Dam Trees

[DaRube]

No, this isn't a typo. I had the guy from Soil and Water Conservation out yesterday to look at the pond, and the thing that he said needed to be dealt with post haste.....was the trees growing out of the dam.

As he explained it, either the trees will live....and their roots will degrade the dam.....or the trees will die, the roots will rot, and water will get into the cavities....and that will damage the [censored]. Sounds like dammed if the do, or dammed if they don't to me.

Anyway, I've got to get them out before it gets worse, and I've got two options......either to use the tractor to pull them out, or to chainsaw them down. Most of them are one or two inches in diameter, but a few get as much as four inches in diameter. Any recommendations?

 

[CSAW]

What if you just make the trees sick? /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[njrqs]

I had always wondered about trees and dams.

I have a dam with a few trees around it, but have planted heaps more.

How will the roots degrade the dam - Did he say?

Mine is for irrigation water and just for looking nice, so I think I'll stick with the trees unless I hear something REAL bad.

Let me know the details of what he said ??

Cheers

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Neil

Is anyone or anything down stream of your dam should there be a problem? Or is it just some neighbors that you don't really need anyway?

SHF

 

[frank_f15]

i wonder if any of these state guys ever told a BEAVER how to build a pond or dam.if a task is difficult, the state or feds wil make it more so/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif.u try to do someting good and they want to put a damper on it.TOO BAD THEY DID NOT PUT SOME RESTRICTIONS ON ENRON, DON'T U THINK? much worse than a tree growing where it should not be!

 

[Phred]

DaRube,

While I am hardly an expert.
It seems to me that the trees would actually help hold this dam thing togheter.
After all is that not the way you hold a hill side or other loose dirt togheter; with trees and other plants?

Fred

 

[njrqs]

Phred

That's what I was thinking. I can't see how they can hurt other than sucking some of the water out.


Stoneheart - Yep if mine falls over then no dramas. There is avacant lot behind but I don't think they'll build right in line with my dam anyway.

Are you suggesting the trees will cause it to fail??

 

[PhilNH5]

DaRube,
I have a small but deep pond. Three feet on the other side of the dam was a beautiful beech tree. The prior owner left it there when he dug the pond. Couldn't bear to cut it down. It was more than half dead when I acquired the place. Now it is all dead. And my pond leaks at 4 feet below the waterline.

My first thought was exactly what you were told. That the decayed roots act as a conduit for the water. After doing a little research I read that this is a common problem. I now make sure now to keep all the trees away from the dam. It is a constant battle as the birch trees pop up like weeds. After the initial clearing whitch my trusty Poulan chainsaw (before my 025C) I now use the brushcutter blade on my weedtrimmer to keep things under control.

I still don't know how to fix the existing leaks. Can't find any one to sell me some clay.

Phil

Phil

 

[DaRube]

At first, my impression was that tree roots would hold things together, too. So I was a little surprised when he mentioned this. I had some guys out later that day taking down a big tree. They were some pretty experienced country guys who had even done landscaping work in the past. They were not surprised at the recommendation to remove the trees. Of course, they would have been happy to do the work for me also, for a pretty penny.

As to the G-Man, he was a very low-key type....didn't have one of those attitudes of self importance that can be spotted a mile away. And he gave me some ideas on other parts of the property that are cheaper solutions than I would have come up with. So I have no reason not to think that he is earnest about this.

Thanks for all the good insights.

 

[shade2u2]

I will trade you my clay for shale or topsoil. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
I have more clay than I want. It made it difficult for me to get a septic permit. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif
I have to haul in shale to build my driveway bed. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif