Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations New find in my Dam!

I started the dirt work to repair the slope on the back of my dam on Monday. It is looking AWESOME. The guy driving the D6 was zooming back and forth across the fished section at full speed, so I know the angle will be good enough to run a tractor/mower on...

Now for the (potential) problem. There is a 8" "drain pipe running from the bottom of my pond to the backside of my dam! Dang it. It was hidden by all the brush. It has some type of cap/valve on the outflow end of it. It doesn’t appear to be leaking.

Recall my lake is currently drained down for repairs. I would be an unplanned expense to hire a excavator to come in and pull it out. Probably and extra $1,000 + some risk of causing a future leak by digging it up.

The question is...rip it out or leave it?

Gator

I'm far from an expert, but that never stopped me before. If if didn't cause problems before and it looks sound, I'd leave it. I bet you wish you knew it was there when you were draining your pond.

Alligator,

Of course you know that if you wanted the old pipe to drain the pond, it wouldn't leak a drop. Just because you don't want it to, it will try its best to drain your pond dry. I don't believe in Murphy's law or anything, I just believe that anything that can go wrong probably will. :rolleyes:

Gator,

This sounds like an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" item. You could cause more problems by ripping it out.

By the way, just because a D6 can run full out doesn't mean a tractor can do the same on the same surface.

but I'm sure you realize that and your slope will be fine.

Gator, I wouldn't leave anything but clay on the bottom of my water hole. I PERSONALLY believe that tearing it out is the best bet. It would be a shame to have to tackle it after you had fish and a hole full of water. I understand that you would also have to redo your dam. That sounds kinda questionable to me. I would consult my dozer guy about what it would take to maintain the integrity of the dam if I took it out.

Also, a good dozer operator can do things on slopes that we would mess our pants over.

We talked a couple of months ago on sealing old pipes in dams ... I think the consensus best idea was to fill 'em full of concrete (?).