Watercourse clearing/trail blazing

Danpad

Hi folks, purchased a (approx.) 5 acre plot with a poorly maintained watercourse running along one perimeter. Excuse my poor terminology but it is really 'clogged' up in parts and, I believe, nowhere as efficient as it should be. Has anyone got any hints/tips/experience on clearing a watercourse? is it simply a matter of putting a pair of waders on and getting stuck in with a shovel? Also, we'd like to re-establish a couple of trails/paths through and alongside a wooded area but these too have been neglected and are very boggy. We'd like to attempt to dry them out somewhat so any advice on things like this would be really appreciated (or will clearing the watercourse help with this?). Anyway, thanks in advance and hopefully, there will come a day when I can share my experience and help someone as 'green' to this as I am now.

baaba maal

For me, the key issue isn't the growth in the ditch/watercourse. It is- what is this draining into after it leaves your property? You can spend a lot of time and effort on getting your own bit sorted, but you should look at what it is doing downstream.
What length of drain are you talking about? Thirty or forty metres is manageable by hand (over time) but you may need to get in some mechanical help (HIAB, JCB etc.) to get it functioning better over the longterm. You should consult with the other landowners before doing any work, but farmers don't normally have a problem with somebody offering to improve drainage on their land for free! Also, they might have experience of improving drainage there in the past. This drainage may need to be repeated every once in a while so I would make sure to leave access for machinery along the ditch.
Personally, I would be trying to retain as much of the natural growth along the ditch and minimise the environmental impact of any works.

Having said all that, your issue may be more of improving drainage on the site rather than the ditch- if the ditch isn't full of water (certainly if the water is normally sitting 50cm or more below the top) then site drainage could be the issue. I'm no expert on any of this, but putting in drains certainly requires a bit of experience- deciding how much you need, deciding the 'fall' of the landdrains and then making sure that these levels are correct.

Good luck with the project, sounds very exciting!

Oldtree

Lovely idea.

I have had drainage issues and cleared them out by hand, maby 120m long and a spade in width. Thereafter just ensuring that they are clear once a year usually in November after leaf fall does the job. Nothing like an open drain imo.

If the whole area is wet then it may be better to raise the pathways in some fashion, or a small spade width drain next to it to direct the water to the main drain.

As to the fall its very important, but even 1 cm is enough t keep the water flowing

Danpad

Thanks for the input guys. I think the main watercourse clearance will have to be by hand for roughly 100 metres and then it passes into the wooded area where it is mostly free from soil and other obstacle build up. The smaller drains falling to the main watercourse is a great idea and something I will implement. It's a completely new and steep learning curve for me but one I'm enjoying immensely as I connect with nature. Thanks again.

Bizzum

Hi Danpan, I seen your pics on another forum and have a couple of observations.
I take it you bought the land this year? If so you may be looking at it as dry as it has been for a long long time. So firstly I'd do nothing till I see how it performs over winter. The ditch may have been photographed at extreme drought conditions and will be unrecognizable at normal or high flows.
No matter what you do in ground like that, you are dependant on how your neighbours behave. So try and get a look outside your perimeter and see how it looks.
Water will always follow the path of least resistance, build up a profile in your mind of your set-up at different water levels.
Generally this type of drainage work is best carried out during summer/low flow conditions.
Your neighbours could be worth talking to so as to try and establish the lie of the land. What is possible and what's not!
Best of luck with it.

Conmaicne Mara

Saw the photos, can't remember them now though. A handy implement for clearing drains by hand is what we call the "drag". A long handled 4 pronged fork, which has had it's prongs bent at a 90 degree angle.