Ideas for making a drainage area useful???

[Calhoun]

I'm purchasing a roughly 20 acre tract of timberland that I will eventually turn into pasture or silvopasture. Ten acres are super nice, basically the crest of a hill that slopes gently away in each direction. The other half is the valley that drains the nice half and also is fed by a culvert underneath the highway funnelling more water through the valley. The drain itself appears to be about 10-15 feet deep and the bottom of the channel is about 30-50 feet across. It is currently dry and has pine trees growing in it.

This drainage area runs from the road frontage to the back property line sort of cutting the property in half. I'm looking for ideas on how to make use of this area.

I've thought about having the areas with steep slopes dozed into a shallow V and then trying to make it a grassed waterway. I guess a pond/lake would be an option.

Any thoughts?

 

[Brute 23]

A good lake pasture could be a nice addition. Fence it off on both sides and keep it in your back pocket. A little diversity is a good thing. Those areas can be tricky to maintain but they can also be very fertile and get you out of bind.

 

[wbvs58]

I'd be very cautious about causing erosion. We have a grass called Kikuyu here, it is a running grass that forms a good mat on areas like that and holds things together. It loves banks and drains and doesn't mind getting its feet wet. I am sure you would have something similar there, if not I'll send you over a few runners.

Ken

 

[Mark Reynolds]

Whatever you do, DON'T DOZE A SHALLOW "V". That would be a disaster after the first thunderstorm. Your created channel would concentrate the water flow and turn it into an erosive, destructive, high velocity torrent of water!

areas with steep slopes dozed into a shallow V and then trying to make it a grassed waterway

Now that I read it again....... It seems you might have the right idea. However, don't do this without consulting an engineer! Go to your local NRCS office and tell them what you have and ask them to send out an engineer to take a look. The engineer(s) might be busy for awhile before they can get to you, but definitely worth the wait. The NRCS also has financial assistance for these things through EQIP, EWP, and possibly (probably doesn't qualify for) CSP. Based on your description, it sounds like your 'waterway' would require drainage tile. The engineer can calculate how much.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

I'd be very cautious about causing erosion. We have a grass called Kikuyu here, it is a running grass that forms a good mat on areas like that and holds things together. It loves banks and drains and doesn't mind getting its feet wet. I am sure you would have something similar there, if not I'll send you over a few runners.

Ken

Don't you dare send us any of that! LOL. It's going to depend on where he is here in the States (please add your location @Calhoun). Depending on where he is will determine the vegetation that will be effective. By effective I mean survive for starters, accomplish the task (hold the soil), and not become wildly invasive (which Kikuyu can) depending on where its planted.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I'm purchasing a roughly 20 acre tract of timberland that I will eventually turn into pasture or silvopasture. Ten acres are super nice, basically the crest of a hill that slopes gently away in each direction. The other half is the valley that drains the nice half and also is fed by a culvert underneath the highway funnelling more water through the valley. The drain itself appears to be about 10-15 feet deep and the bottom of the channel is about 30-50 feet across. It is currently dry and has pine trees growing in it.

This drainage area runs from the road frontage to the back property line sort of cutting the property in half. I'm looking for ideas on how to make use of this area.

I've thought about having the areas with steep slopes dozed into a shallow V and then trying to make it a grassed waterway. I guess a pond/lake would be an option.

Any thoughts?

Go with Mother Nature, it's already a drain make a stock tank/pond out of it.
Amazing what you can do with a D4 and transit.
You can rent a 4 here for a week for 1400 bucks.
Just put one at my neighbors that backs up to my place.
Only had 24 hours dozer time in it.

 

[Ebenezer]

I'm purchasing a roughly 20 acre tract of timberland that I will eventually turn into pasture or silvopasture. Ten acres are super nice, basically the crest of a hill that slopes gently away in each direction. The other half is the valley that drains the nice half and also is fed by a culvert underneath the highway funnelling more water through the valley. The drain itself appears to be about 10-15 feet deep and the bottom of the channel is about 30-50 feet across. It is currently dry and has pine trees growing in it.

This drainage area runs from the road frontage to the back property line sort of cutting the property in half. I'm looking for ideas on how to make use of this area.

I've thought about having the areas with steep slopes dozed into a shallow V and then trying to make it a grassed waterway. I guess a pond/lake would be an option.

Any thoughts?

How steep the slope (run) in the drain will determine if a pond is worth the cost. The steeper the slope, you will get less distance of retained water upstream per foot of height in the dam. And you need to know if the soils will hold water. If the drain has been shaped by erosion in the past and it is down to parent material it can leak like a sieve unless you know it is tight clay. Maybe consider developing the good 10 acres to start and after you have owned it a while you might have other thoughts but you will also have more experience to know what you want and what might work.

 

[Calhoun]

Here is a view of the tract and drain. Water flow is in blue.

Also, I'm in Northwest Louisiana.

 

[Travlr]

Here is a view of the tract and drain. Water flow is in blue.

Also, I'm in Northwest Louisiana.

I had a creek in the SW corner of my place in SD that was impossible to grade into anything useful without a major dam being built. So I used it to attract wildlife. Planted some complementary bushes and trees and let it go by keeping the cattle out. I had all kinds of interesting animals move in.

If the only thing keeping it from being grazed is the pine trees, perhaps you could thin them just enough so the ground would grow good grass. If it's a drainage you don't want to take out the plants that hold the soil.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

How steep the slope (run) in the drain will determine if a pond is worth the cost. The steeper the slope, you will get less distance of retained water upstream per foot of height in the dam. And you need to know if the soils will hold water. If the drain has been shaped by erosion in the past and it is down to parent material it can leak like a sieve unless you know it is tight clay. Maybe consider developing the good 10 acres to start and after you have owned it a while you might have other thoughts but you will also have more experience to know what you want and what might work.

Spoken like an engineer....LOL!

 

[bird dog]

It looks like it would have way to much flow for a pond or lake. Your trees are probaly what is keeping it from eroding further. I agree with Travlr. Thin it out some.