Keeping the water back

[Tractors4u]

Here is my situation. I am working on some property that I am buying from my grandmother. I hope to build a house there next year. The property has a creek that runs year round and about once a year or two we get that rare rain that get the creek way up. The creek has a high bank on one side, about 3 feet higher than normal level. There is one spot that the bank is only 6" to a foot and that is where the water comes spilling over. I want to fix the low spot and I want to fix it good. The spot is about 15-20 wide. I have consider stacking quik crete and driving rebar through the bags and then backfilling on the dry side with dirt. Any suggestions. I am attaching a picture of where my driveway will be and what it looked like back in May when we had about 3 hard days of rain. At this time I only added about 6" of dirt to my future driveway.

 

[DavidJ]

Sounds like what you're considering will work. You'll need lots of Quikcrete and lots of dirt. Make sure you get it at least as high as the neighboring banks. I would also double the wall of Quikcrete to ensure that the water won't seep through it and undermine the wall.

I think a more permanent solution would be to drive sheet pilings along the bank and then backfill against them. The drawback to this solution is the cost, but it may be worth it in the long run.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Or you can dig a big pond there so when the rain comes it fills up the pond instead of your yard /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Otherwise, build up the bank with dirt and rocks and plant it to tie it all together. This will help keep it from overflowing. We have a small creek that runs year round going thru our property. It has never been a problem because it has a bank built up on both sides of the creek. Every spring it comes up to about a foot from the top of the banks but never goes over or washes the banks away.

 

[Slamfire]

The seasonal rivers in Southern California are "riprapped" Steel posts are driven into the ground ever 8 or 10', and wired together like fencing. The fence is double, with about 3 or 4' between them. The interior of the fence is filled with rocks about the size of basketballs, etc. Native earth is backfilled to the rip rap. Works real good in the rainy season, when dry creek beds become raging torrents.

 

[Tractors4u]

This is what it looks like after about 30 minutes of grading, as seen from the bridge at the road. You can see the future driveway in the back ground.

 

[Tractors4u]

And the trouble maker. I would rather have to fix the problem than give up the creek.

 

[IDjunker]

Have you ever seen a Mesh Gabion box they work good on the banks of canals.

http://www.ail.ca/wirewall/

http://www.weld-mesh.com/gabions.htm

 

[Tractors4u]

Actually, I have sen those but I had forgotten about them.

 

[Mrwurm]

Brent, I would keep real quiet about this project so you don't get a visit from the EPA. Some pencil neck would probably tell you 'you are destroying a wetland'. You would then have to incorporate the pencil-neck into the fill.

 

[Tractors4u]

Good point. The county came in a few years ago and replaced the old bridge and did a little digging out beside it. I think their intention was to let the water from the ditch go into the creek. Just the opposite is happening now.

 

[Currmudgeon]

Before you begin making structural modifications to a stream, you might want to find out what agency regulates streams in your state or county, and check with them. In Illinois it's the Department of Natural Resources - Office of Water Resources. It may be no big deal, but then again, it might.

I've seen OWR go after individual landowners for fifty yards of inconsequential fill. They sometimes have no sense of humor. Filling the flood plain, even if there are no wetlands involved, is associated with increased flooding downstream.

Besides the issue of filling the flood plain there is the issue of wetlands. This comes under the Corpse of Engineers and maybe your county. They very much have no sense of humor. I've seen mitigation rates for filling of wetlands, of six to one. That means, being required to pay for the construction of six acres of wetland for every acre you wreck. I've never seen a mitigation ratio less than 1.5 : 1. The fines are on top of that.

In addition to the regulatory issues, you will need to do your engineering and look at the local drainage. If you're not careful, you can create a perfect dike and keep the creek water out of your land, but lock the local water on your side of the dike. Then you have water on both sides of the dike.

Figure out where the local water comes from and goes, and force it to go where you want it. This may take a lot of fill. Or it may take a few feet of ditch and berm.

 

[RonR]

Sometimes it's easier to seek forgiveness than ask permission.

Especially if you can do the work and/or it doesn't cost you too much if your "forgiveness" requires redoing effort.

Best wishes,

Ron

 

[Tractors4u]

I'm just fixing what the county messed up! That and there is an old mill race (big deep ditch) that supplied water to an old grist mill that has not operated since the 1930's. The mill had collapsed in a couple of areas and it would take on water during heavy rains and distribute it where ever.