Chapter 7 of this handbook provides technical guidance for design and construction of sand dams. The author also presents interesting cases, where sand dams were constructed wrong or maintenance was neglected.
NISSEN-PETERSEN, E. (2006): Water from Dry Riverbeds - How Dry and Sandy Riverbeds Can be Turned into Water Sources by Hand-dug Wells, Subsurface Dams, Weirs and Sand Dams. Nairobi: ASAL Consultants Ltd. URL [Accessed: 11.03.2011] PDF