Damming or Diverting a small creek....

[jd161616]

This sounds like a long shot....but is there any relatively simple way to temporarily dam or divert a somewhat small creek bed? I've been hunting a site and found the treasure, but know there is more in the exact location. The problem is, half the time i cant see what I am doing since the water is so muddy, so most of the time I am blindly shoveling, sifting and reaching.

The creek is about 6 feet wide and is about 3 feet deep give or take. There is a slow flow to the stream but not too bad.

 

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[Sandman]

Six foot wide and Three foot deep is a huge volume of water to divert. If it is the boonies, you might get by with setting up a diversion dam upstream to direct the water around your area. I don't know what state your in If even in the US, but State agencies will get upset because you did not apply for a permit. The fines can be steep.

My advice is to put up with the muddy water.

HH,
Sandman

 

[Antny]

Going by your email address, I would assume you are in South Carolina. Clemson has a cooperative extention program on campus. you may want to contact them and inquire first if it is legal & how you might do it if it is.

 

[Cubfan64]

If you've truly found a treasure in a creek and are in the process of recovering it, my gut feeling is to NOT do anything to draw attention to yourself. Diverting the water - whether legal or not, runs you a strong risk of very unwanted attention!

It may be a royal pain in the butt to do it the way you are, but you have the luxury of having located it and you have as much time as you want to get it all out - no need to rush things and possibly end up tipping your hand.

If your treasure is metalic in nature, consider getting an underwater detector and trying to pinpoint areas to dig in, then put the detector away and get back to digging, mucking and sifting until you get everything you want. If anyone happens across you while you're doing it, make sure nothing valuable is left in the open and let them know you're looking for arrowheads, fossils or something else less important.

Best of luck to you.

 

[ringding]

Instead of damming it, what if you used a high flow pump? Like the others said the US Fish and Wildlife service looks for those kinds of things so that they can impose big fines (not that I agree with them). Be careful. You don't want to give those jerks your money.

 

[ClonedSIM]

I forget the name of it, but I know it's a kind of dam used when docks are being built to keep the water from a certain area of the beach. This is a slightly different version. Take heavy steel sheets and set up an "wedge" of sorts, with the tip pointed upstream. This will deflect the water around the steel and should give you a drop in the flow over the area you're working.
Like this =======< =======
If you can find a way to support the steel, or weld the two pieces together at an angle with braces attached to either side, it will practically expose the river bed while you're working on it, but not completely divert the flow of water that may cause locaoized flooding, and then you can take the sheets down once you're done. How quickly does the water flow?

 

[Jeffro]

Use a dredge, pretty cheap if you can find one used. As for the muddy water, use a sheet of visqueen just under where the discharge is- all the muddy water goes on the other side and downstream. Stretch a rope across the stream for the visqueen (sp?) to drape over.

 

[jd161616]

thank you for the suggestions....the next day I thought about it and thought, dam (pun intended) im stupid...I got caught up in the hunt that I didnt even think about the legal situation I could get into for messing with the land...

A summer camp either owns or leases the land near me and I was given permission to dig

Looks like I have to invest in some equipment after I get permission

oh...and the flow of water is relatively slow ...sorry I cant accurately estimate the MPH since I am usually a land guy...I have been waiting until the bed of water gets a little lower with the hot summer months

again thanks for the timely responses

 

[jorge del norte]

A glass bottom bucket.........is the easy way, and search downstream up..........i've hear of large PVC pipe with a glass circle glued to the bottom, in deeper water........

 

[jd161616]

i never thought about that....maybe i can construct something of my own thats slightly larger

as far as heavy equipment i appreciate the suggestions but I cant invest too much money at this point (typical broke college student) the V wedge idea sounds like a safe approach of diverting the water out of my immediate area, but not stopping the flow

 

[ClonedSIM]

I actually had another thought, maybe a bit lighter and less expensive, but totally untried, you understand!
If you were to take a couple of very light steel sheets, then reinforce them with 2X4's, (you should be able to drill right through the steel into the wood) and only make them about 2 feet tall, you should be able to get the same effect but with a much smaller budget. They could be aluminum sheets, if you can get a good price on them, then a piano hinge would be great to hold them together. Here, I threw this together. The only thing I haven't come up with is a stabilizer of some sort....maybe some 2X4 legs extending out as well? See what you think.

 

[ClonedSIM]

Now that I think about it, you may not even need a stabilizer if the angle the gate was folded at were acute enough. Maybe 35 degrees?

 

[IrishCharlieM]

1 Five Gallon Bucket.
1 2ft by 2ft sheet of 1/4 inch plexiglass.

Remove with a jig saw the bottom of the buchet replace with plexiglass and silicone. Allow at lest 48 hours to dry....All available at local hardwhare stores.

 

[FLauthor]

Bass Pro Shops sells that looking glass buckets for about $20.00.

Harry