runoff ditch ..what to do?

[euby]

off topic but...nice Mastiff. I have one thats 16 weeks old.

 

[KubotaSteve]

As others have mentioned go with the 12" or 15" culvert pipe. I have a similar ditch although mine is about 300 feet long. It only has water in it during winter and spring. This year it had very little in it, but in years past it has been 10 to 12" deep in places. I put pipe in select locations to cross and reduced the slope on the sides for easier mowing. I wouldn't do anything to impede the flow of the water as it could have very bad results.

 

[Highbeam]

Provided that the entire hillside has a general slope parallel to this "ditch" I would just level it out. Further, if there is a pile of deposited sediment at the end of the ditch I would go scoop it up and put it back where it came from. It sounds like the hillside just ravelled out because the surface coulcn't handle the water running across it. Refill the ditch and get something growing on the surface so it doesn't happen again. I would try to provide a sheet flow situation for the runodff rather than a canyon.

Reclaim your land. Repair the damage.

We have lots of fill and grade projects at work where a side slope will erode and make a canyon type structure on the slope. This is preventable by stabilizing the soil surface.

 

[RalphVa]

I had quite a huge gully that was caused by runoff from my neighbor's parking area just uphill. I filled it in with #5 gravel. It has stayed put. At one point there was a hole at the top of the gully that took about 4 of my Gravely cart loads to fill it. (This was before I had the JD)

If you have a huge amount of water and there's an outlet for it a little downhill, you could put in a drain basin and some perforated pipe and then fill with the (at least) #5 gravel over it all (leaving drain basin free).

Ralph

 

[Moon]

Thanks Euby! Actually she's a Great Dane ...but they do look alot alike. Another member on here has a Japenese Mastiff.
....and welcome to TBN. Great site.

Highbeam, hardly any sediment at the bottom. I have a trail that goes between this ditch and the pond. We dozed this area a few years back. That probably took care of the sediment build up and there has not been much to speak of since then.

Kubota Steve, I'm thinking I would need some gravel under the pipe. But this might be the best way to go.

RalphVA - That was my first thought; to fill it with gravel. After closer inspection I think it would be the most expensive way to take care of the problem. I'm thinking some gravel and a 12" culvert, and then cover it all with a bit of dirt and get some greenery growing.


Thanks all!

Moon of Ohio

 

[Partsman2]

I've dealt with several similar situations by using the BH to clean up the ditch and then filling the ditch with 1's & 2's. I don't use a culvert pipe unless there is a road going over top. Pipes tend to clog up and cause other problems. The large gravel allows the water to filter through, holds the soil, and never clogs. This is what you see along the highway where there is a drainage ditch running down a hill.

My 2 cents worth. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[RalphVa]

Another idea.

Build a rock dam uphill from it or possibly in it. Put maybe a foot of sand in the bottom of it, then dirt. Then put in plants that'll tolerate both wet and dry, like Joe Pye Weed and trees that like wet like River Birch. This is a rain garden, designed to capture rain water runoff before it goes downstream and creates problems.

I did this upstream of much of the gully that I filled. Have the dam and have filled behind it. Haven't gotten around to putting in plants yet, mainly cuz the sawdust I used mostly for fill isn't decomposed enough for plants yet. Getting close. It hasn't washed away.

Ralph