Hilltop flood channel diversion or pond...

My yard has a steep hill at the base of a large mountain. There is a flood channel running across the back diverting all the beautiful water away from our property. The flood channel is cracked in some places and I do already get some water in my yard when it rains. I would like to divert the first half of the channelled water into my yard and use the second half for a pond. Does any one know the best way to go about diverting/catching the water?

You should check to make sure the flood channel is not in an easement and legally in the control of some authority. If it is, you may not be legally allowed to mess with it. Do you have a way of taking a picture of it or even showing us a sketch of it? Also, diverting flood water is fraught with peril! We have two flooding seasonal creeks that meet on our property, and we sometimes get a million acre feet of water rushing through our place, which we would much rather have sticking around growing plants. We will never be able to divert much of this water, but we hope to eventually de-energize it some. So you should be aware of how powerful flood water is, and how potentially dangerous it is to try to divert.