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Thread: Drain tile on bottom land to Creek.

  1. #1

    Drain tile on bottom land to Creek.

    The lower part of my property is along a Creek. There is about a 20 to 25 Foot straight drop down to that section of my land. Once there, it's a nice,wide level section that runs about 300 feet along the Creek. Problem that the water from up top, all drains down to that bottom land. I would like to dig a straight trench from the base of the drop off , to the creek. Then back fill with gravel creek stone and then lay perforated plastice pipe on top of that and fill over that with more creek stone.

    Questions:

    1. Would this work ?

    2.Do I need a permit just to drain water off the bottom land into the creek ? I own to the middle of the creek.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    Talk to your county Agricultural Extension Agent. Hopefully, you have one. Here, if it is for individual agricultural use, there would be no questions asked unless it's in a protected water shed area. There is potential for trouble if you don't ask first though. I know nothing about where you are.

  3. #3
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    I agree with Tom...talk to you Ag agent. Locally, they are very reasonable and provide a lot of valuable information even for home owners worried about plants, etc.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    I actually did something similar. We have a horse farm for our own use. At one spot on what we use for a cross country course, there was a low area that was bad for breeding mosquitoes, which we otherwise didn't have any trouble with. I decided to put a water complex at that spot to ride the horses through that was probably about a quarter acre. Water runs through there, so if I graded it like I wanted to I could eliminate any standing water.

    While doing the work, some nosy "come here" neighbor that owns a half acre of land called the EPA on me. The EPA agent and his assistant came to look. He asked me if we were running a commercial horse farm. We weren't, so he told me I could do whatever I wanted to there since it was for "individual agricultural use" and in North Carolina we could pretty much do what we wanted to. We took the agent and his assistant out for a dinner on the lake on a pontoon boat, making sure to pass close in front of the "neighbor's" (really not that close) dock so they could see what we were doing. The agents had gone to his house first so they could tell them where the problem area was, so they knew who our guests were.

    If we had been running a commercial farm, it would have been a different story.
    Last edited by Tom M King; 03-14-2016 at 6:29 PM.

  5. #5
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    If we had been running a commercial farm, it would have been a different story.
    Mosquito abatement is usually something a county agent is pleased to hear.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Where I am, anything that changes drainage into a body of water is pretty much forbidden. The DEC might be the right people to check with.

  7. #7
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    I know in PA there are lots of restrictions on altering waterways and drainage to water ways. It is best to check with the county and state agencies before doing anything. If you do a project and it doesn't meet the laws, you can be charged with a fine and the cost of restoration plus the work you already paid for.
    Lee Schierer
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  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
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    Wayland, MA
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    Draining wetlands is probably going to get you in big, potentially expensive trouble with local, state, and potentially federal authorities. You want to be absolutely certain you have the required permits. In MA there is no possibility you would be allowed to do this.

  9. #9
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    Medina Ohio
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    Is there standing water that will make a big difference. You may be able to just do a grass water way that is like a swale.

  10. #10
    You think you own to the middle of the creek, until you want to build a boat dock...

    Any work in a "floodway" (which sounds like your bottom land) will get government's attention - quickly. Even if the area is not considered environmentally sensitive or critical to water quality, any issues downstream of your work could come back to haunt you; even mud and silt could generate a fine. And advise from other states and regions is nearly useless (Sorry folks, I know you want to help.) as rules change dramatically every time you cross a border. So, get local approval.

    (I've always heard NY has strictest water quality regulations in USA.)

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    I didn't mean to ask a County Extension Agent for approval, or plans, but rather about who to talk to in your area.

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