Sepp Holzer’s ingenuity at work. In constructing terraces he comes across a hardpan layer of clay. He lays about 100 of slitted pipes that drain naturally with the contour of the hardpan and those pipes collect into a cistern which is used to create head pressure for a house downhill from it. The terraces are forested, quality, naturally mulched and fertilized soil is built, that soil retains lots of moisture, moisture stops draining at the hardpan, meets the slitted pipes and becomes a spring … now flowing at 5 liters per minute all year long (regardless of climate):
via zach @ Permies