pond cleanout methods

[22a]

After yesterday I am more convinced than ever that a silt scoop is the way to go. With a D69u I assisted an excavator in cleaning out a small dam. There was a lot of double handling with the excavator,
also found that the dozer could only move a very small amount of mud up the batter, which had been badly constructed in the first place.
A fair amount of mud had been removed with the dozer before the excavator was brought in and this was a credit to the dozers owner. Taking into consideration the time taken to do this, the dozers time
would have been far better utilized pulling a silt scoop, there would have been no need for the excavator.

 

[D6c10K]

Interesting thread...more that one way to clean one out.
The silt scoop looks good if you've got room. Most ponds around here are on steep ground with not much room to work so it might not be as good as in some other places.

Most ponds here will have a solid clay bottom below the silt that will give good traction if you can stay just below the mud. I've been told by one experienced operator that they didn't like to breach the dam....said that "the water is your friend" when cleaning one out with a dozer. From what experience I got cleaning out one pond I can kind of understand him....there's a sweet spot where the silt is not too wet and not too dry where it was much easier pushing.
From what he told me, they cleaned them out with a couple of feet of standing water....just started working in from the edges keeping your tracks on solid bottom. I'd like to see it done as it seems to me that it would be awful easy to get in just a little too far.

 

[brucew]

Just a couple of things I have seen done as far as cleaning ponds/dams over the years which may give some food for thought. Many years ago, I was still going to school that's how long ago it was my father had some contractors come in with two ex world war2 blitz trucks fitted with winches. The obvious advantages of this is you would use a fraction the length of cable and the other advantage was one machine sat on top of the bank on one side while the other just sat where the silt stopped running to on the other side. All I know is my father was more than happy with the job that was done and the price it came to but I have never seen or heard of it being done that way since. The other thing I have done many many times over the years with dams that have a good clay bottom and only have a small amount of water in it, is to walk the dozer in frontwards till the the front idlers are in the water drop the blade and reverse out and go about two thirds of the way around the dam like this. If you get rid of this lot of silt over the back of the bank then go back in again you should be able to just about get the whole machine in the water providing the batters aren't too steep and get another lot out. Then you may be able to start pushing the third of the dam that hasn't been done this way on a face as most of water will be on the other side of the dam.

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . brucew. Good one mate!

In previous posts on here I have mentioned contractors travelling the western country cleaning out dams with Blitzs or Studebaker/GMC 6x6's, it's nice to know someone apart from me still remembers. (big grin)

The way these seasons are going if I was a lot younger I would seriously consider setting up a plant with a couple of 4x4 Hino's or even the Mitsubishi Canters.

You could put a backhoe on a tag behind one and a CTL on the other which towed the caravan, be a real good earner I reckon for some young bloke and his Missus . . . . and not a lot of upkeep on the main rigs with hydraulic winches.

Cheers.

 

[pondperfection]

Hello Everyone,

We are Schlicht Ponds (www.michiganpondservices.com). Our company has been building ponds all around the state of Michigan for over 15 years. We also offer pond dredging, lake dredging and other related services.

For most dredging operations, we use our 60 foot long reach excavator