How best to dam a creek?????

[Snobdds]

In Wyoming the best damn builders are tumbleweeds.

I know because this spring I removed tons of them plugging up the water to my lake.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

NRCS doesn’t have agents and they don’t come to your property without you calling and asking them to come. They are a technical service arm of USDA and have technical specialists. Most large farms and ranches are familiar and use them for technical assistance to provide project plans and recommendations. They don’t tell anyone what to do; they listen to what you want and provide ideas. But you can always guess about the hydrology or maybe pay a consulting hydrologist instead of using their free advice. Your choice.

My choice is not making a major production out of simplicity. Been there done that...one phone call away from h*((.

 

[jyoutz]

My choice is not making a major production out of simplicity. Been there done that...one phone call away from h*((.

Hopefully you can design something for high flows without losing your work.

 

[Jstpssng]

Hopefully you can design something for high flows without losing your work.

Exactly. I've seen a 30" pipe washed 50 yards downstream in a little trickle stream which didn't even have water during the spring thaw. Hydraulic pressure is impressive.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

At my homeplace is a 2 ac. lake my grandfather had put in 1954. 18ft deep at overflow pipe. It has a 4ft culvert one side of dam about 3ft above drain and spillway other side a few feet above culvert.
After lake was put in he said it's going to take forever to fill then Hurricane Hazel hit that night and filled it. The famous flood of '69 water went over the dam, lake was about 4 acres and dock and picnic area under water.
It's been dredged a couple times and now lily pads are starting to grow over it. It's probably 6ft deep at overflow pipe.

 

[Hay Dude]

Are Beavers found in your part of the country?
Here, in mine, they do an amazing job of dam building.
No permits, studies, or gubmit types tromping around on your property needed

 

[Jstpssng]

I have a spring I hope to have dug out next year. My plan is to have somebody come in with an excavator and work for a day. That will determine the size and depth.
It will be $1200 well spent

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Are Beavers found in your part of the country?
Here, in mine, they do an amazing job of dam building.
No permits, studies, or gubmit types tromping around on your property needed

We do have beavers. How I would get them to build where I want is beyond me.
At the homeplace beavers got into the lake about 30 years ago and what a mess...they first cut down all the nice trees we planted around the edge then dammed the inlet stream creating a big swamp area. My Dad let a hunter shoot them.

 

[Eagle1]

Exactly. I've seen a 30" pipe washed 50 yards downstream in a little trickle stream which didn't even have water during the spring thaw. Hydraulic pressure is impressive.

I have FOUR 4' culverts under my creek crossing. Normal flow is about 6-8" through ONE culvert. During real heavy rain event the culverts can not contain the flow and the hayfield becomes a 2-3 acre pond until water crosses the my driveway at a designed low spot.
Pond has a 20' wide 4' deep spillway before the 120' wide emergency spillway comes into play. I've seen almost 3' deep water coming over the emergency spillway.
Granted we can get some heavy storms and are in hill county.

 

[Eagle1]

We do have beavers. How I would get them to build where I want is beyond me.
At the homeplace beavers got into the lake about 30 years ago and what a mess...they first cut down all the nice trees we planted around the edge then dammed the inlet stream creating a big swamp area. My Dad let a hunter shoot them.

Beavers seem to only build where you don't want them and eventually will drop any tree you would like to have. I have lots of practice removing the those critters and their works.

 

[MossRoad]

If you diverted part of the stream flow through a pipe into a separate pond that you make then you wouldn't have to be concerned about high water flows taking out your dam.

That's what we plan to do some day out on our property. There's a county ditch that we cannot mess with constantly flowing. But we can dig a pond off to the side of it and connect with a channel. Would have to put some sort of screen in the channel to keep the fishies in/out.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Import a Beaver

I did that (actually the beavers came on there own) and the neighbors got ahold of the state and they came and removed them from my property. Personally would have prefered the beavers being there, they create a good habitat until the trees are all gone!

 

[oosik]

A low beaver dam controls the level of my ten acre lake. The beavers, obviously, do not bother my pine trees. That's about all I have here on my 80 acres.

However - from a quarter mile away they have found young birch and alder to create their dam.

Somebody start futzing with the beavers on my lake - there will be a HOLY WAR. Fortunately - there are also lots of coyotes to clean up the mess.

I should add - the entire lake plus inlet/outlet are totally contained within my property. There is no public access to my lake.

 

[Eagle1]

A low beaver dam controls the level of my ten acre lake. The beavers, obviously, do not bother my pine trees. That's about all I have here on my 80 acres.

However - from a quarter mile away they have found young birch and alder to create their dam.

Somebody start futzing with the beavers on my lake - there will be a HOLY WAR. Fortunately - there are also lots of coyotes to clean up the mess.

I should add - the entire lake plus inlet/outlet are totally contained within my property. There is no public access to my lake.

Same here completely own my large pond and beavers show up every year except this spring. Been here 17 years and it's a first. We have few pines but beavers like willow, poplar, maple and river birch best but will drop pretty large cedar and oak trees for building material. I mean 10-12"+ diameter. Tried to live with them but no dice, sooner or later they try damming the the spillway, dig into the dam or start downing a tree in the campground. Now it's war on sight.

 

[oosik]

When we first moved onto the property - planted a weeping willow down by the lake shore. It got pretty big - 24 inches at the base. The beavers took it down and used everything except the main trunk to build their dam. I knew it was coming - sooner or later.

I know my situation is most fortunate. It's seldom that a beaver dam is helpful.

 

[CalG]

Any small dam needs to be built to allow flood water to flow OVER it. Wooden cribs with spillway ramp boards allow such overtopping flows.

perhaps a better word than allow would be survive.

This one is a couple miles from my place. in springtime melt, the water can flow 4 feet over the edge. Quite a sight and sound!

 

[ultrarunner]

A low beaver dam controls the level of my ten acre lake. The beavers, obviously, do not bother my pine trees. That's about all I have here on my 80 acres.

However - from a quarter mile away they have found young birch and alder to create their dam.

Somebody start futzing with the beavers on my lake - there will be a HOLY WAR. Fortunately - there are also lots of coyotes to clean up the mess.

I should add - the entire lake plus inlet/outlet are totally contained within my property. There is no public access to my lake.

By invitation only?

I bet it’s on every firefighter map as a water source?

In the foothills a neighbor found his pond emptied out from helicopter buckets fighting a fire down wind…

 

[Eagle1]

By invitation only?

I bet it’s on every firefighter map as a water source?

In the foothills a neighbor found his pond emptied out from helicopter buckets fighting a fire down wind…

Been there. I don't mind the forest service using my water when needed, mother nature will make more

 

[HawkinsHollow]

WOW! Do you live is a rainforest? That is some lush vegetation!!

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Are Beavers found in your part of the country?
Here, in mine, they do an amazing job of dam building.
No permits, studies, or gubmit types tromping around on your property needed

That is the million dollar idea! Figure out how to train beavers to make their dams exactly where we want them!!