22 inches of rain in my 2 acre pond sent lots of rapid water over my 20 foot wide earth/grass spillway.Only 3rd time in 3 years. Lucky enough to get down to the pond before 8am yesterday morning to see cnbg all over the ground. Luckily water was running over them and I saved over 200 fish. My question is what is the best method to keep this from happening again? Would hardware cloth stretched across be too small? I figured the fish would smash up against the screen and be killed. That is why I had nothing in place. Would they get out under the wire? Am thinking of something removable when not needed. Better to put it farther out to prevent them from getting swept away or on the spillway area to catch them as they start to go over? Fish that went over included about 50 5-7 inch ones but most were 1-2 inch.Dont want to stop the water flow so what size mesh should I use? Suggestions or details of what others have done appreciated!!

Right off the top of my head I would put 2 posts at each end of the spillway and say 1 every 4 foot just like a 2x2 post say 3 feet long put it in the ground about 12 inches then run my mesh or screen all the way across and down in the pond. I would use something a little stiffer than mesh. Say 1/4 or 1/2 inch chicken wire. It's only 20 feet so it wont cost much to replace it every 2 years if need be. Then staple gun the wire to the posts you bigger fish can swim away from it they just like to go with the current as soon as they hit the screen they will go the other way. You smaller fish may lay up against it some but that's better than being out in the field... lol

Good Luck
RC

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-40-in-x-25-ft-Green-Plastic-Garden-Fence-889250EB12/206478200

I used this. I put it in the pond right in front of the spillway. Small fry stay behind it during normal times, and keep the bigger fish in during overflow times.

Thanks Guys. Brian, I think I have a roll of that stuff in my shop somewhere. With possibly another storm headed our way...I am going to put something in place!! Just never really thought I would need it. Live and learn.

I would consider using T posts or cut lengths of rebar instead of wood posts depending on the condition of your dam/spillway soils. Something that can be driven deeper into the ground and not prone to washing out or disturbing the sod.

I've had my emergency spillway in use just once so far. Never had 22 inches in a few days, but then I'm considerably farther from the Gulf than you are.

A word of caution: Since you do need the spillway for hurricane type events, perhaps it is better to lose some fish than potentially block up the emergency spillway. If debris gets caught in it, the water will still overflow, only at a higher level & intensity. You might even lose the whole dam.

Maybe I'm being paranoid, but it is something to consider.

I wouldn't worry about it. I'd be more worried about it getting plugged and having the dam damaged. 200 fish, depending on the habitat in the pond wouldn't equal one BG nest hatch.

I would not worry about the fish unless they were just stocked. You want the ES to do its job unimpeded. To much risk otherwise.

Thank you everyone!! I believe I will just plan on losing some and leave the spillway alone. It did a wonderful job for 22 inches of rain.I guess I better not mess with something working that well. I have probably found another 100 one inch cnbg in a couple of pockets in the last couple of days. So I RETURNED over 300 back into the pond. I bet I didn't see 25 dead ones all together.This because I caught it so soon. The water rushing over the spillway was never over 6 inch deep. Today it is just a small trickle and will probably stop running all together by tomorrow evening!! Prayers to everyone affected by the storm!! My little problem is soooo minor!!

I lost a few very small BG over the E spillway last March, but saved over 50 that were in puddles. Mine was only running about an inch or so deep at peak.
I wish we could get a good three to four inch rain. My leaking pond has now dropped about 12 inches since I last pumped it up on August 19th. No significant rain since then and creek not flowing. Seems the leak is getting worse with roots rotting out more all the time.

In my opinion that's a good call. Sounds like your spillway did its job well. Better to lose a few fish every few years rather than the dam itself.

My fence. I only have an overflow spillway, so mine has water going over it often. Fence has never casued an issue, and with the power of water, it wouldn't stand a chance if it got clogged up.

I kept forgetting to take a picture, but remembered last night on skunk patrol.

pray tell, why do you patrol for skunks, and what do you do if you come across one?

Step on it's tail. They can't spray if they can't raise their tail!!...I know, nobody likes a smart a...nimal lover. Thanks for the pic Brian.

Shoot them. Dog in lower left of picture managed to get sprayed on the porch last night, along with the porch. I found and shot the skunk, but damage was done. It will really stink around the house for a while. I did have some peroxide and soda, which helped alot on porch, but that dog isn't taking a bath. I tried it once, and isn't worth the effort it takes.

On my place the water coming in and the spillway where water goes out, are at the same spot. I put a green line where I put the fence, and you can kind of see the water going out the spillway above it.

For guys putting the fish back into their ponds, make durn sure all the fish you put back are the ones you WANT to put back.

You could have a couple of unwanted species mixed in with the good ones.....

I had thought about that Esshup. I sit on top a large hill and no other bodies of water upstream. My overflow makes its way to a creek through my property which is just piney woods. The creek is still 1/2 mile away. I had a lot of grass and brush that stopped the fish from going any farther into the woods. That is where I picked them up from the grass and in small puddles. Over a couple of days of checking I ended up returning close to 400 fish. Most were one inch cnbg. Others may have their ponds "connect" a creek. You brought up a very good point. Thanks