When the property was homesteaded in the 20s, an earthen dam was created to hold water in the lower part of Horse Meadow. Over the decades, part of
the dam washed out (shown above). The result was that less and less water was being retained each year. In the following pictures, you will see the changes
made to the dam and surrounding area. The flat rock pointed out is used for reference in the later pictures.
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This project had several goals that we hoped to achieve. First and foremost was to fill in the washed out area so that the level of retained water would reach
its historical height. To improve on the original design, we wanted to raise the level of the dam so that even more water would be retained and we wanted to
make the pond deeper so that more water would last longer into the hot summers. The last goal was to insert a culvert into the dam so that in the future, if
the water level gets high enough, it will go through the culvert and into the valley behind the dam instead of washing out the dam again. To accomplish this,
we used an excavator to dig the pond deeper.
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The excavator put the dirt into this dump truck which had to back up all the way up the hill and out onto the dam to dump the dirt.
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Then we used this road grader to both move the dirt around and to pack it down. In the background, you can see the culvert that is waiting to be installed.
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Here you can see the fruits of our labors. Not only is the dam whole again, it is several feet higher and has an escape route for high water. Now the wildlife
will have access to water all year round. If the pond retains enough water, I intend to plant some aquatic vegetation and plant some pond fish. There are
always Bald Eagles in the area during the summer and the fish will provide them with a new snack.
Many, many thanks to Tim, Paul and Bob for their hours of assistance on this project.
OK, time for some before and after shots.
Before: Pond was about 40'L x 15'W and about 4' deep. Now: It is probably 250'L x 300'W and from 10' to 30' deep.
Details:
6 days rental of excavator at $275.00/day
Metal culvert pipe $545.12
6 days rental of dump truck at $185.00/day
8 days of labor (approximately 80 hours)
Area that was
washed out.
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