Hill Country Groundwater Recharge

Bryan Hummel shows us his groundwater recharge project in the Red Bluff Creek area of the Texas Hill Country.
Berms and swales on contour is a great way to restore degraded landscapes, increase biodiversity, mitigate stormwater runoff, and of course, turn a stormwater liability into a groundwater asset on your land.
Giving the stormwater time and space to infiltrate can drastically improve land health, and create seeps and springs on your land!

[@deXXXXter2]

Dude, we need updates on that. Awesome work.

[@jameshearn1932]

Great video! I own 11 acres in Blanco county our hill is one of the highest points in the county. When I cleared the cedar on the top portion I used it to build berms and trails and brush piles for the critters. I did the same throughout the property. A few years ago after a heavy rain the water was running off the property for several weeks. It was an eyeopener. I felt like all this water was being robbed from my neighbors who have wells. So, after some thought I decided to reroute and close half of my trails. Bingo it worked! It's been several years now and every time it rains none of it runs off and all the water soaks in the ground rather quickly. I know it's a small piece of land compared to yours but with most new development in the hill country selling 5- 10 acres lots, collectively if all these new people would not moonscape the land and do what I did/you did, just think how much water would be filtered into our aquifer thus benefiting the springs, creeks and river and not to mention alleviate flooding.

[@threeriversforge1997]

I've got friends and family throughout Texas and they all marvel at this stuff because it's just not talked about in most circles. Videos like this are great, but being able to see it in person really makes the difference. With folks like you putting your money where your mouth is.... you're teaching folks even when you don't know it. Everyone around you will be able to see how lush your land is because you hold the water back as much as you can, and they'll want to mimic it. Hopefully. Maybe reach out to your neighbors upstream and down. See if you can get them to come by for a tour or help them install a small swale/berm on their land so they can watch it change the ecology for the better while they plan for more catchments. Every little bit helps.

[@owenwoodward4467]

Cleared Cedar 😪

[@BigBadJohn1892]

@@owenwoodward4467 clearing the cedar ruins sloped land within a few shorts years due to erosion.

[@PerennialGrowth]

What’s the best way to manage cedar when wanting to control its spread and promote grass growth instead?

[@GotoHere]

The idiots governing Boerne are water illiterates.

[@pappafritto]

The sight of the captured water is such a pleasure for the eyes

[@lobotomie66]

great work - wish this would be done all over the world greets from Germany

[@pam9470]

Really interesting and informative video - many of our landowners in the UK could do the same - we have so many bare hills that lead to flooding in towns and villages. We no longer seem to get gentle all-day rain, but deluges!

[@houstonfirefox]

New sub and awesome video! I'll be doing similar work in Hudspeth County in West Texas (220 acres)

[@danam2584]

I LOVE THIS!!!! This needs to be done all around the south west US.

[@jimmiller5600]

We even do variants of this in Michigan. Our city has created large "recharge" settling ponds and underground structures to slow, divert and filter water before it hits larger streams and rivers.

[@df6580]

I’m from San Antonio, Texas and conserving water is very important. It is feast or famine when it comes to rainfall, this is especially true over the recharge zone that provides the water for the city of San Antonio.

[@GotoHere]

You have idiot democrats governing San Antonio. They are water illiterates. Getting what you vote for. IE. See Chicago.

[@d2ez695]

Great job 👍 Greetings from Australia 🇦🇺

[@richardmoss6260]

Well done Bryan. All good common sense stuff. Landowners such as yourselves, particularly in places like in the southern US will need to instigate such practices in the future if the predicted weather patterns continue (very much 'feast or famine' in terms of rainfall). Here in France, far to many farmers have expanded their fields (by removing hedgerows) and as such, run-off is now even more destructive when we get heavy rainfall. Eventually, the lessons will be learnt! Loved the dog by the way. Cheers, Richard.

[@Beparepa]

It makes me happy to see videos like this. You are amazing at explaining the system. Please make more videos.

[@siameseire]

Your dog is playing happy alligator. lol. 😊

[@keeparizonawild156]

This is some great work. Humans jacked up the hydrology of the land through development all throughout the world. Now we know better. You could put a lot of people to work repairing the land. That would be much better than working in a call center. Thank for what you’re doing brother.

[@shinjokagama7521]

Good job. More people should do this.

[@jefferybublitz7968]

You have your plate full of th things you are loving to do. It's a lot of work, but th benefits seem to out way, all th work load. You have done a good job of sharing this water retention project with us your viewers. I should like to come and visit you location, and learn more. B-Strong, B n Christ.

[@aussiebicolanalifestyle]

Watching from Sydney Australia

[@greeneyeddevil1]

You are a leader for sure and an excellent teacher

[@ScottRasmussen-v1i]

This is super exciting to see. Can you give us an update????

[@jovitaaguilar3316]

Thoroughly enjoyed your video. I'm currently viewing as many videos on swales as possible to help me get the process started on my few acres of land. Is there a swale society in Texas or the Hill Country?

[@thehuntfortruth]

You're CRUSHING IT BRO

[@Dapper_Dean]

That's what they been doing on the rice terraces in Banaue Philippines for 2000 years. And is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

[@gussampson5029]

Doggie must get excited every time it rains too lol

[@BikeAndFish1]

Love this video, I'll be the 100th subscriber even tough you have 2 videos on channel.

[@louisegogel7973]

08:10 I see you have a red person to point in general on that wonderful chart of yours, but it isn’t obvious to me what you are describing and an arrow moving and following your words as you speak would be so much more clear and helpful each time you use your chart!! 10:22 We can really turn flooding liabilities into agricultural abundance and groundwater assets! And we can do this for very little money!!! There are government, and maybe state, programs which help landowners pay for this kind of landscape and environmentally beneficial improvement! I love the way you phrase turning liabilities into abundance and assets, and that you are likely inspiring all your neighbors as they watch for your successes.

[@Vinegaroon]

This is amazing

[@polkmn8105]

i would love to see updates after all these years!!

[@whatawaytogo515]

Nice work!

[@masonlearns]

Would love to see an update after the current 2 years of drought

[@noeenriquez4221]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@v.britton4445]

Heroic work !!

[@dustinabc]

Cool project. Would love to see an update!

[@genelasaname]

Great vid and info!

[@futurecaredesign]

Great video! Subscribed.

[@kwlweapons]

Updates needed, great work planting the rain!

[@Fido-vm9zi]

Thanks for the information!

[@VidClips858]

Do you need to keep mosquitoes controlled?

[@jacklamkang]

I want to see an update onthis swales too.

[@lostcityzen9792]

good content bro

[@brianjonker510]

This system mimics a series of ponds/pools that beacer dams would make.

[@prashanthkamath7437]

Do not place the swales close to the road. The water seeps into the subgrade and that destabilises the road. You can already see some damage to the bitumen surface near where there is water logging.

[@GotoHere]

Top soil is less than 6 inches. Then it’s all rock.

[@TurnerKerr]

How did you construct your berms? Looks like cedar mulch and material from the area?

[@susmarkvejens]

Hi Chad. I think you're awesome. I'm especially impressed with your soldering skills 🙂. As I was watching this video with the butterfly pendant, it struck me that the design would also be fantastic as a hair clip/clasp. And as I haven't seen anyone building a silver hair clasp, how about doing such a thing? Best wishes, Sus Nielsen, Denmark

[@robertzalaker4775]

i use my post hole auger and drill holes allover my property 4 foot deep and fill them with rock and coarse sand it realy soaks in fast

[@bigwooly8014]

Fill your holes with organic mater. Will do the same thing and act like multiple compost holes. Greatly improves soil and water infiltration at the same time.

[@nema151]

"...about doggy deep." LOL😂😂

[@tokoenelly]

Awesome

[@TheDalaiLamaCon]

How is it looking now? Hopefully lush and wet.

[@siameseire]

Wonderful wonderful!!!!! Thank you!!

[@kahytiyawolf9632]

Awesome, I would love to see an update

[@KevinGreenhough]

Impressive!!

[@tefinnegan5239]

I was hoping to see a little red dawg figure. Especially when he's measuring depth. 😆

[@ukana5315]

Please make an update. I want to see how tha swales are doing now❤❤❤❤❤

[@anders21karlsson]

Great work. I hope it work out well. Any updates soon? Greetings from Sweden.

[@foldupaudi7645]

Awesomeness

[@SideshowBen206]

What's it looking like these days?

[@Zsignal743]

Keep up the good work bro. Just a quick question I know they us gypsum or calcium carbonate/lime to clear out dirty pond water. Will clear water evaporate faster than muggy water in this type of system that you created.

[@MichaelPiraino]

please give an update to show how the site has changed!

[@kennyw871]

Great concept put into action. My question is: what qualitative and quantitave environmental contanimates, if any, are in the water you intend to recharge the aquifer? Also, do you have a hydrologist to determine the effectiveness of your method?

[@blackduckfarmcanada]

What's better, a depleted aquifer or one with the same contaminants as the surface water runoff that was once eroding the heck of the landscape

[@timbrady6473]

Aren’t super saturated soils on hillsides a potential scenario for land slides?

[@HylanderSB]

Looks like this channel went dark? this is the newest video from two years ago? Very Gen X. Slacker! I want to see what this system looks like now.

[@planetbob4709]

I want an update for this project... I have spoken ... make it so.

[@nomada503]

Its dog deep 😂💟💟

[@nema151]

Can you come do this in arizona? Maybe california could learn from you too.

[@rajsinghji-84]

Any update coming?

[@joedoakes8307]

Are you actively removing 'those' cedar trees on your property ?

[@infiniteadam7352]

Wanted to check that website out but its not working.

[@druidgrove]

First Australian technology over 50 to 65 thousand years not 6500 years

[@alpineflauge909]

sweet

[@joedoakes8307]

Lots of ranchers\farmers in Tx are NOT OK the growth of Cedar\mesquite tree's as they suck up all that rain runoff so it never reaches subsurface water reservoirs !

[@farmerted-treefarmerplenip9665]

More Texans get angry about all the ranchers leaving their own property in ruins with nothing but rock and dead dirt left from the destruction of the cedar forests. Very irresponsible 'ranching'. Plant something in the place of the cedars. Get educated about cover crops and not leaving the soil bare. Then you can apply that to bring back the water. Mesquites and other pioneer trees more in only because ranchers and farmers don't understand how to manage their own land. Ranch animals need shade too so grow something!

[@erikcr80]

get rid oh the cedars... my word.

[@ARSONXBELLA]

How is this not woke.

[@Richard-me2pq]

Take Speech 101, and edit your videos. Too much stuttering, repeating yourself.

[@maximweber4182]

Hi! Great work. I would love to see an update for that video? Do you think, you can make it happen? 🦫