building a ditch crossing 3

[igolfeda64]

I own a farm and the tax ditch crossings are showing signs of caving in. These are important because the farmer who leases the land needs to run his equipment over them to access the different fields The ones that appear to have buried metal pipe are pooling water at the entrance instead of flowing under the crossing. I also have sink holes on top of the crossing further lending me to believe I have pipe failure & thus require reconstruction. I would like to tackle this myself. A few of these crossings have buried concrete pipe and they are still in fine shape and passing water through them. - I can get a backhoe and excavate. Any re- construction thoughts?.

 

[LHA]

I don't know what a "tax ditch" is, or where the project is. If it is in the USA, and if tax ditches carry perenial or intermittent flow, the water is generally considered Waters of the US. Waters of the US are - or can be determined to be - jurisdictional waters, and subject to USACOE regulation. In PA, this jurisdiction is often delegated to PaDEP.

If you are in the USA, before doing any work in the water, I would contact both your state environmental regulatory body and the Corps. They will tell you what you need. In PA, for farm accesses, these agencies will generally work with you and let you go with minimal permitting, versus a crossing to build a subdivision, for example. You can probably get by with a General Permit "GP-6 - Agricultural Crossings & Ramps".

Remember: The Chinese ideogram for “crisis” is comprised of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity.”
-Steve

 

[cvg]

these should fall under the maintenance nationwide 404 permit - permit number 3. Look at the following link for permits and follow the general conditions.

http://www.usace.army.mil/inet/functions/cw/cecwo/reg/nationwide_permits.htm

As far as the culverts go, you do need to provide adequate cover over your corrugated metal pipes. Backfill needs to be adequately compacted around the pipes (and under the haunches), or they may tend to flatten when you drive over them. As far as pooling water at the entrance, you may need to remove sediment from the ditch to allow the water to drain better. And if your ditch slope is very flat, it may be normal for the water to pool at the inlet to the pipe.

 

[TerryScan]

Here in Delaware, we have tax ditches. They are maintained through tax ditch associations in conjunction with the local Soil Conservation Districts. Wetlands issues for maintenance of these ditches is usually covered under Nation Wide Permit (NWP) 41. There is a bunch of guidance on the web:

http://tinyurl.com/7zcwo

I would contact your local Soil Conservation District. They should help clarify these issues.

If you have ample cover over the culverts (1.5 ft+) and do not have standing water in the ditch, I would consider double wall (smooth bore) HDPE pipe. It is a easier to install than the concrete pipe (lighter) and wont rust like corrugated metal. If there is water in the ditch, the HDPE may tend to float with makes for a difficult installation (go with the concrete in this situation). If you do the work yourself, be sure to provide proper pipe bedding and compaction of backfill.

 

[Sharrick]

I am a permits inspector for a county in Michigan. The very best way to go about a driveway culvert replacement is to go to your local county/parrish/townships' road commission and let them know that you want to replace your culvert. This can (In Michigan) require driveway permits from the Road Commission, from the local soil erosion office, the state's environmental office and in Michigan these tax ditches are likely equivelant to our Drain Commission's drain. The drain commission would also then have jurisdiction. If you start at the smallest local government unit, they will be able to direct you to the proper place to obtain a permit.

In our county you would start with requesting a driveway permit at our Road Commission Office. An Inspector would check the site and issue a permit for the proper sizing of the culvert that will also show all the necessary requirements for installing your culvert and drive. If this driveway is in a drain, the County Drain Commission would be notified first. They would size the Diameter of the culvert for the amount of expected water flow through the drain. We would then issue our permit with their diameter and the length we would require. If environmental permits are required, we would then notify the appropriate agency.

Hope this helps.

 

[Hoagie]

Before you go to USACE and begin writing permits, I'd recommend that have an on-site meeting with your local water agency. Ask the agency if your watercouse has a designation or a class--if so, you may NOT be required to file with the Corps. If not, then seek the advice of a biologist...go to the Corps only when you have to.

Good luck,

H.

 

[dicksewerrat]

Shouldn't the county take care of the ditch crossing? They are probably assessing you for maintenance.

Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.

http://WWW.amlinereast.com