# flooding a creek



## tradhunter98 (Jan 8, 2013)

Got a creek at my house that beavers have a dam every 30 yards or so the last 2 are the biggest ones. It is 6in. from coming over the banks but seams like after every rain it never comes up any more. Dose any one know how i could get it to flood without buying a $1,000 pump thanks for the help?


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## gtmcwhorter (Jan 8, 2013)

Hay Bales will do wonders


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## tradhunter98 (Jan 8, 2013)

gtmcwhorter said:


> Hay Bales will do wonders



big round bales?


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## runswithbeer (Jan 8, 2013)

bust the upper dam


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## tradhunter98 (Jan 8, 2013)

runswithbeer said:


> bust the upper dam


I did that


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## ThunderRoad (Jan 8, 2013)

Id talk to webfoot on here. He can sniff out a beaver for miles. I know he could help you out.


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## wray912 (Jan 8, 2013)

Knock some small holes in the existing dams at the edges and let them build it back...everytime they rebuild knock it back down and that should encourage them to over build it...never tried this but its makes sense to me...if you got something that the screws keep fallin out of eventually your goin to sink some lag bolts in that bad boy, get what im sayin


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## webfootwidowmaker (Jan 8, 2013)

ThunderRoad said:


> Id talk to webfoot on here. He can sniff out a beaver for miles. I know he could help you out.



Send me a pm Im trailing one right now for you


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## ThunderRoad (Jan 8, 2013)

webfootwidowmaker said:


> Send me a pm Im trailing one right now for you



I knew we could count on you!


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## webfootwidowmaker (Jan 8, 2013)




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## gtmcwhorter (Jan 8, 2013)

It all depends on how deep you want it. I'd recommend square bails, you'd go broke buying round bales


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## GSURugger (Jan 8, 2013)

be careful impeding a stream (the beavers doing it is fine) but if the wrong people catch wind that your being of assistance it can get very expensive.


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## Turkey Trax (Jan 8, 2013)

this is a great topic on an open forum....


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## across the river (Jan 8, 2013)

GSURugger said:


> be careful impeding a stream (the beavers doing it is fine) but if the wrong people catch wind that your being of assistance it can get very expensive.



GSU is correct.  Streams fall under the clean water act and other regulations depending on where the stream is, how big it is etc...   You are supposed to have a permit from the USACE before damming up any stream or watershed.   I wouldn't go throwing sandbags or hay bales or any thing else in the stream trying to dam it up, especially if it is obvious the beaver didn't do it.


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## tradhunter98 (Jan 8, 2013)

Yeah I'm not going to dig it out or fill it with something I may try what some of y'all said. Thanks for the help


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## tinydaniel78 (Jan 8, 2013)

Sand bags is most economical


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## ngaduck (Jan 8, 2013)

tinydaniel78 said:


> Sand bags is most economical



until the EPA finds out


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## tradhunter98 (Jan 8, 2013)

ngaduck said:


> until the EPA finds out



Don't think I am going to do that.


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## GSURugger (Jan 8, 2013)

Posted this elsewhere a while ago
Before we start this, I will say I know about the laws from a road building standpoint. The laws are essentially the same though.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -

What makes this so difficult is:
A) Government oversight- you have a few different agencies: EPA, EPD, GSWCC, NPDES, and sometimes the ACE.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -
B) Laws- the Federal Clean Water Act and at the state level (based off the CWA) OCGA 12-7
C) Oversight by the various "riverkeeper/environmental groups, whom influence heavily the Government Agencies
D) last but not least, the definition of "state water" - any water that crosses property lines is considered a water of the state (I'm paraphrasing here). This includes wetlands, streams, lakes, ponds, etc. if you have a pond with an outfall and said outfall crosses property lines, it's a water of the state.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -
Streams:
Ephemeral- no wrested banks, but is a wet weather watershed. There is no buffer here
Perennial- wrested vegetation at banks. Well defined bank, water flows here majority of the year. 25' buffer from edge of wrested vegetation, 50' if classified as a trout stream (cold water)
Intermittent stream-dry for 3+months of the year. Has wrested banks and is influenced by rainwater etc. 25' buffer

Anything you do to "impair" a state water is governed by the above laws and agencies.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -
One may be able to make it relatively painless if you could prove construction activity was a betterment/wetland restoration and/or mitigation project.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -
Anytime you encroach upon the 25' state water barrier you must have a variance to do so.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -
Information on pond building can be found here
http://www.gaswcc.org/docs/ag_bmp_Manual.pdf

The GSWCC and NPDES web pages can answer a lot of questions.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -
I hope the above is helpful on understanding what/who all can have a hand in it.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -

And on the "ask for forgiveness in lieu of permission" gaffe 
Forgiveness in this case will consist of a consent order, followed by DAILY fines until the area in question is repaired, up to $32,500 a day


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## GSURugger (Jan 8, 2013)

Ignore the potty mouth censor...all I did was copy and paste, not sure where that's coming from


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## Nicodemus (Jan 8, 2013)

Tradhunter98, I`d listen to what the man has told you here. He`s probably saved you a goodly sum of cash.


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## gtmcwhorter (Jan 9, 2013)

How much land do you have and how big is the creek?  How far is your creek from the property line. All these need to be assessed for legality before throwing hay bales in there.  The creek we are doing is man made for our farm pond.  If yours is natural then heed the advice given.


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## GSURugger (Jan 9, 2013)

gtmcwhorter said:


> How much land do you have and how big is the creek?  How far is your creek from the property line. All these need to be assessed for legality before throwing hay bales in there.  The creek we are doing is man made for our farm pond.  If yours is natural then heed the advice given.



if it crosses property lines it is a state water, no matter if it's man made or not.  the farm pond could also fall into that catergory, if it meets any of the stated criteria.


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## waddler (Jan 9, 2013)

tradhunter98 said:


> Got a creek at my house that beavers have a dam every 30 yards or so the last 2 are the biggest ones. It is 6in. from coming over the banks but seams like after every rain it never comes up any more. Dose any one know how i could get it to flood without buying a $1,000 pump thanks for the help?



Damming the stream may not be your only option. In Madison County there is usually a good bit of fall. Water can be siphoned into lower areas from upstream, and then allowed to return to the stream.


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## gtmcwhorter (Jan 9, 2013)

GSURugger said:


> if it crosses property lines it is a state water, no matter if it's man made or not.  the farm pond could also fall into that catergory, if it meets any of the stated criteria.



I'm good I've checked and had a rep meet me at the property and take a look.  Said we were good to go.  Call your county watershed or regional water office, they should have someone that will come out and walk your property and can make the call on what if anything you can do.


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## gtmcwhorter (Jan 9, 2013)

I've got a buddy who works for the EPD in Atlanta, he's in the lead department, but if you need to get in contact with someone there he can send you in the right direction-pm me if you need his info.


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## tradhunter98 (Jan 9, 2013)

Nicodemus said:


> Tradhunter98, I`d listen to what the man has told you here. He`s probably saved you a goodly sum of cash.



Yeah I was just going to see if busting dams upstream would help flood it i don't think I am going to fill it up with sand bags or hay bales I don't want to get a fine that by the time I pay it I could have gone out west but thanks for the help I may do some more research to see what I can do WITHIN the laws. I think think the best thing to do is just let the beavers do their thing and pray that it flood


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## waddler (Jan 9, 2013)

tradhunter98 said:


> Got a creek at my house that beavers have a dam every 30 yards or so the last 2 are the biggest ones. It is 6in. from coming over the banks but seams like after every rain it never comes up any more. Dose any one know how i could get it to flood without buying a $1,000 pump thanks for the help?



I am a bit confused by your post. On creeks, in N Ga., with beaver dams, there is usually not much area that would be flooded by overflow. What kind of area are you trying to flood?


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## tradhunter98 (Jan 9, 2013)

It's timber then it turns to field in some low bottom land.


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## waddler (Jan 9, 2013)

What are you trying to flood?


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## mikeys250 (Jan 9, 2013)

If you get permission to dam it just do it good cause the other week we scouted a buddies land that had a dammed up creek and all the surrounding timber was 1-3 ft deep and was just awesome. We got excited about the hunt and a few days later we get there to see the dam broke and nothing was left but mud.


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## jabrooks07 (Jan 9, 2013)

GSURugger said:


> if it crosses property lines it is a state water, no matter if it's man made or not.  the farm pond could also fall into that catergory, if it meets any of the stated criteria.



So people irrigating out of a farm pond that crosses property lines is illegal if all the pond isnt on their property?


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## GSURugger (Jan 9, 2013)

jabrooks07 said:


> So people irrigating out of a farm pond that crosses property lines is illegal if all the pond isnt on their property?



Irrigation has its own set of rules. Little easier, but any agricultural irrigation (pivot, pump, etc) is done with a permit.


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## little rascal (Jan 11, 2013)

*What if the creek banks*

were to accidently erode and cave in?


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## Mako22 (Jan 11, 2013)

To lower the level behind the upper dam install a clemson leveler in the dam. With this you can drain the upper beaver pond and the beaver will not be able to repair the break in the dam. Google it and see what I mean. You can also use this method to plant Japanese millet on the pond floor and then later remove the leveler to let the water rise again.


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## anyduckado (Jan 14, 2013)

Put in a Clemson Pipe.  Look it up on google.  Perfect for flooding beaver ponds for ducks.


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