Drainage problem

[Muley Gil]

I live on 20 acres in a holler in the mountains and am blessed with having plenty of water. Well, in one spot, I have a bit too much water. Three small spring branches (streams) flow through my property, all coming together to form one larger stream that flows down to the creek that run through my bottom land.

As I drive uphill on the left side of the land, one of these spring branches flows to my right. I have to cross it to get to the rest of the property. I can get my 2wd tractor across it, but at times I want to get my 4x4 pick-up over there too. If it is not too wet, I get over there OK, but other times the mud is a bit too deep. Last week I had to get up there to pull a downed tree off of my fence and hit a large rock buried in the mud. I was afraid I had tore the oil pan off, but the frame caught it instead, thank the Lord!

I have thought about putting in a 18" steel culvert, 20 feet long or so, and then covering that with large crushed stone (8" - 12" pieces), as well as the muddy area adjacent to the culvert, hoping the seepage (from another small spring) will flow through the larger stone and go into the spring branch a bit down stream.

I wish I could attach some pictures, but this is a new computer and I haven't had much luck in getting them loaded yet.

Any thoughts? Most of this work will be done by me and a shovel.

 

[contender]

If you think an 18" culvert is big enough,,, go to at least a 24". You'd be surprised at what water can do. And,,, rent a track hoe to do the work,, it will be well worth the money spent.

 

[Kevin]

In Southern Missouri there are some streams with very low cement bridges across them. When it rains the water simply goes over the top. They are pretty efficient. It's a fairly wide crossing, with a series of small openings to allow water through. It's just s single lane. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures but might be able to find one online.

 

[Muley Gil]

In Southern Missouri there are some streams with very low cement bridges across them. When it rains the water simply goes over the top. They are pretty efficient. It's a fairly wide crossing, with a series of small openings to allow water through. It's just s single lane. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures but might be able to find one online.

We have that type of bridge here too. Thanks.

" And,,, rent a track hoe to do the work,, it will be well worth the money spent."

A small mo-chine costs about $600 a day to rent. Trying to get by with a lot less.

 

[pete44ru]

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If there's ample sizeable trees near where you cross, I would suggest exploring the feasibility of cutting them down & making a simple log bridge at the ford.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S96bVjxFdSg

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[Muley Gil]

That's a nice looking bridge. Unfortunately, my land is almost all pasture and I only have a few trees.

 

[pete44ru]

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Maybe you can source some logs locally/inexpensively & haul them to your property.

It'd definitely be less expensive than renting some equipment, and probably more effective than a culvert (which can clog & become a PITA to clear - BT, DT)

.

 

[rugerjunkie]

Without seeing pictures , what you describe should be able to be cured with a 12" culvert if that is what you decide to do. You do not want that big rock on the pipe though. Use a smaller 1" - 1 1/2" material to bed the pipe with approximately 6" of cover on top as a minimum.

The comments about a low water crossing might be the better way to go. You'll have to remove the mud and topsoil then place your rock. Your bigger rock will be wanted for a base here but I wouldn't see the need for anything bigger than a 4"-6" base material that has the fines in it to help bind it all together. Don't use what is called a clean material that has the fines screened off to leave you only the larger rock.

The place for your large rock will be if your crossing has to be excavated deeper because of the amount of soft ground and topsoil leaves you a decent sized hole. You can even use shot rock (what's on the quarry floor after blasting) if the really big rock are sorted out. Then cap it off with your smaller base.

Kind of rambling but I'd use a culvert if you have a chance of a low water crossing wash out on you , and a low water crossing if your water flow is pretty consistent and you don't think it'd need maintaining all the time.

 

[Big Old Boy]

Another alternative buy an old flatbed trailer pull the running and landing gear sell the gear for scrap and you have a bridge.

 

[barrya]

Another alternative buy an old flatbed trailer pull the running and landing gear sell the gear for scrap and you have a bridge.

My dad did this and it worked great. Barry

 

[Mobuck]

A 12" culvert may handle the constant flow but how much flow is there after a heavy rain? Give some thought to how much fill you'll lose every time the water goes over your culvert or simply washes it away. How far across is the mud hole? You may be better off, gouging out the mud and filling most of the low area with rip-rap or waste concrete and then topping that with some gravel so you don't damage tires(as much).
We renovated 2 crossings on MIL's farm 2 springs back with some wooden platforms used to support heavy equipment in soggy terrain. Ten inches thick, 4' wide X 20' long so it takes two to make a bridge(3 wasn't an option due to the cuts in the ditch banks). Set in place with a rented mini-excavator and our tracked skid steer. Total out of pocket cost was about $450 for each bridge plus our time and hauling the excavator in/out. Flood water over-topped them at least once but they're well secured to posts set 5' deep and only minor movement occurred. If you don't have the floods to worry about, it's a simple job to drag them into place, level them a bit and push some dirt up to the ends.

 

[Muley Gil]

I 'preciate the comments.

Anybody else? What about my idea of filling in the muddy area with large stone?

 

[Muley Gil]

I 'preciate the comments.

Anybody else? What about my idea of filling in the muddy area with large stone?

 

[nekvermont]

They make a road fabric that you can put down before good gravel. I think the road fabric make it so the gravel doesn't disappear into the mud.

 

[Mobuck]

"Anybody else? What about my idea of filling in the muddy area with large stone?"
Short term, throw away solution. Even "large stone" will squish down and away from the load OR wash away.

 

[rugerjunkie]

I 'preciate the comments.

Anybody else? What about my idea of filling in the muddy area with large stone?

Your problem there is you can't build anything on unstable ground and expect it to last very long. I think you'll have to remove what mud you have the best you can and then yes , you could use your larger rock.

For what you are describing I think you can get away with that and then cap it off with a 3-4 inch breaker run material. Breaker material has all the fines and smaller rock in it to help knit it all together and will be ok for a vehichle crossing. Have you talked to your local quarry to see what they have on hand for material?

 

[Muley Gil]

" Have you talked to your local quarry to see what they have on hand for material?"

Not yet. I'll probably have to pick up the stone in a small trailer, pulled by my pick-up, as I don't think I can get a dump truck back to that spot

 

[CoolLogic]

A friend of mine made several concrete pads with wire mesh in the middle. He formed them with short pieces of chain in them so he could easily pick them up with his tractor. Make them as big as you think you can handle with the equipment you have. They will crack and break but the mesh holds them together. Water and debris easily flows over them. Mix the the concrete and form them on site. Wait for a dry day and drag them into place.

 

[Colonel Daddy]

Might check with the power company in your area. Our local power company will deliver and off-load old poles they have replaced and a person can get them for free. It's cheaper for them to give them away locally rather than haul them to a disposal site over a hundred miles away and then pay a disposal fee. You can cut them to length with a chain saw and use them to make your log bridge. We have used them for making fence posts. The wire will rust away before those posts rot off!!