Good eve, New to the pond scene.....bought a distressed property last year that included a deep (16+') one acre pond with a siphon drain system. My first experience was noticing the level drop after a large rain because of leafy much blocking the siphon tube. Second time it was a water turtle that blocked it. I could hear the air whistling from 100 feet away......poor guy was totally dried out by the time I got there. Learnings - the system worked.
Helene wreaked havoc on my pond and general area so much; not surprisingly my pond overflowed the dam after 9+ inches of rain. Last week, I noticed it ran over again after 3" in 3 hours. Not a total surprise, but I see little evidence the system is working well, and it may just be my understanding of the system. Here is where you all can help......
The first pic is of the siphon tube. At this point, the end is still fully submerged. Note I now have a screen over the end to keep the turtles out. Right next to the siphon tube is the drain tube; not sure but looks like 8". It runs up through the dam and down the embankment to the receiving stream. I see no indication of any access to either of these pipes anywhere between the edge of the pond and the receiving stream.
The second pic is of the drain releasing water into the receiving stream. Note there is a small amount of water coming out; I estimate 1/2 deep stream of water. Am I wrong in assuming the flow should be full-on as long as the end of the siphon tube is fully submerged? I am wondering if the entry end of the 8" drain pipe has clogged on the bottom of the pond? Is there a way to tell? To clean? I have poked and prodded the top of the dam thinking there may be an access valve at the highest point to clean out the drain pipe and to use to fill the pipe to initiate a draining?
The 3rd pic is of a "mystery" box I found about 10' from the end of the drain pipe, and only after finally getting the dam clear of years of growth.......trees up to 10" diameter......yikes. My dog actually found the metal lid under years of leaves. Lo and behold, there is plumbing inside. Not for sure, but I think it is all one line. The open pipe with a "flag" welded on appears to be a valve. Quite rusty, so a little afraid to try to turn. Down from that (an inch away) is a boiler drain. Again, appears to be closed but I am a bit hesitant to try to turn. Finally, 6" down from that is a spigot. This will turn, and is presently closed. I have no idea what any of this is. Can someone help me understand what all of this is, and how to operate it to make it do whatever its intended purpose is? I sort of wondered if this valve closes the main drain pipe to make it easier to fill the pipe in order to start a siphon?
I have what is to me a critical situation here. Every overflow is causing serious erosion. I need to make sure everything is working as designed.
