What's the most efficient way to clean out waterways that have built up above the surrounding field? A self-loading scraper would be nice but what I have available is a D6c. Was thinking of breaking up the sod with a disc so there won't be big slabs of sod spread out in the field. I want to end up with a flat bottom 1-2 ft below field with sloping sides. Should I work in from the sides to do most of the cleanout and then work lengthwise to finish? I've done small waterways before, but these are quite a bit longer and have lots more dirt to move.
Done lots of these over the years and if you "use what you brung" your D6c will work fine if you have a place nearby to waste the spoils. I used to stake them every 100 ft on center line and add cut at that point, then add some toe stakes for width where depth of cut varys and make a light pass down each side for a starting point for cross dozing. I would leave a small island of dirt at each stake for several hundered feet before doing the final finish passes lengthwise. Gives you some extra dirt in case you undercut it some. If you have access to a chisel plow and disk I would make a coupla passes with the chisel and then disk lightly to break up the sod. If not just move over about 1 ft on each pass and cut the sod in small pieces with the dozer. Try to bury the sod in a low spot and cover with good dirt. The ideal setup for me was a push cat and self propelled scraper so the spoils could be moved away from waterway to a low spot or clay knob that needed the good dirt. Used the scraper in solid footing and the cat where it got mucky. Also had the scraper to help pull the cat out if it got stuck which it probably will. Also used the scraper to peel sod about 1 ft strips at a time and scatter out in low spots and cover later with good dirt. Don't try to peel sod with full width blade or you will have lots of large carpet rolls to deal with. BTDT. A self loading scraper works fine if you have good footing all the way but what are you going to pull it out with when you get stuck ? Maybe your pickup. A tilt on your dozer is really nice and after you cut a few hundered feet you can almost do it in the dark as it gets repetitive. When using a scraper I would set offset hub stakes to check grade as I went but after a while you can feel it and will be suprised how far you can go and be right on grade. Happy dozing, lots of back and forth and forth and back.
Thanks crayton, The ground around here is rolling so there is quite a bit of fall over the length of a waterway. For that reason I may not need to put in cut stakes. Chisel plow and disc sounds like a good idea to break up sod...it can be pretty tough to spread in big slabs. I'd be just spreading dirt outward and uphill. Shouldn't have to go too far with the slopes we have. We'll see how the weather goes...supposed to get rain tomorrow and be much colder so unless we get another break the project may have to wait.
D610k---I Tried to get them to fit a .05 to 1% fall. IE 1%= 1 ft in 100. Have found here a 1% slope will cary silt in the water and not let it settle out but not so fast that they wash out. Sometimes not possible so we would go to a 1.5 for a ways to regain depth but had to be careful to transition the grade break over 2-3 hundred feet. I always tried to use a slightly rounded bottom, SCS called it a parabolic bottom as it would always keep the water moving in the bottom of channel and not let it wander from side to side as it sometimes does in a flat bottom ditch. I never could get the bottom perfectly flat even with a blade though some say they can but water will seek out any low spot. Best way I have found around "here" is to make sure the grass is either grazed off or cliped in the fall so long grass does not slow down the water and let the dirt settle out. Some of the ww around here are a mile long or more and fairly straight and grass is hard to establish in the fall so had to get the grade right or they would not make it through the winter. We don't get the rain fall you do there but have some waterways that are over 35 yrs old and still going strong if they are taken care of.
You must have some pretty flat ground...not uncommon to have 3-5% around here. (lots of terraces built here) With our steeper ground were more interested in slowing the water to get any silt to drop out and not go down river. It can be tough to get grass established before a big rain cuts a gully through the ww again. Sometimes you have to go back and lightly tear up the sod with a field cultivator to level it back out. Most of the sod will survive and usually hold the ww then.
Terraces are really your only option. Have to stop the water before it gets to running fast. If you have someone who is really good at staking out terraces they aren't hard to build. Talk to your local NRCS office.
The waterways I'm talking about aren't quite that steep, but yes, terraces are the solution for runoff control. Built some a couple of years ago and reworked an old terrace this fall.
I have cleaned several up here in Ill. DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT disc it up. I used a 650 case with 6 way blade, running lengthwise.You want that sod to shear off and roll. I start in middle and work out.If you disc it,you will have nothing but huge piles of $$$$ that won"t roll off the blade. Roll it out there,then disc it up.Hope this helps you.