one method is guaranteed to work if you do it right

 

A quick guide to DIY dam sealing

DO YOU SUFFER FROM BAD COMPACTION?

Do you have a dam that refuses to hold water – even though the person who built it rolled and compacted the wall for days?

Your problem might be ‘pancake’ compaction – or what is technically known as horizontal linear compaction.

It’s a compaction technique that should never be used

 

read more

Where do you live?

As a well known professional dam builder operating during the worst drought in Australia’s history – I’m busy.

That means I travel a lot, and get to visit many towns every year.

Last year I travelled a total distance of 31,766 km – which is equal to travelling 79% around the world.

I spent 621 hours travelling to build dams, and I got to visit 67 places – and more importantly, I had never previously been to 54 of those places.

In the age of drought, my life is filled with lots of travel, lots of new places and lots of dams

This year, would you like me to visit you and talk about your water needs?