Backfilling an eroded water runoff

[Augggie]

There's a water runoff ditch about 3 foot wide and 4 foot deep that runs through the corner one of my hay fields. I was wondering if the whole thing could be filled in so that I can drive across it like it wasn't even there. Because of the topography, after filling in the eroded ditch, the field would still drain perfectly as the water would simply run right along where the ditch used to be. Since there would be no issue of flooding whatsoever, the only problem I could think of is the runoff just eroding the dirt away all over again. I would have it compacted and obviously seed it heavily to try and prevent that from happening.

Would this work? If not, what else could be done? Would I have to put perforated, flexible plastic pipe in it and backfill it (or something of the sort)? Or would simply backfilling it, compacting, and seeding it do the trick?

Thanks!

 

[Augggie]

I see a lot of water flowing in the ditches on the side of the road when it rains, and they're not eroded, so I don't see why it wouldn't work on farmland.

 

[bcp]

Keep the water speed slow. Adjust the slope if needed.

Bruce

 

[Augggie]

I think by spreading out the surface area of the waterway, the water won't carry away as much soil. To do this, I would need to make the waterway wider and less pronounced so that the water flow isn't as concentrated in one spot.

 

[chim]

No personal experience, but I've seen fields where the farmer formed a swale and seeded it with grass. The grass is a permanent planting and the crops have a skip in them in order to avoid disturbing the grass.

 

[EddieWalker]

You need to either build a dam across the ditch using rip rap, or completely fill it in with rock and rip rap type material. If you just add dirt, it will just wash out again. You need something that wont move and will hold the dirt in place.

On my land I use bricks, cinder blocks and concrete chunks that I've demolished on jobs to fill my erosion ditches. Depending on the size of the ditch, and how much material I have, I'll first just pile them up going across the ditch like a dam. I've found that in time, dirt will get carried into the ditch when it rains and get caught in the rip rap and level itself out to the height I built it up to. Then grass will start to grow and in a year, the ditch is gone and I have to think real hard where it used to be.

 

[bigtiller]

This can be done. I did it and I watched my neighbor do one just like yours. Go to your local NRCS office and they will answer all the questions pertaining to YOUR land. They will print out a map and offer options on how to do it. They will probably have a list of local contractors to do it for you if you decide that you need help. And if you want some financial help, they can arrange for that also.

 

[Fossil Farm]

Depends how much watershed is above the "ditch" in your hay field. If it is just a small watershed area, it can be filled in and seeded as a grass waterway. If it is a large watershed, then you may need to put in a water and sediment basin with a field tile to carry a fair amount of the water. And it depends who owns the property above and below your field. As bigtiller said, see if your local NRCS or soil and water district will come out and look at it. They can figure out from the USGS or soils maps how much area flows through and what options would work for you. Typically Kentucky 31 tall fescue is used in grass waterways in northern areas because it holds up well in areas such as this. Good luck.