Hey folks,
I've got a very small earthpond (30'x30') that sits along a small runoff creek. The old culvert spillway on the embankment side is rusted. Muskrats have dug several channels into the clay embankment that run leaks right into the culvert. The water table is so high that the pond has remained nearly full, but the embankment is getting ugly and I think a lot of material has been washed away.
I have a backhoe and and opperator coming over this week, but he doesn't know anything about this kind of work. But the good news is he's working for beer.
I just want to remove the old culvert completely and put a natural spillway in the trench. There are reserves of good red clay nearby.
Can you please suggest a game-plan for removing the old culvert and back-filling, while erasing the muskrat channels? Which end of the culvert should we start on? How do I deal with the water int he pond, do we darin the pond down by simply removing the culvert and letting her flow?
Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated, because I know so little about the power of water. At ease, the DNR has approved this project.
