Hey Guys I finally have somthing to post instead of just being a lurker! I just built a pond and it is filling up nicely, my question is this:

I have 4 field tile which run into the pond at about 3'-0" below the surface ( or what will be the surface)

I would like to keep the tile funtional as they drain my horse pastures and hay field.

I am trying to figure out a check valve system which would allow the tiles to flow the runoff onto the pond and not backflow the pond into the tiles.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for the help

Mike

I wrestled with a similar situation.
The difference would be that the tile system that fed our outlet was higher than the level of the pond at normal pool. In this respect, we were lucky, but I'm pretty sure that Theo had a tile feeding his #1 pond and he just left it under the surface without any controls.
Anyway, there is so much junk that can find it's way into a tile that I cannot imagine any device that would actually automatically regulate the flow without getting gummed up.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a tile? It must be a northern thang!

underground drainage system to empty large fields (think ag.) of standing water
Farm fields will always have low spots that collect water. If it causes enough loss to the yield and creates enough of a hinderance farming the surrounding higher ground, tile is installed to systematically collect the water from the various areas and carry it away underground to a lower area that will accept the runoff. Tile used to be clay pipes (like old sewers) but the ends were often straight (not belled at one end) and laid end-to-end in a bed of pea gravel. Today, tile is black corrugated plastic pipe in very large rolls.

Thanks Ski, I did not know that.

We just get a back hoe and start digging ditches.....lol.....

Racrx, I don't know if it is to late but could you trench around your pond and rehook up on the other side?

Another possible alternative would be to cut the tile short of the pond basin and terminate it in a dry well. Then cut a swale or shallow ditch from the top of the dry well to the pond to channel overflow into the pond.

Thanks for the ideas, Worse case scenario I think I will dig a trench and run the tile into a catch basin and then pump the water into the pond, (I don't like standing water in the pastures and hay field after a rain).

I would rather figure out a way to drain the tiles directly into the pond, I was thinking maybe a 90 degree elbow down and a vertical check valve, would this give the drain tile enough pressure to work against the head pressure of the pond?

Or would the above work with a trap after the elbow?

Mike

Cisco, think of a French Drain for a field.

Racrx, If you have 4 tiles running into your pond,thats a lot of water for your overflow. Also think of the chemicals and fertilizers that will be running through your pond .

Racrx, I am unable to see how field tiles that gravity drain into a pond would be able to gravity drain water from the pond back into the field. To be sure, some section of each tile will be holding water for a distance back into the upper ends, until they rise up whatever depth they enter the pond at (3' if you don't do anything fancy, it would seem). Are you worried about water seeping from this "wet" section of the tiles back into the fields?

If your pasture land drains poorly enough (i.e. this means lots of clay, IME) that you need the tiles for drainage (as ours are here), they probably will not seep a noticeable amount of water out of the tiles back into the ground.

One other thing to worry about is varmint access from the pond (or other) outlet back into the tiles. Agridrain (and presumably other outfits) sell "rat guards" to install at the tile outlets which allow any debris in the tile to freely wash out, but prevent muskrats/raccoons/whatever from crawling up into the tile from the pond (and dying/getting stuck to block it). They are pretty reasonable, fit tile sizes from 4" to 24", and are fairly easy to install.

Agridrain rat guards

We actually know enough to dig ditches up here, too. Field tile are buried deep enough to allow plowing/harrowing/cultivating on the flat surface on top, without breaking up fields into smaller portions like ditches would.

Thanks for the responses,

Theo you are correct in that I don't want the pond backflowing into field tile.

I may just block off the tile when the pond gets to their level, or go with running the tile to a catch basin if the field gets to wet.

PS I am not worried about chemicals draining into the pond from the tile, it just drains horse pasture and my hayfield which I really dont put any chemicals on.

Thanks again,
Mike