Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Beavers, overflow pipe, and spillway

I was hoping to get some suggestions on clearing a clogged overflow pipe at my Dad’s 3 acre pond. He has been fighting a battle to keep the overflow pipe clear of debris, but a family of industrious beavers appears to be winning. We have a pretty standard vertical overflow pipe with a trash guard that drops down into the pond and meets up with the horizontal pipe that carries the excess water through the dam and out the other side.

For the last few weeks, we have managed to keep a slow but steady flow of water going through the pipe despite some obstructions. As of the other day however, there appears to be a pretty solid mass stuck about 12 - 15 feet down the vertical pipe (i.e. directly below the trash guard), and there is now no water at all exiting the horizontal pipe on the other side of the dam. As a result, the water is up several feet in the pond. The dock is underwater, and the spillway – which appears to be doing its intended job – is now a small but steadily flowing creek.

Does anybody have any ideas for how to clear this apparently solid and immovable blockage? To complicate matters, we aren’t the handiest folks in the world. My fallback solution will be roto rooter, but they are quoting something like $700 for the job, and I would prefer not to pay that. I’d also appreciate thoughts on how urgent this fix is. The dam seems to be in fine shape because water is flowing around the spillway, but I am worried about erosion in the spillway – is that a big deal?

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice!

No matter what advice is given or taken, remember one thing.......BE SAFE.

You don't want to be near that inlet when it opens, it will suck you in and hold you there to drown.

Can you borrow a trash pump to lower the water below the pipe inlet? That way you could work safely.

Ditto what was said previously. The emergency spillway is just that, for an emergency. If used continually, and made from compacted soil, it WILL erode away sooner or later.

Beavers are attracted to running water. Next they'll try to stop up the spillway. You need to get rid of the beavers by either shooting, trapping or snaring. If you don't know how, look in the yellow pages for animal damage control specialists. As a last resort, call the local game warden and ask him for a referral.

Pump the pond down past the top of the pipe before trying to work on it. Since it's probably sticks and mud that is packed in there, I have no good suggestions on how to get that stuff out. If you don't get rid of the beavers, that problem will repeat itself every few days until they're gone or you give up trying to keep it open. If you want the pond, you can't give up.

How wide is the pipe, and is it PVC or metal??

Hi everybody --

Thanks for your thoughts. We will definitely be careful when messing with the drain -- I appreciate the words of caution!

rmedgar -- The pipe is PVC, and is pretty wide. I'm guessing 8" at least, but I don't know for sure. I probably have a picture somewhere, but not sure how helpful that will be without a reference object to gauge the width by.

Any other thoughts? Anybody else ever dealt with this issue?

Thanks again!

Get in touch with my dad, he may be able to help you out... http://www.trappertim.com/ He's a bit of a distance a way, but he gives a PB Forum member discount. HAHA

On beavers or the plugged pipe?

Beavers--
Get rid of them!!! If that is not possible for some reason, you could look into installing a type of system that confuses the beaver on where to plug the hole.

On the Pipe-
Esshup gives the best advice, I think. Get it drained down to below the pipe inlet so you can safely work on it. If you don't or can't do that, might be best to pay someone else to risk their life.

You can usually rent a trash pump for pumping down. I would look for a 3" or 4" size. If the spillway erodes like Esshup said, you will have big problems. Do you still have new water coming into the pond?

That's the best suggestion for dealing with the beavers that I've seen so far.

Without pumping the water down, and while there is still water in the pipe, could you use a tractor or excavator and attach a long heavy rod to the bucket, and pound on the obstruction until you break thru...

.. going with rmedgear's idea a bit further. If a backhoe/excavator could reach out to it, drop a heavy chain down into it with a hook on the end and try to "fish" something loose? Just don't be in the water! And bewarned, this could cause irreversible damage to the pipe.

Thanks everybody for all the suggestions.

CJ -- I really appreciate the offer and may just take you up on your offer (or more specifically, take your father up on your offer -- LOL) if I can convince my Dad that a professional trapper is the way to go.

esshup and fish n chips -- I will definitely look into renting a trash pump -- that seems like the best first move. Central Virginia has gotten a ton of rain over the past week or so, and the pond is spring fed with a pretty constant flow anyway, so it is really rushing through the spillway right now.