wet area

[yanmars]

I have a wet area in a path near the river at the my farm. When it is really dry one can get a tractor across it. Not dry enough yesterday and got stuck. After cutting a tree to give more room I was able to get out after about 30 minutes. Ruts 16 inches deep and the mud is a black goo. I will take the backhoe down there today and try to cut a relief out. It is a low spot of 15x15 and the water gets trapped there. Culvert would do no good I think. When the river floods there it would trap all kinds of wood and debris.
Just thinking about sinking a bunch of old concrete blocks in the area to held firm it up some. If it doesn't work no harm, I may never be able to use the path again anyways as there are so many fallen ash trees the path is now about useless.
The path actually was a township road until about 1930 when it was abandoned because it flooded so often and maintenance was difficult. Any thoughts about the blocks?

 

[jeff9366]

15' X 15' is not a very big area. Can't you go around it?

How about using your Loader to raise bottom two feet then planting a wet area tree, such a River Birch or Hop Hornbeam (also in the Birch family) to transpire water from muck into the air. Both these trees a adapted to low-oxygen environments. Hop Hornbeam is a very tough, moderately fast growing small tree. In the Gulf South you could plant Cypress.

Keep the growing tree limbed up so you can get through.

 

[Rebeldad1]

maybe a couple loader loads of 3-6" cobble.

 

[Thomas]

Do you have bunch rocks to fill in wet spot tractor 1/2 wide,or contractor loads poor quality fill want to get rid of.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Sad, there are no pictures. Stuck pictures are always good.

 

[yanmars]

There is no way around it. River close on one side and even wetter on the other. I have many concrete blocks and many river rocks and stones.
Dug some of the goo out today with my backhoe. Still had to be careful. May dig some more out before I decide what I will put in there.

 

[MH8675309]

If you do fill the area with good clay or cobble stone (crushed concrete sounds better) scoop out the slop first and build up the area some so water wont pool there. I hate spots like that!

 

[yanmars]

I took my backhoe and dug out as much of the goo as I could. Used my bucket to push out more and away. Had reclaimed 14 inch plastic culvert and 40 plus concrete blocks. Put 15 feet of culvert in, put 10 blocks two high on each side of the culvert and will put in a single course beyond the double. Will put rebar and sackcrete in the voids and pavers on top of the culvert and then try to get all the dirt back on top the culvert so I do not crush it when I go over it.
Unsure how much dirt needs to go over the plastic culvert. Hopefully that will help drain the area until the dead ash branches and debris want to clog up the culvert. We will see how it works. It has to be better than what is there now.

 

[yanmars]

I loaded and unloaded 45 bags of sixty pound Sackrete, 2700 pounds, to fit the block hollows and around the culvert. Will put dirt over it later. One other area needs attention, my brother gave me aluminum electric or light poles, hollow. I may use one for a culvert in another area. We will see how it goes.

 

[square1]

Had a very similar area, creek on one side & wetter area on the other. Put down a corduroy road. Thing is, 7~8 years later, with all the ash trees removed the sun can get to the ground. We just had the wettest fall, winter, and spring I recall and the area is dry.

 

[yanmars]

I had thought of that. The right wood would take years to rot. Even have old concrete parking blocks. Not to far to the north of where I live they used trees like that to get through the Black Swamp years ago.

 

[EddieWalker]

To start, you want to use the biggest rock, or cement blocks that you can find. Think of the size of a cinder block. The goal is to create something solid that will not sink when you drive over it. Then build up on top of that will smaller rock. Something half the size of the cinder block, like a 6 to 9 inch rock. Then on top of that go with something that wont wash away, and lock together. A 4 inch road base, or even better, crushed concrete.

You might even try using fabric first. It might help stop the rock from sinking. It also might be a waste of time and money, but I don't see how it could hurt and it could help.

 

[3Ts]

I took my backhoe and dug out as much of the goo as I could. Used my bucket to push out more and away. Had reclaimed 14 inch plastic culvert and 40 plus concrete blocks. Put 15 feet of culvert in, put 10 blocks two high on each side of the culvert and will put in a single course beyond the double. Will put rebar and sackcrete in the voids and pavers on top of the culvert and then try to get all the dirt back on top the culvert so I do not crush it when I go over it.
Unsure how much dirt needs to go over the plastic culvert. Hopefully that will help drain the area until the dead ash branches and debris want to clog up the culvert. We will see how it works. It has to be better than what is there now.

Oklahoma forestry services says the amount of dirt over the culvert needs to be 1/2 the diameter of the culvert with a minimum of 12".

http://www.forestry.ok.gov/Websites/forestry/Images/documents/WaterQuality/Forestry%20Note,%20How%20to%20Install%20a%20Forest%20Road%20Culvert.pdf

 

[yanmars]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I ended up with 2 layers high of cinder blocks filled with Sackrete and then pavers bridging the same to protect the plastic culvert. The blocks were on both sides of the culvert. Today I put back as much of the removed dirt as i could around and over the blocks etc. Maybe 6 inches of cover now. Will let it settle and try to add more. We shall see. Good for an ATV or UTV to cross, unsure of my tractor yet.

 

[airbiscuit]

Is this your problem with the ash trees?

 

[yanmars]

I am not sure whom you are asking but yes the emerald ash borer has killed our ash trees. First Chestnut blight, Dutch elm disease, ash borer and gypsy moth near on oaks. What will be left? I also forgot the hickory beetle borer.

 

[GLyford]

After the woolly adelgid, the pine beetles, oak root rot, asian long horned beetle, I think the only thing left will be tree-of-heaven, autumn olive, bittersweet, poison ivy, sumac, burning bush, and probably willow and cottonwood. And maybe wild grape. With a touch of blackberries and multiflora thrown in.