Argonne
Gold Member
- Joined
- May 21, 2005
- Messages
- 279
- Location
- Paris, TX
- Tractor
- JD2210, Ford 4400, Case IH 685, Terramite T7, JD 6x4 M-Gator
I have a 1/2 acre stock pond. Three sides have tall earthen berms, the fourth side is a gradual slope up into the pasture.
There is no overflow drain, and when it overflows (and it has twice in the last year), it flows out a corner of the pasture side and creates an alluvial plain in a very inconvenient area of the pasture. I need to install an overflow drain 50 feet through one of the berms to prevent this.
Due to the slopes on the berms, trenching with the (my) backhoe is not an option. What I really need to do is find an economical way to drill horizontally through the berm, leaving behind a 3-6 inch pipe which will drain the pond when it crests.
My current hare-brained idea is to use PVC schedule 40 conduit (which is cheap) as a self drilling pipe. I would cut some teeth into a coupling and glue it to one end, and clamp an irrigation hose on the other end. I would pump pond water into the pipe, and between the water pressure and the coupling "bit", drive the pipe into the hillside. At the end of a length, I would glue on another length, move the water connection to the new end, and push another 10 feet. If this scheme works, I will have my drain for about 60 bucks worth of material.
The only thing that keeps me from going out and trying this right now, is that I don't have a clue how hard this pipe is going to be to push once I get 20-30 feet into the berm. I'm going to have my water pressure resisting advancement, and the friction of the pipe against the soil. Coupled with the fact that I will be standing in my own, newly created, alluvial plain, things could become untenable quickly unless this scheme will allow cutting through that berm like a knife through butter.
My soil is Crockett Loam, which is mainly clay, and homogeneous down to below 8 ft. As such, although these berms are constructed of the spoils from the pond dig (decades ago), I expect to encounter no rocks.
Anybody ever tried anything like this? Other comments?
There is no overflow drain, and when it overflows (and it has twice in the last year), it flows out a corner of the pasture side and creates an alluvial plain in a very inconvenient area of the pasture. I need to install an overflow drain 50 feet through one of the berms to prevent this.
Due to the slopes on the berms, trenching with the (my) backhoe is not an option. What I really need to do is find an economical way to drill horizontally through the berm, leaving behind a 3-6 inch pipe which will drain the pond when it crests.
My current hare-brained idea is to use PVC schedule 40 conduit (which is cheap) as a self drilling pipe. I would cut some teeth into a coupling and glue it to one end, and clamp an irrigation hose on the other end. I would pump pond water into the pipe, and between the water pressure and the coupling "bit", drive the pipe into the hillside. At the end of a length, I would glue on another length, move the water connection to the new end, and push another 10 feet. If this scheme works, I will have my drain for about 60 bucks worth of material.
The only thing that keeps me from going out and trying this right now, is that I don't have a clue how hard this pipe is going to be to push once I get 20-30 feet into the berm. I'm going to have my water pressure resisting advancement, and the friction of the pipe against the soil. Coupled with the fact that I will be standing in my own, newly created, alluvial plain, things could become untenable quickly unless this scheme will allow cutting through that berm like a knife through butter.
My soil is Crockett Loam, which is mainly clay, and homogeneous down to below 8 ft. As such, although these berms are constructed of the spoils from the pond dig (decades ago), I expect to encounter no rocks.
Anybody ever tried anything like this? Other comments?
