Pond overflow plugged (again...)

[nikdfish]

While cutting out at the acreage earlier this week I noticed that the pond was over-full & starting to back up on the feeders.

With just a trickle coming out, it was clear the overflow was pretty much plugged...

Today was the first chance to get back out there. I had to deal with this a couple of years back when beavers plugged it up with sticks & mud. That is why the out flow pipe has a threaded end glued onto it. I have a plug with an air hose quick connect nipple attached that threads into it.

Attach a hose to that end

... and an air source to the other

... and you can blow-back through the drain.

The first go did some good,

But a second blast (after recharging the bottle 3/4 full via a battery tire pump), dislodged the heavier sediments...

One of these days I need to put a guard on the intake, but it'll take a bit of wading to get that done.


Nick

 

[davesl708]

Glad you got it cleared before damage was done.

 

[Coyote machine]

Have you considered a much larger pipe, possibly a section of double walled plastic culvert?
That looks like a large pond surface area, and obviously a lot of detritus going to and getting caught in that small diameter pipe.
a double walled culvert section would have a smooth inner surface liner and a corrugated exterior. You would set it so the mouth was just slightly above what you want your high water mark to be and it would do the rest for you. No need for a cap/compressor, etc. :confused3:

 

[TripleR]

Sam thing happened to our pond and it has a guard on it, just took the beavers a bit longer to build the sticks and mud to clog it. We had a trapper come in to get rid of the beavers, they will come back, but we'll get the trapper back then.

Another pond owner added an outlet section of perforated pipe the beavers can't seem to figure out how to plug up.

 

[dmccarty]

...
Another pond owner added an outlet section of perforated pipe the beavers can't seem to figure out how to plug up.

I think Clemson university came up with the way to prevent beavers from maintaining a beaver dam. You put a long PVC pipe THROUGH the dam with fairly long pieces sticking out both sides of the dam. Put lots of holes in the upstream/water side of the dam to allow drainage. The beavers can't figure out how to plug up the leak. They know there is a leak but they can't figure out how to fix it. Once the beavers figure out they cannot control the "leak" and the water level stays low, they move on. I always wondered if they would build a new dam upstream from the "leaky" one but apparently they do not.

Later,
Dan

 

[TripleR]

I think Clemson university came up with the way to prevent beavers from maintaining a beaver dam. You put a long PVC pipe THROUGH the dam with fairly long pieces sticking out both sides of the dam. Put lots of holes in the upstream/water side of the dam to allow drainage. The beavers can't figure out how to plug up the leak. They know there is a leak but they can't figure out how to fix it. Once the beavers figure out they cannot control the "leak" and the water level stays low, they move on. I always wondered if they would build a new dam upstream from the "leaky" one but apparently they do not.

Later,
Dan

Probably where he got the idea as he attached his to the existing upstream outlet. Our steel pipe outlets were installed by the company that built our ponds and they attached "guards" on them. If we hadn't been able to get rid of the beavers, we would have added an elbow and gone the perforated pipe route as it seems to work quite well.

 

[EddieWalker]

Great idea. I was wondering how you would get the pipe cleared out. Are you sure it's beavers and not just debris that gets sucked into the pipe? On my small pond, I have a six inch drain pipe that flows under my driveway. I was always having to deal with branches and leaves plugging it up, so I put a 90 on it and wrapped wire screen into a tube that I put into the 90 that goes up about a foot to catch debris, but allow water to get through it.

 

[ArlyA]

I"ll need to agree with the coyote on this. You need a much, much larger pipe as its out flow. I can't really tell how large your pond is or its inflow but it appears that its already been proven that the pipe is far to small. Even a 2ft culvert should have a a debris screen.

Arly,, worked on the larger dams,,, A

Have you considered a much larger pipe, possibly a section of double walled plastic culvert?
That looks like a large pond surface area, and obviously a lot of detritus going to and getting caught in that small diameter pipe.
a double walled culvert section would have a smooth inner surface liner and a corrugated exterior. You would set it so the mouth was just slightly above what you want your high water mark to be and it would do the rest for you. No need for a cap/compressor, etc. :confused3:

 

[jymbee]

You put a long PVC pipe THROUGH the dam with fairly long pieces sticking out both sides of the dam. Put lots of holes in the upstream/water side of the dam to allow drainage. Dan

I've read that but what I can't figure out is how the good folks at Clemson ever got a pipe THROUGH the dam? As anyone who has ever tried to break open a beaver dam knows, those little critters do an amazing job of construction and it's extremely difficult to take apart.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I went through this for years. Doing battle with the beavers. I installed a twelve inch steel pipe with a section of stainless steel pipe at the end into which I made many 1.5" holes with a plasma cutter. It hangs out into the pond a good distance and the beavers have not been able to figure it out. That is the key! The pond is too deep there for them to build up from the bottom. They put mud on top but can't plug the bottom. It is also hinged so I can pull it up and clean it off.