May 14, 2005
Dirty Work
We have been working on a community project for the HOA to rid many of the places where we have standing water. Our county has led the nation at times in West Nile cases so we take mosquitoes pretty seriously.
At the end of my street is the worst ditch in the neighborhood. It has started to develop cattails and other kinds of vegetation because of the water.
You can see the top of the black outlet there. The goal is to get that as exposed as possible and give the water a clear and level path.
The backhoe came in and dug out the trench. Once we got down far enough, the dirt and water that was backed up in the pipe started flowing out.
Next to help clear out the pipe, we started dragging a bucket through the pipe under the street. Mike would pull one end with the Bobcat. When we reached the end, I would pull the bucket back the other way with my winch.
Well, done for the day. There is still 12-16 inches of dirt and crap in the pipe under the street. We are going to try and get some fire hose and blast it through.
Once the pipe is cleaned out, we will lay rock, then some pipe for form a French drain, then cover with dirt. Hopefully, this works for many years to come.
