gocards1177
Gold Member
Ill third engineer775. Great videos and helpful info. Funny how shaky his videos are tho.
Do I have a spring?
- Thread starter josephny
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Ill third engineer775. Great videos and helpful info. Funny how shaky his videos are tho.
CliffordK
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How many days after it last rains does the stream still run?
I'd say that if you have water in the stream a week after the last rain, then you have a spring, and not just runoff. Also, you might watch how much the flow varies. Runoff would peak after the rain, then decrease quickly once the rain stops. A spring will give you pretty constant flow (although as you mentioned, it can still dry up in the late summer).
It is possible that the headwaters of your spring flows longer than it flows much further down the gulley.
Here are some notes on my small spring. I decided to only do a surface development, although many recommended trying to dig out the headwaters. I didn't want to try to dig out the stump that it comes out of, and didn't want to do anything that might alter the flow rate (mine seems to flow through the summer, I was worried I could loose late summer if I managed to significantly increase the flow). And, of course, anything I did can easily be just filled back in.
Anyway, I had thought that my spring only ran about 20 feet, from one stump to the next stump. However, as I was digging it out, it seemed to run down to the valley floor below. Perhaps when the ground is saturated, it runs all the way down the hill, but once the ground begins to dry out, the flow stops halfway down the hill.
So, in your case, look at the headwaters this fall. It is possible that you have some flow at the headwaters, that doesn't make it down the hill. In this case, you might be able to just dam up the stream near the headwaters, and run the water down the hill in a pipe. And, since you are going downhill, no need for a pump, although depending on the distance, lots of pipe might get expensive. I managed to find a couple of rolls of 3/4" or 1" electrical grade poly pipe for $20 for 300 feet or so at my local recyclers.
No sign of "human habitation" around my spring, although there is a year around creek 1/4 mile away at the valley floor.
I'd say that if you have water in the stream a week after the last rain, then you have a spring, and not just runoff. Also, you might watch how much the flow varies. Runoff would peak after the rain, then decrease quickly once the rain stops. A spring will give you pretty constant flow (although as you mentioned, it can still dry up in the late summer).
It is possible that the headwaters of your spring flows longer than it flows much further down the gulley.
Here are some notes on my small spring. I decided to only do a surface development, although many recommended trying to dig out the headwaters. I didn't want to try to dig out the stump that it comes out of, and didn't want to do anything that might alter the flow rate (mine seems to flow through the summer, I was worried I could loose late summer if I managed to significantly increase the flow). And, of course, anything I did can easily be just filled back in.
Anyway, I had thought that my spring only ran about 20 feet, from one stump to the next stump. However, as I was digging it out, it seemed to run down to the valley floor below. Perhaps when the ground is saturated, it runs all the way down the hill, but once the ground begins to dry out, the flow stops halfway down the hill.
So, in your case, look at the headwaters this fall. It is possible that you have some flow at the headwaters, that doesn't make it down the hill. In this case, you might be able to just dam up the stream near the headwaters, and run the water down the hill in a pipe. And, since you are going downhill, no need for a pump, although depending on the distance, lots of pipe might get expensive. I managed to find a couple of rolls of 3/4" or 1" electrical grade poly pipe for $20 for 300 feet or so at my local recyclers.
No sign of "human habitation" around my spring, although there is a year around creek 1/4 mile away at the valley floor.
So we've still had rain every 2-3 days. And, despite 90 degree weather, the woods have plenty of moisture.
I may have jumped the gun about having a spring. It very well could be surface water/rain runoff.
The ground is heavy clay, and doesn't drain well at all. And that combined with the large amounts of rain means the water is never far from the surface.
I'll have to wait for a real dry time (if there ever will be one again).
I may have jumped the gun about having a spring. It very well could be surface water/rain runoff.
The ground is heavy clay, and doesn't drain well at all. And that combined with the large amounts of rain means the water is never far from the surface.
I'll have to wait for a real dry time (if there ever will be one again).