Thanks for your reply Meadowlark! That makes me a bit more confidant.
I looked over the bank carefully today and I'm afraid that the damage is worse than I thought. Water is pouring and running deep into the sides and underneath the culvert, also, there are muskrat burrows that water is running into on both sides of the culvert, up to 8 feet away. I think that it's just running parallel to the bank, into and around the culvert from there, and not through the entire 15' across embankment. I hope so anyway.
I'm thinking that if I dig out the old mucky turf along the edges of the rest of the embankment, put down some clay, and compact it, it will seal any and all muskrat attacks. I can use the muck and vegitation covered soil to fill in low areas.
I also have some rubber roofing material, enough to cover the majority of the repaired bank. Should I lay that down, stake it at the top, and put a layer of gravel over it to help stop seepage and deter the muskrats, or would I be wasting my time?
One thing I should add, to help you visualize: the culvert is burried about four feet into the embankment, so this little move will raise my water level quite a bit. I've seen it at full capacity before witht he culvert sucessfully blocked, and this works perfect with the spillway.
Please provide any and all tips you can think of. I'm nervous. I might have only one shot at this backhoe.
