Creating a Lake

[EddieWalker]

Here's Blue again on the orange line. This is the end of the dike. Now I have my perimiter defined, I can start the building it.

The spillway will be in this area. I just did a quick look around and liked what I found. It will work real nice for a grass spillway down to the creek.

 

[EddieWalker]

The tree in the middle of the picture is where I'll dig my keyway. The tree was big enough to stop my dozer. I can dig around it or use the backhoe. For bigger trees, the backhoe is much faster at taking them out.

 

[EddieWalker]

Just to the left of that tree in the previous post is this hill.

In 1942 the US Army built this. It is officially called the 200 yard shooting position on Camp Fannin's "Rifle Range Number 4." In order to maintain a level firing position, the army built up these fireing positions. The 300 yard one is HUGE! This one is just overwhelming. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

It's some of the nicest fill dirt you'll ever find. It will compact unlike anything else I've come across. I don't know if they treated it, mixed it or just brought in some very choice material. I do know that it's a dream to work with.

 

[EddieWalker]

I had a few hours left of daylight, so I cut a ramp into the end of the berm. My thought is to keep pushing dirt down to where I can load it.

 

[EddieWalker]

Aint she sexy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Panache]

I have a ram pump in my pond. They need head to operate. 15 ft plus. There is a rotary pump also available. It needs not head but does need moving water. My ram is a Fulton. It was made by a gentleman outside Atlanta.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'll have to measure it, but I might have enough of a drop along with the moving water to make the Ram work.

I've been downloading diagrams and reading up on it, so when I finish the dirt work, I'll try to build one.

 

[EddieWalker]

I went as far as I dared with my dozer into the swamp. Nothing scares me like watching her tracks sinking into the black goo!!!!!!!!!!!

At this point I switched to the backho to clear brush. I took out everything I could reach and shoved it asside.

 

[EddieWalker]

The swamp is going to be an issue. Too much water.

I dug the core trench, or key way, from the farthest I was able to get the backho. Then I followed my marks that I made laying out the shoreline and elevation changes.

The shallower I got, the less I dug. The minimum is 2 feet by 2 feet. I'm 6 feet by six feet at my deepest.

The water came rushing in all along the trench. In places it was coming in so fast it caused ripples and was moving dirt.

 

[EddieWalker]

The water will only be about a foot deep in the photo, so it's the smaller part of the keyway.

This is a good photo of how it works to lock in the water and keep the dike, or a dam, from sliding or leaking.