Nebraska Fish and Game Association - View Single Post

Laramie · 09-30-2009, 02:07 PM

Just glancing through the post cause I work with this stuff alot and noticed this part of the thread...
Quote:
3. Can you see the 4x4 post directly above the outlet pipe? There's an electrical box on that post. Does someone knowledgeable about dam design know if that is some kind of pump/drain?
I am not a dam engineer, but I have never seen any dam designed with any kind of electrical pumps. Toe drains may be present, especially in large dams, but that water drains by gravity. They haven't had a pump there to pump water to a tank for watering livestock have they?

Daryl was close on this I think! But the 4x4 with the little box on it is most likely a Cathodic Protection test box. Cathodic Protection prevents corrosion of the polymer coated pipe joint(weakest link in an outlet tube).
This box allows the NRD or owner of the dam to check the life of the anode that's doing the protecting.
I also noticed the cattail rennovation project if you will. Are those hybrid cattails or native species? Id bet they are the very fast spreading hybrid, and I guess the next question is are you not worried that your pond will be over-grown with cattails? Typically with a structure like this the lifespan is around 20 years, in other words the pond will be filled with sediment to a point at which depth will become a problem. It will start filling from the upper end towards the spillway. And I would guess that in the 10 yrs or so since its been built that upper end is pretty shallow already. You could see some huge cattail recruitment there.
Judging by the low amount of aqautic veg there either one of two scenarios would be the cause Id guess. One...they used quite a bit of the pond area as borrow for the dam, hence the steep banks and amzing depth of the pond or two you must have quite a large cropland watershed and subsequent run-off directly into the pond? Any filter strips or anything upstream that would alleviate the excess pesticides or fertilizer from running off? Anyways just some things that caught my eye.
Looks like a really nice pond though, for sure.

09-30-2009, 02:07 PM	#89 (permalink)
Laramie Laramie is needing some open water Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Omaha Posts: 127 Thanks: 26 Thanked 30 Times in 29 Posts	Just glancing through the post cause I work with this stuff alot and noticed this part of the thread... Quote: 3. Can you see the 4x4 post directly above the outlet pipe? There's an electrical box on that post. Does someone knowledgeable about dam design know if that is some kind of pump/drain? I am not a dam engineer, but I have never seen any dam designed with any kind of electrical pumps. Toe drains may be present, especially in large dams, but that water drains by gravity. They haven't had a pump there to pump water to a tank for watering livestock have they? Daryl was close on this I think! But the 4x4 with the little box on it is most likely a Cathodic Protection test box. Cathodic Protection prevents corrosion of the polymer coated pipe joint(weakest link in an outlet tube). This box allows the NRD or owner of the dam to check the life of the anode that's doing the protecting. I also noticed the cattail rennovation project if you will. Are those hybrid cattails or native species? Id bet they are the very fast spreading hybrid, and I guess the next question is are you not worried that your pond will be over-grown with cattails? Typically with a structure like this the lifespan is around 20 years, in other words the pond will be filled with sediment to a point at which depth will become a problem. It will start filling from the upper end towards the spillway. And I would guess that in the 10 yrs or so since its been built that upper end is pretty shallow already. You could see some huge cattail recruitment there. Judging by the low amount of aqautic veg there either one of two scenarios would be the cause Id guess. One...they used quite a bit of the pond area as borrow for the dam, hence the steep banks and amzing depth of the pond or two you must have quite a large cropland watershed and subsequent run-off directly into the pond? Any filter strips or anything upstream that would alleviate the excess pesticides or fertilizer from running off? Anyways just some things that caught my eye. Looks like a really nice pond though, for sure.