Here is a photograph of the results of our efforts yesterday. Many thanks to John and Andrew for making the trek in what might have been treacherous weather (if the forecast had been accurate), and commiserations to all those who missed the fun. I know you all wished to be there!
We installed sixty feet of 8″ corrugated tile drain. This has a smooth inner wall which is great, and it is nice and light for handling in cold weather. One snag, however, is that the air trapped between the inner and the outer makes the pipe almost 90% buoyant! My original plan, to put the inlet barrel on the “far side” of the bay (at the edge of the ice in the photograph) was therefore defeated – the combined weight of John and I was not sufficient to get the pipe under water, and even what we did sink, rapidly returned to the surface when we stopped pushing down.
So the barrel was placed where it is. This means that the distal end of the pipe is up against the page wire fence, which could mean that debris will not be cleared and it will clog. If those walking on the road over the next few weeks could keep an eye on this I shall be grateful. The suction in the new barrel for the 8″ pipe is considerable – be careful if you try to clean it out. John nearly lost his waders down the pipe…
Paul Pospisil was included in the discussions before and after installation, and we agreed that there is ample capacity downstream for the flow you see here. We fully expect the beaver to repair the dam where it was cut and trampled, but the pipe capacity is now increased by another 25-35%. The lake had declined by half an inch by the end of the afternoon.
You can see from the levels on the two existing barrels for the 6″ pipes that the water level had increased another 3″ or more over the last three weeks.
Please let me know how this system is working now.
Each time we overhaul the system I suggest that this will be the last time before spring thaw- but let’s see how this performs. We will plan further installation in the spring.
I will be away for ten days from Monday night. Please send me an email to report any changes to the system or any other concerns you may have.
In February I hope to compose a general newsletter to detail proposals for the future.
Frank Johnson, Lake Steward
Lake Steward Report May 2014