[Fieldfare]

Hi all- I'm thinking of picking up water from a winter-flowing land drain and encouraging it into a clay-bedded stream (essentially cutting a 50M long channel through a small paddock and hoping it doesn't erode too much- we could pop some stone down to reduce this) and then dropping it into a formal 100M long land-drain (with a stone -bedded silt pool before it). Am I asking for trouble in this? or should I just do it and 'suck it and see'?


Your thoughts would be welcome

[shygirl]

what for? have you more details.
are you in a nitrite zone? i presume its the drain between 2 neighbours?
would you not be bringing nitrites onto your land from the drained water off your neighbours? or bringing biological germs off their livestock to yours?
using water from a stream - yes but from a drain? not sure.

if you want a wet /  boggy farm then you can buy mine 

[spandit]

Aren't you just making a ditch? Sounds like a lot of work unless you have your own digger...

Not sure why you are doing this, mind, is it the visual appeal of a stream? If so, won't look so nice in Summer when it dries up

[Alicenz]

Hi Fieldfare, what are you trying to do?  Are you wanting to drain a paddock that is getting waterlogged from an existing field drain or are you wanting to make a landscaping rill type thing?  I have waterlogged paddocks at the top of a hill (springs) and am thinking about putting some swales across one in particular to drain it but not create speed in the water to avoid erosion.  Not sure that it would work    Would your drain be crossing a hill or going straight down?

[bazzais]

If there is enough of a fall why not try putting a pipe in across the paddock.  It will be alot easier to maintain.  The thing with ditches if they are not protected from trampling animals they will soon collapse in on themselves and the 'base' will often become disturbed and wont channel water unless well into the rainy season.

We have a seasonal pond - shame really - wish the springs would go all year - its nice having a pond.