Is there any way to remove large trees from a dam? I'm buying property with a 5 acre lake on it. Serveral large pine and oak trees were allowed to grow on both the sides and on top of the dam. I figure that just cutting them down would be worse than leaving them alone. Is there any way to remove them without lessening the strength of the dam or is it better to just redo them dam itself? THX

LARGE (IIRC, > 4" diameter) healthy trees on a dam should be left alone, as live roots are less likely to cause leaks than dead, decaying roots. I tend to agree with the PMs who feel that trees on dams may need careful trimming to reduce their "sail area" and hence their chance of being blown over in strong winds.

When removing large sick or dead trees from a dam, I think an extensive dam rebuild (carefully excavating the roots, repacking with good clay, perhaps after lowering the water level) is in order.

My uncle had left a big red oak grow on the back side of his 5 acre lake and it got blown over in a wind storm a few years ago and caused extensive erosion on the back of the dam. He had to have the tree removed and the dam repaired at a cost of over $5000.00 luckily the dam never breached.

Stan:
I have some thoughts on this. Call my office at 1.800.882.3478 (DIRT) or email me at mikeotto@ottosdirtservice.com and Sheri will get in touch with me. She is there from 8 to noon or will return calls and emails the next day.
Otto

stan, a big trackhoe w/ a big bucket (4') and thumb - and a good operator - can easily "log" and regroom yer dam. be prepared for a humongous brush pile. i removed about a dozen large willows and some large pines in this fashion.

Stan,
I am currently in the process of clearing my dam of trees. Most of these are small pines and poplar. My main concern is the pines. Pine trees have a long tap root that grows straight down. Its the reason they snap during tornado's instead of uprooting as oaks do, which have a shallow root system. The tap root of a pine could puncture the core , jepardizing the integrity of the dam.

I agree that by cutting down trees you may leave a root system that will begin to decay, but I think I had rather deal with dead roots than actively growing root systems.

We will be chipping up most to the trees rather than burning since we are still in drought conditions here in the South. I brought a Vermeer BC1000XL chipper home this weekend similar to the one Theo used at his pond.

Once the trees are removed and the briars and brush cleared, I will be planing some Bahia Tifton 9 grass on both sides. It has a deep root system for grass and requires little care once established.

The recommendation for clearing the dam was made by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

He also added that he would not worry about cutting any tree bigger around than my leg. Thats a pretty big tree. He said the mature trees, if they had not caused problems already, probably wouldn't.

hope this helps

Thanks for all the responses and info. I'm closing on the property in a week or so and will get back with y'all in the near future.

Thanks again.

Stan

Stan:
You are correct, cutting down the trees would be worse than leaving them alone. My usual advice is if they are not causing any leakage problems then don't mess with them. As I said before, if you want to discuss this by phone then call or email my office and we will set something up for you.
Otto

This is the value of a really thick clay core since most tree roots aren't going to go very far into anaerobic clays. Now sedges are another story, but I've never had much trouble with them either.

A Forester who knows the particular species you are dealing with should be able to tell you how tight of soils that species will penetrate with roots.