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Levee broke- lost all fish and most of the water

Levee broke- lost all fish and most of the water


  #1  
Old 01-25-15, 05:45 PM
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Levee broke- lost all fish and most of the water

This is the 2nd time in 10 years we had a hard rain a few mos ago..
It is my neighbors pond that joins me.
I told him I would put $1,000 into it.. Its now been about a year he not fixed it yet.
How do the fix it to make it right, last guy came in put Clay bottom and rock. It lasted about 2 years I love to fly fish it catch lots of Brim and a few bass

 
  #2  
Old 01-25-15, 06:50 PM
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We try to keep one topic in a single thread. When a topic appears in two different areas the questions get duplicated and causes confusion.

This is a good location for your thread and the right people will see it.

I do have an observation..... you mentioned when it rains a lot it runs over in the area where it fell apart. Maybe you need to put some type of overflow area where the water will spillover without causing destruction. Maybe an actual cement type overflow area.

You mentioned a 40" pipe.... how does that figure in to this ?
 
  #3  
Old 01-26-15, 05:14 AM
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Is there a culvert or spillway for the pond? That is often a weak spot that can lead to dam failure if not done properly. If there is no overflow built into the pond then it's only a matter of time before the dam is topped and erosion cuts a path.

It also looks like the water level is very near the top of the dam. That alone can be a warning sign. How wide is the dam at the top? It looks quite narrow from your little red circle. Gravity dams like that survive because of their mass. Too thin at the top and the pressure of the water can saturate the soil at the top and blow out a section. Once it's breached the flowing water rapidly cuts deeper into the structure. Added width and height above the water are your friends. The added width provides more mass behind to support the dam. Taller adds weight above, further anchoring the dam in place. The added weight from above also compresses the lower soils to limit the amount of water that can enter the dam's soil.
 
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Old 01-26-15, 05:57 AM
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Pond

Needs an overflow spillway built from material that will not erode, such as concrete. And keep the muskrats at bay. Muskrats will wreck a pond perimeter in no time flat.
 
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Old 01-26-15, 08:49 AM
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It had this 40" pipe in the middle of the pond. It broke 2 years just after a new buy bought it.
He did not keep the pipe that went to the drain. I told him he better keep that pipe in.
He didn't and 2 years later it bust...
 
  #6  
Old 01-26-15, 11:47 AM
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I am not a pond expert but I know of a larger pond with an overflow pipe like you described. When the water level exceeded the height of the pipe, it would flow into the pipe and out a drain. That suggests that below where the pipe used to sit is a sealed drain. (if it wasn't sealed, the pond would have emptied out by now). That also relates to the thin wall at the top of the dam. Perhaps it was never intended to act as a dam and hold the water in. The water should never reach that high if the overflow drain were working.
 
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Old 01-26-15, 02:08 PM
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I was told that it was not big enough for all the ways water came into it... There is a 1,000 acres behind and in front of the pond, It takes in lots of water...
 
  #8  
Old 01-26-15, 03:32 PM
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If nothing on the land side changed in the last couple years, then look at what changed in the pond. What happened that the pond was stable for years and then it stayed to fail.
 
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Old 01-27-15, 07:10 AM
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If you answer the questions in post #3 about the dams construction we can help more effectively.

Also, what is a 40" pipe? Is it a 40" diameter culvert pipe? Is it a piece of pipe 40" long? Is it installed straight through the dam or does it rise vertically out in the water?
 
 

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