Looking for advice on (temporarily) plugging a culvert

[Ellen B]

Hi everyone, here's the situation: I've got a year-round spring on my property, and the overflow from the spring box (only a few GPM in summer) runs down a draw. Halfway down the property, there is a dam across the draw that creates a small pond, probably about 4000 gallons, with a 16" culvert passing under a dirt road for the outflow. There is a 4" PVC pipe buried under the road as well, directly on top of the culvert, which was put there by the previous owner to allow for plugging the culvert in the summer without washing out the road. In the winter the draw is full from runoff and I need the culvert open, but during our dry summers the 4" pipe is more than adequate.

I'd like to keep the culvert plugged all summer to take advantage of the additional water storage this provides, but the previous owner's method of plugging it isn't working out for me. He had a five gallon bucket (filled with spray foam to prevent it from collapsing), and then put two lawn tractor tires around it. He'd push this into the culvert, inflate the tubes, and according to him, that worked great. However, I can't get it to last more than a few days before one or both of the tubes pops. At first I thought this was from blackberry canes washing in and popping them, but I've started being more thorough in examining where the punctures are located, and this last time it was definitely not on a part of the tube that was exposed to the dammed water. I'm thinking the inside of the culvert may just be too rough for the inner tubes.

Does anyone have some creative ideas about how to plug the culvert up, while allowing for the plug to be reasonably easy to remove once the rains start in the fall?

 

[bcp]

C-2 Distributing Gates Waterman Valve LLC

Slide Gates - Fresno Valves & Castings

Bruce

 

[Ellen B]

Thanks Bruce. I should have mentioned this, but I think the pond side of the culvert is in too poor of condition to accept the stub on that gate you linked to. The end is all chewed up, and it isn't even really protruding past the concrete/rock dam at this point. I guess replacing the culvert itself and then using that gate would be the cleanest option, but I've got a lot of projects on the list already for this summer and digging up my road is something I'd rather wait a couple years on if I can.

 

[4570Man]

Use a tougher bladder than an inner tube like a rescue bag designed for lifting vehicles. What does the pond side of the culvert look like? Can you just block it with a piece of plywood? What is going to happen with the 4” pipe when it rains.

 

[Diggin It]

Angle grinder to smooth the culvert inner edge? Or maybe some kind of edging like a piece of bed liner or truck flap glued in place?

 

[4570Man]

Angle grinder to smooth the culvert inner edge? Or maybe some kind of edging like a piece of bed liner or truck flap glued in place?

Maybe put the inner tube inside a fire hose.

 

[JPRambo]

I think a weir gate is the answer you need.

 

[oosik]

Square hay bales - stacked up against the 16" culvert. Dirt, silt, debris will soon plug the bales. And if it works - easy & cheap.

 

[Ellen B]

I have to get outside now but I'll check out rescue bags later, I hadn't heard of those before. I'll take a picture of the culvert and post it when I get back inside this afternoon, I don't think plywood would be doable though without somehow extending the culvert into the pond or casting some kind of concrete extension in lieu of that. We have reliable drought here in the summer, and when it does rain it's not generally a deluge, but I'm trying to figure something out that's either inflatable or otherwise easily removable so that I can quickly pull it on relatively short notice just in case.

 

[JPRambo]

I think a weir gate is the answer

 

[Ellen B]

Okay, here area few pics. Hopefully they show how the pond side of the culvert is recessed into the bank (I think the dam actually starts below it). Please let me know if I'm missing something, but I think I'd need to somehow extend the culvert if I were going to attach one of those gates you guys are suggesting. Same with the straw bales, as it stands now the bale would be able to sit flush against the rim of the culvert. The other concern I'd have with the bale solution is that the flow rate into the pond is so low in the summer, even a minimal amount of leakage would render it ineffective. My irrigation shut off this morning at 8am, it's now noon here and you can see in the last picture that the water level is still well below the culvert. It takes almost the entire day to recover with the low inflow.

 

[Diggin It]

Can a section of PVC (or similar) pipe be forced inside the culvert? You'd have to closely match diameters, then maybe pour concrete around the coupled area to seal leaks.

 

[oosik]

If you want a positive seal, then it will have to be a wooden gate, rounded to the bottom shape of the culvert. It could be jammed down into one of the culvert grooves. Line the bottom of the wooden gate with some type of rubber - as a gasket. Heavy foam rubber or something similar.

Or, as Diggin It, suggests. Only, use high density expanding foam to seal around the coupled area. With a chunk of PVC extended out into the pond - a sealed gate would be easy to fabricate.

BTW - the pics are a BIG help.

 

[/pine]

Use a partial wooden coffer dam and seal it off with a short stack of sandbags...leave the coffer dam and just remove the sandbags to open the culvert...

 

[LouNY]

All the above are good, or wrap the outside of the tire tube with some cloth or canvas before you inflate them.

 

[thekkfan]

It ain't cheap, but it'll work while you finish other projects, lol ......

https://www.newpig.com/multi-flex-inflatable-pipe-plug/p/PLR112?couponCode=PLAHOODIE&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1MXpBRDjARIsAHtdN-0uPY5S43yk-QYn_7elU4-ggo9MAA8HFYKlU0iOOJL-XAsHbmruOIoaAhWKEALw_wcB

one more...

Robot Check

You can only have two of the following:

FAST, CHEAP, RELIABLE. You pick....

 

[JK22]

You better make sure you have appropriate water rights to do this before spending big bucks... In Colorado this could spell big trouble. Most western states are not much different.

 

[thekkfan]

:laughing: sounds like an episode of Bonanza.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I would form and place a concrete head wall (needs it anyway) then bolt a slide gate assembly onto the head wall. Probably need to reroute the 4" PVC to clear the gate.

Ron

 

[1010]

You could use sand bags on the up stream side of the pipe, creating a small dam in a curved shape, a local co-op will have a rice gate or plastic sheet you can place over the bags for overflow when it fills. We do this for ducks in a few places works pretty good. But a heavy rain will cause problems. Mulch or saw dust will plug the small leaks pretty quick.

I've seen people build a clay dike out in front of pipes also and install a 4-5 foot pipe with a riser that accepts 2x12s or 2x6s for water depth desired. The water flows over the boards.
This would be the easiest permanent fix that would make life easy on you and not have to dig up the road. It would require a non pervious dirt like red clay around the pipe and dike, with out it it'd probably leak and blow out.

But a new pipe with the above mentioned riser would be ideal. In fact you might could find a riser with a collar that would work with the existing pipe but the existing pipe would have to be cut clean and not have any many big dents so it would seal. There's products that can seal a pretty big dent too. Like windshield rope tar.