Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Drain Stand pipe broke. Help please.

To start with the basics - my family’s pond is about 1.5 acres, 40 years old, and about 12’ deep at the deepest point - the drain/stand pipe. It’s got a 4 or 5 inch pvc drain and stand pipe that passes through our dam and flows back into the creek they dammed to make the pond.

The top of the stand pipe had gotten clogged with grass, seaweed, and sticks and the water was high. I rowed out to it went to pull all the crap out of it and must have bumped the stand pipe with the boat and knocked it off. I’m guessing it came off at the elbow at the bottom of the pond because I felt around with a long pole and couldn’t feel anything down there.

I went to the back of the dam - water was pouring out - so I fashioned a plug and hammered it in to the discharge pipe to slow it down some.

What do you guys think? What are my options?

Is it possible to not lose the pond? Does anyone know of anyone around southside VA that could fix it?

Thanks in advance!

Unfortunately I'm not sure that there's any way to make any repair to that pipe without lowering the water level to that point, hopefully its not too far down.
It should be either 4 or 6" PVC, I'm not aware of any 5" ever made.
Another option may be to permanently cap it off on the backside of the dam and install a siphon overflow system to carry your excess flow to exit the pond.

Good Luck, let us know how it goes.

I personally don't know any contractors in Virginia, but I belong to a National Association of Land Improvement Contractors with individual chapters in most states in the eastern 2/3rds of the US.
Your Virginia Executive director is Kim Johnson, and her email is kandcj3@gmail.com, she should be able to hook you up with a local, reputable contractor in your area. Or you can google their site.

Hopefully I am allowed to give you that information on this forum, if not I apologize and will delete this comment.

I agree with gehajake that you need to get a professional out there.

Out of personal curiosity, I was wondering if you could attempt to plug the hole from the inside. if the PVC broke off then did you retrieve it? How long is the broken off pipe, is it broken above or below an elbow (is the opening vertical or horizontal)? Do you have a functioning secondary spillway?

If there is any vertical pipe, and you have a functioning spillway, then you might be able to plug the pipe from the inside. If you plug the existing pipe then there are pipe geometries, such as siphons, that would provide you with a permanent solution without completely draining the pond.

I have a very similar situation. Pond been here at least 40 years with the same type overflow pipe that goes through my dam. I think it is leaking somewhere. The pond is fed by a seasonal small creek. I have a spillway that in super heavy rains will take the water over the spillway. I could cover the back end of the pipe and when we get heavy inflow from the creek just let it go over the spillway?

I am in Georgetown Texas - any suggestions on someone who could come out and check it out?

Simply install a standpipe on the outside of the of the dam. You should be able to use wet glue to install a ball valve cutoff, then a 90 degree, then the standpipe. Brace it in place with a T post of driven pipe.