I need to install 4" dia. slit corrugated tile in a wet area below a pond. The wet area covers about 1/2 acre or more. I will be using an E35 and have three buckets to choose from: 16", 24" trenching and 39" grading/ditching bucket. The soil is mostly saturated clay with some areas of top soil - all is covered with vegetation. The area can be driven over with the mini excavator for the most part without aid of the bucket and arm - it is wet year round with water some water coming from a seep or spring. The exact location of the seep or spring has not been determined - probably near the pond outlet pipe and possibly more than one source of water. I plan to start near the tile outlet and work my way uphill toward the wet area. I am planning to use the 24" trenching bucket and to trench about 3' deep. Any advise or comments on your experience with a similar drainage project will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Questions - Planning to trench in a wet area to install drainage tile
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redneckracin
Senior Member
Make sure you have enough slope to get the water to run. Is the pipe outlet from the pond able to to piped past the wet area? That may eliminate 75% of your problem. Is the pond leaking through the breast? You may never get ahead if it is.
Yes, sufficient slope overall although your question reminds me that I need to get the transit out for one somewhat level section. Your question reminds me also that I need to put my high boots on to walk through the area to confirm how I think the land lies.
How many feet do you plan to run of Big-O? Your bucket and plan sound good....
In the spring I ran 320ft of the stuff through lowland wet spots to drain pooling water after rains. So far, it is working very well.
Your in all clay by the sounds of it...I only had a small 75ft section of it...rest was sand/organic mix. My concern is always making sure one gets a slope, and making sure whatever you put in the trench doesn't get plugged. I used 3/4"+ drain rock below and above pipe, plus typar landscape fabric to limit fines clogging up pipe. Ideally, fabric surrounds rock and pipe (at least cover top side with fabric).
With clay, one can only expect to get underground water with a tiling job, unless you really fill up trench with gravel (that is, drain rock and/or pipe are near surface - inches). Clay doesn't allow a lot of surface water to perc down to tile. I ended up putting in three catch basin drain grates at spots where ground collected surface water. I used Big O wye's to tie into line. I didn't used drain storm basins. I did screen the underside of grate so no fines/grass clippings/pebbles etc., would get into system. Works like a charm. After a heavy rain, the water drains like a bathtub.
If your doing a slope then the drain grates would be pointless....jmho
Mucky job, but someone's got to do it...
In the spring I ran 320ft of the stuff through lowland wet spots to drain pooling water after rains. So far, it is working very well.
Your in all clay by the sounds of it...I only had a small 75ft section of it...rest was sand/organic mix. My concern is always making sure one gets a slope, and making sure whatever you put in the trench doesn't get plugged. I used 3/4"+ drain rock below and above pipe, plus typar landscape fabric to limit fines clogging up pipe. Ideally, fabric surrounds rock and pipe (at least cover top side with fabric).
With clay, one can only expect to get underground water with a tiling job, unless you really fill up trench with gravel (that is, drain rock and/or pipe are near surface - inches). Clay doesn't allow a lot of surface water to perc down to tile. I ended up putting in three catch basin drain grates at spots where ground collected surface water. I used Big O wye's to tie into line. I didn't used drain storm basins. I did screen the underside of grate so no fines/grass clippings/pebbles etc., would get into system. Works like a charm. After a heavy rain, the water drains like a bathtub.
If your doing a slope then the drain grates would be pointless....jmho
Mucky job, but someone's got to do it...
CM1995
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That's what I first thought of as well redneckracin. Melli I would investigate that area of the outflow pipe to see if that's where the water is coming from.
If your clay is anything like ours, trenching a 4" slotted HPDE pipe 3' deep without any stone is going to be a waste of time. Basically you are describing a "french drain" where the wicking effect in clay soils is provided by the stone in the trench and the pipe is just a conduit to carry the water away. Without stone to create voids the water has a hard time penetrating clay to go anywhere, other than saturating itself.
Here is an under drain we did on a retail site that had very nasty saturated clay. Filter fabric, #57 stone and 4" perf. HDPE. It worked well and ran water until we tied it into a new storm structure in the ROW.
https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/showthread.php?27942-A-few-projects-I-have-done-recently/page12
Give us a little more info and pics if possible.
movindirt
Senior Member
Do it shallow, put rock around it and use SDR 35 perforated pipe with drain sock on it. Only flexible drain tile I use its double wall ADS perforated that comes with sock already on it. The single wall stuff in a roll I can crush with my hand... how is that supposed to hold up to 12" of cover? I'd trench it with your 16" bucket. If you can also I would take your wide smooth bucket and carve a swale in so that the ground to either side slopes to your tile, that will help too.