ABSTRACT
Despite the apparent super-efficiency of modern equipment, a high proportion of dams built today do not seem to have the long life of those small dams constructed in the old days with a horse and scoop, followed by a driven flock of sheep to give compaction. Although bulldozers, scrapers and tractors are heavy machines, they are designed to create as little pressure as possible and are usually used when the soil is at its driest – a time when soil moisture is well below the optimum for good compaction. The modern answer for the compaction process is a wheeled tractor or sheepsfoot roller, particularly where troublesome soils are encountered, and a crawler tractor to carry out the excavation.
