Need help on dry branch water control

[carpenter383]

I'm having problems with a "dry branch" creek that goes through my back yard. We got quite a bit of rain today and the small creek was gushing with water, it does this a few times a year during heavy rains. It washes ditches out of my yard, washes the gravel off the driveway and floods everything with all kinds of debrie..... Today I walked the ravine all the way to where it starts. I found that it basically starts out in a low spot in a feild then grows and grows from many smaller runoff ditches feeding into it as it gets closer to my place. The whole thing is basically in a large ravine until right before my back yard so this will make it almost impossibleto use heavy equiptment.......I've included some pics form where it wreaks havoc to where it starts







[/ATTACH]....


Any ideas on how to control the water/slow it down? I'm wondering about putting a restriction in the waterflow upstream of my back yard. My concern with this is the water might just wash out around the said restriction.........What can I do to slow the water down? I have a dk40 with fel and a box blade to work the accessible areas and a long handled shovel for the rest ......TIA

 

[woodlandfarms]

We have a very steep driveway, along a hillside. water runoff is a major issue for us and it has taken us nearly 3 years of tinkering to get it remotely close.

To slow down you either divert or block. We put in large rocks, bolders to slow the water down. It helps. I would rather divert but that is going to be a challenge given finances and our hillside

 

[J35]

If it is all on your property a couple of strategically placed ponds would probably help slow down the run off.

Myself I wouldn't build any dams just dig out some depressions.

Maybe use the dirt from the ponds to divert the water from your stuff, further down stream from the ponds.

Around here they call that a thunderstorm creek.-- VA

In S. AZ that would be a arroyo.

I guess in Indiana it's a dry branch

good luck

 

[Egon]

have you considered making a channel for the water to follow so it does not wash out your yard?

 

[carpenter383]

have you considered making a channel for the water to follow so it does not wash out your yard?

There is a channel in place it's just not able to contain all the rushing water.....I'm considering putting in a few rock dams to slow the water flow. My concern is how do I keep the water form washing out around the dam?.....The pond sugestion would be fine, but most of the creek is not accessible because it's in a ravine. Diverting the water would also take some major excavation, so some kind of dam may be my best option. My neighbor said: Just pile a bunch of tree tops and brush in there and cover it with dirt. I don't know how well that would work, but it would be cheap!

 

[wushaw]

If you dig a pond or two then what happens when they are full? You will still have the runnoff.
Building a dam out of wood and dirt will not hold and will be short lived and could cause more flooding in your yard when the dam breaks.
All you can really do is divert the water.

 

[matt_isserstedt]

This might be oversimplification but if you can't dig the existing channel deeper, you can build up the banks to create the same effect. I'd line with riprap to keep soil from being continually eroded. Keep a wide shallow "V" profile so as the creek gets higher there's ever more cross-sectional area.

 

[Arkhermit]

Can't outdo mother nature, you might put riprap in the channels in the yard but trying to dam it won't work, the water will still come down and water is a very powerful force. Try to just go out and look at it and study it maybe deeping and wideing the channel will help. It's mostly just a small hazard of living in the country, (ain't it nice?) Like having a gravel road the maintenance is never done.

 

[carpenter383]

Thanks for the replies. I would like to create a restriction upstream more than actually damming the water off, I'm just needing ideas on how to do it if it's even a reasonable option. Could I partially fill the ravine with rip raf in a few places to slow the water down or would the water just washout "dig" around the filled spots rather than filter through it more slowly? I just don't have any experience with this sort of thing TIA

 

[studor]

The rip rap will act to slow down the flow and allow the water to disperse more underground. The more rock you have in the low spots, the better it will disperse. It should act like a french drain --- the water will follow the path of least resistance through the rock and not wash out the soil on either side. I would dig out the channel and fill it with rock as much as possible to encourage that dispersion and stop erosion. Dams are going to end up as debris on your lawn sooner or later

 

[carpenter383]

thanks studor that makes good sence to me

 

[radioman]

How about several ponds dug out in middle of the ravine in several places and stragetically put logs in the path of stream with LARGE spaces to let warter flow but it still absorbs some kinetic engery of water rushing? with water hitting logs/rocks it would absorb some of the rushing energy and then flow into the pond it would calm down and with each pond being full it can flow out gracefully into the next pond some ways down to slow it down even more ? basically when you dig out the pond, hopefully you won't hit any clay so you can use the pond as a place to drain the water. Even if you get clay, its always nice to have ponds for value. I would guess that this plan would work great only when you have heavy summer thunderstorms, but in fall and spring when you get constant rain and ponds fill up, its just a matter of finding a way to divert the water to a better location.

 

[Egon]

It might not hurt to figure out the volume of water that flows during the flooding times. Then you'd have a better idea of what may work if you want to build some structures for flow control!

 

[Lil_FarmerJim]

I would agree with Egon, you need to determine how much water you will be trying to slow before you can build something that will last.

But just looking at the photos, you could build a series of wing dams that will create small pond points in the ravine. I would use galvanized steel stone cage filled with 2-3" stone. That way its pouris enough to still allow water to flow when its not raging and to slow it down with out stopping it completely when it is. Dig it in across the ravine and create a spill way in the middle.

Take it for what its worth, like all free advice.

 

[carpenter383]

How would I go about figuring the ammount of water? It makes perfect sence though It would give me a better idea on how to size each dam. The caged rock idea sounds like it would work good, any idea on prices and weight of these?......Radioman that's exactly what I need to do reduce the kinetic energy of the rushing water by slowing it down. I might try laying some logs in there in various lengths to fit the banks of the ravine longways while leaving space in between them. That would be the cheapest thing to do, but would'nt be a permanent fix of course. Thanks again for the ideas everyone

 

[Egon]

For volume you would have to pick a place where you can determine the area of the channel over a few feet. Then measure a fixed horizontal distance and time a floatable for that distance when the stream is flowing.

From those numbers you have velocity and volume from which a total quantity could be calculated.

 

[carpenter383]

For volume you would have to pick a place where you can determine the area of the channel over a few feet. Then measure a fixed horizontal distance and time a floatable for that distance when the stream is flowing.

From those numbers you have velocity and volume from which a total quantity could be calculated.

Ok thanks for your help I appreciate it

 

[Lil_FarmerJim]

Rock cage can be made pretty cheaply by the DIY'er. Just get some heavy duty Galvanized steel fencing and cut sections to make a box, then twist tie it together with the same ties that are used on steel rebar. Or you can go that extra step and tack weld them together.

If you don't feel like going to that much trouble just go to your local quarry and inquire with them where you can get it.

 

[wvpolekat]

I would recommend AGAINST any dams or similar efforts to slow the flow with obstructions or restrictions.

If you are already having problems with flooding, these will only make it worse.

The only answers are increasing capacity/flow by enlarging the stream bed, or diverting all or some of the flow.

If the stream is flowing, but is out of it's banks, adding anything to it like rip rap or dams will only reduce it's capacity. The idea should be to allow it to flow through without getting out of it's banks. This will prevent all of the other damage/problems you are getting due to this. To do this, you will have to enlarge it.

If the problem is that the stream is not flowing or ends on your property, the only options will be containment or regrading it to let it continue flowing.

 

[SPIKER]

might I suggest that if you require future access to the areas up stream that you make wide shallow earthen dams with center creek bottom culverts that will pass the water through at a reduced rate. it may take several of these to catch all of the water that is rushing through on high volume rain days. the dams need to be wide & compacted enough to not erode or be pushed down stream. the culverts "Plural" should be of a few different sizes bottom of the crick will have say a 12" dia then out to each side a few feet and UP (so that the bottom of the 2 more culverts to each side) are above the level of the first smaller culvert. Line the area behind the dams with rip rap where the water will be rushing fast, or even pour a concrete spillway section that contains the flow rushing out of the culverts, as well as a low section just in case something plugs the culverts so that WHEN the dam does over-top it will not wash out. the dams heights should be only a few feet above the flat fill up/pond landing. you may need 3 or 4 dams to contain enough water to slow it down. to a steady flow. they should also drain pretty much completely out when dry. they will require some maintenance such as removing sticks logs ect... also plant with good deep rooting grass on both sides and keep trees from growing along the dams so roots do not get into them. the dams should also be wide & shallow enough to mow easily, (as they can be made to yard park looking areas.) would require some equipment (good sized tractor and or smaller dozer, but could be done one in a weekend without a lot of extra worry.

use the UPHILL side of the dam to dig down & move the dirt downhill enough to make the earth dams & create a wide flat flood plain pond bottom above the dams when the rains come fast & fill the area to slowly drain down through the small culverts...

Mark