Trash rack for a pond drain.

[pkrankow]

Trash rack ideas please!

I am going in (some materials and lots of labor) with a co-owner of our pond lot and putting a new drain into the embankment to save his basement (the 3rd owner is a problem with this, but hey, 2/3 is majority!) We are installing a 12 inch corrugated plastic pipe essentially level at the desired height of the pond...hopefully a couple inches lower than the collapsed drain. The collapsed drain was an iron pipe 100 ft long and would fill with debris. We need to prevent this as the new drain will probably be 20 or 40 ft long. The body of the drain will be under an expected 12-24 inches of soil for most of the run.

Limitations: price, $100 is a good top end, $20-$30 would be a better price though.

Welding equipment...no power for it available (garage needs rewired) and not buying a new welder for this. I can't forge weld.

Thoughts: Turning an eye in the ends of some rebar or a36, hot, and crimping the eye onto another piece of rebar. Fastening this to some T posts set deep at pond end of the drain using some chain, or larger turned eyes.

Alternate thought: making a few giant staples out of 1/2 inch rebar and drilling the pipe to accept the staples at the pond end of the drain.

Another alternate thought: putting some rebar through a couple pieces of low grade welded chain, crimping the chain, and fastening the chain to the T posts.

Concerns: the problem neighbor has pets, er "livestock" of some birds: ducks and chickens, that use the pond. The pond is also annually visited by geese for breeding and ducks on migration. There are also some other small animals and small and mid sized dogs (20#- 150#) the we do not want to get stuck or injured. Since the drain is under a mowed grass walking path over the embankment safety of a person or lawn equipment is important too.

Suggestion box is wide open. Thank you in advance.

Phil

[Fosterob]

Are you trying to make a grate similar to a stormdrain street grate that would keep debris from clogging the pipe? The ones I have seen are sloped so debris can float up at an angle to let water pass below it, that would make it easier to clean as well. Imagine a street grate with less bars at a 45 degree angle layed in front of the pipe. Hope to be helpful.
Rob

[Glenn]

You first off need to do a hydrology study to find out how much water you are dealing with. It is not the size of the pond but the drainage area that accumulates and runs into the pond. The State Department of Natural Resources can help with the numbers.

Design the size of the pipe to handle a 100 year flood. Use the appropriate size T. Now step up several sizes for the discharge pipe, meaning that the choke point is the properly designed inlet, not the run of discharge pipe. Add a emergency dump valve so that if you get in excess of a 100 year flood, or a ton of trash, you can manually open the dump valve and remove the excess water into the over sized discharge pipe. May want to put a flapper gate at the bottom to keep critters and things out during dry weather.

Consider a T at the pond end. Put the tee so one branch is under water with a grate covering the opening. As the opening is under water, the floating trash should not be a problem. As the water rises, it will simply enter the branch and flow out the discharge.

Build a 45* slope grate for the top branch so that if the bottom branch would clog for any reason, you would still have flow from the top inlet.


I would suggest smooth interior pipe, not the cheap ridged stuff. They make LARGE diameter plastic pipe sections now days.
There are ways to trim your expenses on this project, but you will need to get a hydrology study first to determine the size of the project.

[pkrankow]

Not getting that complex Glenn, although if this was a complete re-dig or a new pond the hydrological study would be in order. It is a 1/3 to 1/2 acre pond that is fed primarily with farm field run off.

We are using the same size pipe as was used originally, 40 or so years ago when the pond was built. This is an overflow and not a system that allows complete draining. "Band-Aid" may be a good description, even though this is going to be rather permanent. It is also how the pond was built originally, although we are leaving the old pipe in place because it is over 100 ft long, and much deeper in the embankment.

Earth movers are not available so it is being dug by hand.

The pond is in decline and heavily silted in, but the 3 party undivided ownership prevents agreement on getting anything to happen because at best only 2 parties have funds for a large scale project. Something HAS to happen though because my neighbor has had 4 inches of pond in his basement this year because the pond is 4 feet over regular water level, flowing freely over the embankment. The embankment top will also be left slightly lowered during final grading.

The 45 degree angle on the rack is a good idea Rob, Glenn.

After sleeping on it, building some "staples" that go into the undisturbed embankment by at least 12 inches is probably easiest and least likely to cause injury since the exposed parts are going to be bent over.

Phil

[ThomasPowers]

What about a fence of T posts spaced as you want them and the drain opening within the "fenced" area?

[Steve Sells]

My Father in laws pond, 1.5 acre we used 6 inch drain pipe, and for the guard, 1/2 inch or so wire screen mesh, when he mows each week, takes it off, cleans off debris, and replaces. it slips on./off like a sleeve, no strapping cost about 50 cents :D

[Glenn]

If you want to go low tech, why not use a T and 2 short sections of 4 or 6 inch perforated pipe, attached to either side of the T, as the collector. Screen wire the ends. That way if the ends clog up you still have all the perfs in the pipe still working.

[fbcreative]

Since there is a safety issue for people, I'd recommend that you don't do it halfway.
I'm not clear as to how the drain is set up. Is it going through the side of the embankment? Or is it vertical in the pond? Or is it a catch basin on top of the embankment?
A quick goggle search found a lot of 12" grate covers. If you want to make something, maybe use angle iron or square tube with flat stock and bolt it all together. Or cut it all out and pay someone to weld it up.

[pkrankow]

It is going through the side of the embankment. It is a safety issue of sharp pointy stuff being exposed, but I expect that someone won't just step in it...maybe a lawn tractor. I am not against putting a marker on the ends of the pipe either, but that is not in this week's plans.

Here are some pictures of todays dig. I don't have any before or yesterday's, but this is the 4th and 5th digs. Sometime after the last picture the tip top of the old drain started to show above water, so the water has to go another 18 inches down.

The trench is about knee deep. The shovel is an 8 or 10 inch square garden spade that is just touching the bottom. This is the shovel I sharpen for cutting roots, and it has a chisel edge on it. As you see there are inappropriate trees on the embankment that I do not know who planted or if they are volunteers that were left to grow.

Phil

[pkrankow]

The existing drain was angled through the embankment rather sharply. The top was at water level at the embankment, and the 45 was cut backwards, a source of problems that I am sure persisted for decades. We are digging through the top of the embankment near level, letting the water drain every shovel course (6-8 inches). The trench is now about knee deep, and the water need to go down a bit more than 18 inches from the pictures. They are about an hour apart, and a bit of digging as well.

The new pipe will go near horizontal through the embankment in this trench and not extend into the pond. The pipe will also be fully buried under 12+ inches of dirt for most of its length.

I was thinking about taking some rebar (about 5 feet), bending a 90 about 16 inches from the end, then measuring 30 inches and bending a 45. The 18 inch tail would be driven into the embankment at a 45, so the 30 inch section is also at 45. The other end would lay across the top of the pipe for burial. Lining 4-6 of these up across the front I expect would fill the bill. Keep trash out, and no sharp ends to hurt anyone and enough space to get a tool into the area to push debris out. There would still be the hole on the other end...

I can't even sketch a decent picture on this machine...

Not installing a trash rack means that debris will plug the pipe up some and it will need to be pushed out to clean it. There are enough trees on these 4 lots that limbs end up in the pond.

I expect to talk to the person buying the materials before he goes shopping, and find out if the pipe is a smooth inside or not. I also expect that the #4 rebar can be bent cold in this manner. This is about $20 at the big box for the rebar. The pipe is close to $200 if the 2 pieces are enough. The person getting the material has ins at several places in town so I don't know what the pricing really is.

Phil

[pkrankow]

Took some pictures. If the rain stops we are doing this today, otherwise tomorrow.

This is one of the bars I was talking about. This is also a quick and dirty bender. I clamped the bar between some 2x and it worked great.

Anvil Devils cut rebar nice and easy too!

Some pictures of the mess. The iron pipe is collapsed, the water was coming over the top. The ditch is about 18 ft long and close to 3 ft deep in the deepest spot right now, and needs to go down a few more inches.

Phil