Thanks for the opportunity to ask for help here. My neighborhood has a 4-5 acre stormwater pond that's home to plenty of wildlife. But the beavers are making life miserable by clogging the vertical riser. It is a 13' round concrete structure with a 48" round vortex cap. It empties through a 60' barrel that runs under the berm, to a culvert emptying into a local watershed. The beaver do not obstruct the culvert, surprisingly. They seem to be swimming up under the vortex cap and depositing sticks, etc. Last year the riser ended up 18" underwater and heavy rain triggered the emergency spillway. Hydroexcavation was needed to unclog the riser. This year, the beavers are back at their antics.
We engaged a trapper last year but is there any other solution to trapping year-after-year? The 'beaver deceivers' and Clemson pond levelers only seem to address managing water levels at beaver-made dams and not clogged vertical standpipes - is that right?
Thank you for any advice! POM in Tidewater, Virginia