Pond Levee

[HDRider]

I have trees, mostly willows, that have come out on the inside of my pond levees. Could that cause a leaking problem?

I like them being there. Nice to fish under.

Just don't want any water leaks. The trees have been there a while and no leaks.

 

[dun]

They can cause leaks but usually after the root dies . But if they are close enough to the surface you then cause water seepage along the root structure and cause soggy spots that can become leaks.

 

[Bigfoot]

I had a good spring fed pond pretty well ruined when a tree on the bank blew over. Never did get it sealed back exactly like I wanted it. Hadn't seen yours to know if that'd be the case for you or not. I don't have any more trees on my levees now though.

 

[HDRider]

That settles that. Thanks..

 

[greybeard]

That settles that. Thanks..

Does that mean you are going to kill some trees?
Can I watch? Huh? Please? Can I?
:mrgreen:

 

[SJB]

Willow trees suck. I'd cut them if it was me.

 

[Tim/South]

Tree roots and turtles boring into dams/levees can cause them to leak.
I kill the trees before the roots have time to grow deep. Roots take the path of least resistance and that is usually the levee.

 

[Ebenezer]

Willows have shallow roots that stay on the surface especially if the soil is saturated. Trees on the back side of the levee are a bigger problem as their root move through the levee to seek water. Trees with tap roots will created a bigger rootball and more damage if they get thrown by wind.

 

[greybeard]

I dunno. We've had a pond here that was built in 1967. There's been pine, cedar, tallow, gum and sycamore on either the pond side or back side. Never had a single leak. But, that's only been 49 years, so it could still happen....I guess.

 

[bird dog]

The willows also suck a tremendous amount of water from the pond.

 

[Ebenezer]

I think that somebody mentioned but beavers, muskrats and nutria will do much more damage quicker than trees.

 

[dun]

I think that somebody mentioned but beavers, muskrats and nutria will do much more damage quicker than trees.

That is true, but the question was about trees not varmints

 

[Kell-inKY]

If you are talking about willow leaf oak, I've got them in 2 ponds. Hard to kill, I've been told to dig them out with a backhoe or they will eventually cause a leak. Always seem to grow on the bank of the levee side and nowhere else. Small ones I cut off when I run the sickle mower around the pond once a year, but they always come back.

One more thing on a long list of things I need to do.

 

[TexasBred]

I had a couple growing right at the water line. Put a quarter inch bit on a cordless drill and drilled 3 holes into it at an angle to what I estimated to be the heart of the tree. Filled those holes with full strength Remedy and both were dead in about 3 weeks.

 

[dun]

Some years a go one of the ponds always seemed to lose just a tiny bit more water then it should have. One day I went to it and it was down about 12 feet and had a huge hole in the dam. Got to looking in the hole, about a foot in diameter and all the way through the dam. It had rotten bark lining the hole. Dug out the bark, made a square hole a foot or so deep twice the size of the leak hole. Packed the hole with bentonite and filled the square hole with the same then covered it with clay. Hasn;t leaked a bit since, and that's with a head of about 16 feet when it's in the spill way.

 

[greybeard]

I had a couple growing right at the water line. Put a quarter inch bit on a cordless drill and drilled 3 holes into it at an angle to what I estimated to be the heart of the tree. Filled those holes with full strength Remedy and both were dead in about 3 weeks.

You don't need any herbicide to go to the "heart", especially not Remedy.
Any thing past the cambium and sapwood layer is not going to migrate anywhere or do anything, as the heartwood is hard and no vascular activity takes place there. This is also why you don't cover the whole stump in a cut stump treatment--just coat the outer 1-2" depending how big the diameter of the stump is.
Willow roots tho are a different story--most of the vascular activity takes place in the center.

 

[TexasBred]

I had a couple growing right at the water line. Put a quarter inch bit on a cordless drill and drilled 3 holes into it at an angle to what I estimated to be the heart of the tree. Filled those holes with full strength Remedy and both were dead in about 3 weeks.

You don't need any herbicide to go to the "heart", especially not Remedy.
Any thing past the cambium and sapwood layer is not going to migrate anywhere or do anything, as the heartwood is hard and no vascular activity takes place there. This is also why you don't cover the whole stump in a cut stump treatment--just coat the outer 1-2" depending how big the diameter of the stump is.
Willow roots tho are a different story--most of the vascular activity takes place in the center.

Well I don't claim to be an arborist. All I know is it soaked up the Remedy and it killed it grave yard dead. I'm happy. :mrgreen: