Some legal and technical issues related to water-spreading weirs

Indigenous flood harvesting method for irrigation in Khorasan, which are called water-spreading weir are constructed and operated by farmers without any cost to the government. Although, the benefits of water-spreading weirs are clear for many experts and the authorities as well, this method receives a little attention by governmental soil and water conservation services. This problem and a few suggestions for the purpose of extension of this method among stakeholders were presented in this article based on the documentary method. After a short review on the historical background of water-spreading weirs, some technical and legal issues associated with water-spreading weirs and barriers to its development were discussed. First, the legal status of water-spreading weirs ownership was explained followed by the maximum total area of water-spreading weirs for an upstream watershed, developing water-spreading weirs in dry farming fields, land use change of natural resources into water-spreading weirs, and the need to adapt the watershed management and soil and water resources management programs in the upstream basin with downstream water-spreading weirs. Based on the authors' experiences, a ratio between 1:10 and 1:20 between the water-spreading weirs area to upstream basin was proposed for arid and hyper-arid climates, respectively. Also, the ability of Article 3 of the Law on Revising the Law on Protection and Utilization of Forests and Rangelands was explained in order to assigning permission to exploit national lands to construct new water-spreading weirs. Finally, some suggestions for better maintaining of existing water-spreading weirs as well as encouraging the farmers and facilitating the process of constructing new water-spreading weirs on national lands and drylands were presented.