Fords can be used for dry, wet or natural stream crossing. Some conditions for construction include:
- construction is on a hard stable bed
- concrete ingredients do not enter water
- stream banks are less than 1 m high
- water body is no deeper than 600 mm during the mean annual flow
- some form of floodgate or barrier is required to prevent stock access into stream
 | | stream crossing |
Batter or dry fords are suited to wide shallow streams with gravel or soft substrate where it is too expensive to construct a bridge or culvert and access is only inundated in heavy flood flows. They also have a high weight loading and may impede fish access if not designed appropriately with multiple culverts
 | | Battery Ford |
| Concrete pad or wet fords |
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Concrete pad or wet fords are suited to wide shallow streams with gravel or soft substrate where it is too expensive or not necessary to maintain a dry crossing. They can prevent disturbance of streambed sediment, are relatively inexpensive, do not impede stream flow and have a high weight loading. However they may impede fish access and small floods will disrupt access.
| Natural stream bed crossings |
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Natural stream bed crossings may cause the water quality to deteriorate as a result of animal wastes and/or stream bed disruption. They are suited to shallow streams with hard rock substrate where it is too expensive or not necessary to maintain a dry crossing. They are inexpensive, do not impede stream flow or fish access, have a high weight loading and small floods will disrupt access.
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