gthag
Member
Does anyone have experience making water gaps? I've got a border along a river that typically is ~20 feet wide most of the time (when it's not flooding) and not really sure where to start.
Water gap
- Thread starter gthag
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jfont
Well-known member
Can you post a picture? It would be helpful.
mermill2
Well-known member
set post on both sides of creek.make sure they are set deep or use well anchored trees if available.Anchor a cable to one side .Now thread the cable with tires all the way across till you reach the other side.Anchor cable to the post on other side adjusting cable so that tires are suspended high enough that stock cant pass under.You will have a water gap that should survive most floods.
Green Creek
Well-known member
Watergap is a dirty word around here.
DOC HARRIS
Well-known member
Green Creek":c667f5xb said:
That's interesting! Your comment doesn't really explain WHY it is a dirty word! Just like anything else, if "Watergaps" are constructed correctly, paying attention to the topography and 'lay of the land' in relationship to the volume of water that can be expected at the maximum, they certainly serve a necessary purpose.
Hand milking thirty cows twice a day was a "dirty word" too, but it was certainly necessary. Milking machines turned that "chore" into a much more tolerable task, and enabled a small dairy operation make some amount of profit.
Working to make unpleasant situations as bearable and endurable as possible is more desirable than complaining about the inconvenience and suffering the inevitable consequences.
Get on "www.dogpile.com" and [SEARCH] "watergaps". You might be surprised how efficient they may be.
DOC HARRIS
Green Creek
Well-known member
Oh Doc, you slay me. I was being facetious but can appreciate a good lecture when I see one. We have a creek that regularly flash floods and it has three water gaps to be maintained.
TREY-L
Well-known member
I constructed my water gaps using tin and cable.
First build two H braces, one on each side of the creek. Be sure to set these deep and brace properly with wire.
Next, use a piece of cable and string it across the creek connecting it securely to the inside post of each H brace at approximately 3 to 4 feet above the water level. You may run your cable all the way around the post and clamp it or through an eye bolt which has been screwed into the post and clamp it. On one side I like to use a turnbuckle so you will be able to tighten it after securing your cable with cable clamps. Attach the turnbuckle to the post with an eye bolt and run your cable through the other end of the turnbuckle and clamp it off. I like to use 2 cable clamps on each side, back to back, as this reduces the chances of your cable pulling through the clamp.
After that, I used pieces of tin with 2 x 4's screwed to the top and bottom (horizontal). Then drill holes through the 2 x 4's and tin so you may run brace wire through them in order to hang them off of the main cable. I adjusted the height of my tin with these. Drill a hole at each end to fasten your sections of tin together (at the top) with brace wire to prevent them from sliding on the main cable and over lapping one another. Attach the two end pieces of tin to the inside post of the H braces with brace wire.
Remember to place the smooth sides of the tin (no 2 x 4's) in the upstream direction, so debris won't catch on the 2 x 4's.
When the creek rises or floods the current will push the tin up and it will "surf" across the top of the water. Debris will also not catch on the smooth tin and will just push the tin up and float under it.
They are real simple to construct, but kind of complicated to explain (especially at 3 am).
I hope this helps.
Trey
First build two H braces, one on each side of the creek. Be sure to set these deep and brace properly with wire.
Next, use a piece of cable and string it across the creek connecting it securely to the inside post of each H brace at approximately 3 to 4 feet above the water level. You may run your cable all the way around the post and clamp it or through an eye bolt which has been screwed into the post and clamp it. On one side I like to use a turnbuckle so you will be able to tighten it after securing your cable with cable clamps. Attach the turnbuckle to the post with an eye bolt and run your cable through the other end of the turnbuckle and clamp it off. I like to use 2 cable clamps on each side, back to back, as this reduces the chances of your cable pulling through the clamp.
After that, I used pieces of tin with 2 x 4's screwed to the top and bottom (horizontal). Then drill holes through the 2 x 4's and tin so you may run brace wire through them in order to hang them off of the main cable. I adjusted the height of my tin with these. Drill a hole at each end to fasten your sections of tin together (at the top) with brace wire to prevent them from sliding on the main cable and over lapping one another. Attach the two end pieces of tin to the inside post of the H braces with brace wire.
Remember to place the smooth sides of the tin (no 2 x 4's) in the upstream direction, so debris won't catch on the 2 x 4's.
When the creek rises or floods the current will push the tin up and it will "surf" across the top of the water. Debris will also not catch on the smooth tin and will just push the tin up and float under it.
They are real simple to construct, but kind of complicated to explain (especially at 3 am).
I hope this helps.
Trey
Green Creek
Well-known member
Thank you Trey, I appreciate your input. We have tried the tin water gap and it works great for the debris but the cattle learned they could just push it up and walk right under it. We found a bunch of gas cylinders an air conditioning company had discarded and use them as floats on cattle panels on the really big gap. It has worked pretty good so far and if too much debris collects, we wait for it to dry and burn it out.
jayfarmlaw
Member
OK, Im cheap anyway and had to rebuild a watergap on a lease. This creek is 34 feet wide and about a 12 foot drop from level ground but there is enough creek bank to get h-braces in. The water is usually about 2 foot deep but when it floods....katy bar the door... the creek will really get to rolling. There is no telling what will wash down either.
I built steel h-braces in place sinking them as far as I cold dig...about 4 foot and concreted them in. Next String a cable as previously described. My cable was about 5 feet above the water. Then I used a piece of 6 foot chain link fence that someone had given me. You can usually find chain link fence cheap or free if you look long enough. I attached the chain link to the cable using double wrapped bailing wire about every foot and slid it across as I went likie a shower curtain. Then use single wrapped bailing wire to attach it to the h-braces. I used the nastiest rusties bailing wire I could find on the h-braces with the idea that I wanted this to break is something big came down the creek.
The cattle have never tested it and since the bottom of the wire is under water, there really is not a place to get a nose under to test it. The fence itself has enough give that most debris will simply wash under it. I had a big BIG tree break the h-brace wire (just like it was supposed to) but it just took a chain saw and about 10 minutes and it was wired back just like new.
Lots of people told me chain link would not work, it would catch too much debris and to use tin panel instead. This has worked great soo far and survived at least 7 flood events.
It was cheap, relatively easy, and so far has worked great as a water gap. I will use chain link from now on until I am proven wrong.
Hope this helps, good luck.
Jay
I built steel h-braces in place sinking them as far as I cold dig...about 4 foot and concreted them in. Next String a cable as previously described. My cable was about 5 feet above the water. Then I used a piece of 6 foot chain link fence that someone had given me. You can usually find chain link fence cheap or free if you look long enough. I attached the chain link to the cable using double wrapped bailing wire about every foot and slid it across as I went likie a shower curtain. Then use single wrapped bailing wire to attach it to the h-braces. I used the nastiest rusties bailing wire I could find on the h-braces with the idea that I wanted this to break is something big came down the creek.
The cattle have never tested it and since the bottom of the wire is under water, there really is not a place to get a nose under to test it. The fence itself has enough give that most debris will simply wash under it. I had a big BIG tree break the h-brace wire (just like it was supposed to) but it just took a chain saw and about 10 minutes and it was wired back just like new.
Lots of people told me chain link would not work, it would catch too much debris and to use tin panel instead. This has worked great soo far and survived at least 7 flood events.
It was cheap, relatively easy, and so far has worked great as a water gap. I will use chain link from now on until I am proven wrong.
Hope this helps, good luck.
Jay
