Making Low Lying area not so low

PaulInMi · Feb 20, 2001

This may seem like a wierd question, but has anyone turned a low lying area that seems to be swampy into a usable piece of property? I'm not talking about the everglades or anything like that, I mean an acre or so?

If it is possible, can it be accomplished with a compact if you are not in a hurry?

Thanks in advance/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

Paul

Anonymous Poster · Feb 21, 2001

A compact is actually better, in that depending on your land, it's location and actually how swampy it is, you can run into wetlands issues.

Some states enforce the Army Corps of Engineers standards moreso than others. Depending on their mood a wetland can be visible water, or "hydric" soils, or a combination of the above plus certain plat species.

Dozers do the job quickly but attract attention from neighbors from their rattling tracks. Do you have dirt higher up you can move? Some counties still give dirt away from ditch and road building if you're close to it.

I'd get a hold of excavating contractors in you area, sometimes, of course depending on your location, they need to excavate for a house or something and actually have to haul the dirt FAR AWAY if they don't have someone who has already contacted them.

del

Thomas · Feb 21, 2001

I would think the first thing you might to do dig a drainage ditch,than let the land dry up some.
Puttering on this project will take more than a couple of weekends thats if the weather stays nices.

If you have large rocks & stumps I consider a dozer,for the dozer can rough it out for you or put a rough finish grade on than you do the rest.

Getting a 4wd tractor unstuck ain't no fun. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

RMulkey · Feb 23, 2001

Paul,

I did some of what you are asking. It was NOT swamp land with standing water, it was just low and would stay wet and gooy most of the winter some of the summer. Think of the project like you are builiding a giant french drain. We recovered about a 1/2 ac of low land by cutting a 4' deep drainage ditch around the perimeter to lower the water pressure in the soil and route any surface runoff. The soil was black with organic contents and made for a great garden area. I also moved some of the black soil to other lawn areas and replaced it with dry clay and decomposed granite from the lawn areas. The process worked but it took 2 years for soil to firm up and dry out down to about 3 feet. I don't think you could ever build a structor on the recoverd land unless you hire a professional engineering firm to do the work. I was in a bit of a hurry to dig so I rented a full size excavator (JD 200LC), but the dirt was soft and it could have been done with a FEL if you have a LOT of time on your hands. Assuming there is no standing water, try digging some test holes to see if you can collect water seeping from the ground, look for spring water, and see if the soil starts to dry. It can take months to start to look different Remember to think about heavy rain run-off and how to capture and channel the surface water.

I heard there is good book/encyclopedia on excavating at amazon.com. It got good reviews anyway... Can't remember the title but it was 1400 pages and over $100. A little rich for a book for my blood. A search should find it.

Good luck.