Chronicles Of A Struggling Creek - Another Trip

There were drops of hope on my windshield this morning as I made my way to the mercantile store.  A bit of servitude would be given to the store but not much, for other things were on my mind.  The morning shower never developed into a full rain event, but at this point nothing is prettier than the sound of rain - nothing smells better than the scent of rain. 

I made short order of it at the store because unfortunately I own one of those minds that never gets rest.  In short - things bug me.  On my mind once again was the dam and that bush plugged into the outflow pipe. 

Back in the creek the wade begin.  For some reason this is a tiring wade, but this morning it was enjoyable because new carp water was discovered.  Although it was hard seeing the beeves, I did actually see about ten and then from judging all the mud clouds encountered, I'm estimating there are 30 - 40 carp in this stretch of the creek. All the more reason to try and get some flow going.

At the dam, I slid down the steep face of the dam and grab hold of the bush.  With a hefty tug, the bush dislodged.  What followed was the most toxic, nasty looking water I've ever seen.  The flow increased immediately, but that was short lived and soon went back to a trickle.  The sludge that come out of pipe hit the water below and begin to spread like a threatening spectre across pool.

The water immediately above the dam is not deep at all.  The water is resting on basically one large sand bar that has developed overtime.  The dam has acted as a stopping point for the filling sand and taken away the natural distribution process of a creek.  Upstream, a ways, is a stretch of water close to half of a mile in length that has a good amount of water.

Charlie thinks this outlet is what he calls a "low flow outlet", designed to allow water to continue to flow during low flow periods.  Whatever it is, it isn't working properly.  Most likely it's going to take a backhoe or a horizontal bore to unplug this mess. 

Right now our goals are (1) Locate someone that has knowledge of the construction and functioning of this dam, (2) encourage the owner or caretakers to fix the problem, and (3) establish a maintenance schedule to keep this outflow free of obstructions.

Besides these things we need some good heavy rain and this is where there might be good news. 

This afternoon this parcel of the prairie ocean is under a severe weather warning.  Usually with severe weather there is rain and hopefully the rain will be substantial.  Just a three or four inch rain could turns things around for this little creek.

Then there is next week and within next week rests a lot of hope. 



Chronicles Of A Struggling Creek - The Dam

This morning I went in search of an answer to a question that has been heavy on my mind here of late.  With the creek struggling as much as it is and with the flow having ceased in the upper sections of the creek the question, for me, became was something restricting the upstream flow?

For years, I have heard of a private dam upstream but never have I seen it up close.  Using Google I located the dam on satellite imaging.  From the google map it looked to be a nicely done construction.  However what couldn't be determined was whether the builder had included some kind of water release in the structure besides overflow from the top of the dam.

Right after sunrise I entered the creek a quarter of a mile downstream from the dam.  Less than 25 yards upstream, the place this part of the creek ceased to flow was encountered.

Not far upstream the creek suddenly widen to 25 or 30 feet and this run was probably a good 100 yards or better of standing water two feet or so deep.  The water was simply trapped and couldn't flow downstream.

At the end of this long and wide run, the creek skinned down to a stream of two or three foot water and I knew then the dam was just ahead.  As I made a bend, there in front of me stood the concrete testament of a man's work for whatever reason he had in mind.

With my first glance of the dam the question I had in mind was answered.  About half way down from the top of the dam is an eight or ten inch pipe.  This morning there was only a trickle of water coming out of the pipe.  Upstream from the dam the water is stagnant and looks to be a couple of feet below the top of the dam.  This pipe goes through the dam where I imagine there is an elbow with a standpipe. 

So, the builder of this dam deserves credit for incorporating some kind of release.  There does appear to be a rather hefty restriction in the pipe by way of some kind of shrub or small tree that has apparently taken root.  This morning I had no solution as to how to free this obstruction and upon inquiring I have learned the owner of this dam lives in Florida and I have no contact information. 

I don't know exactly how I feel about dams.  On one hand I know they have created a lot of wonderful tailwater fisheries.  On the other hand though I also believe they have changed or altered the natural course of things... and fish and their habitats. 

With answer in hand it was time for me to leave.  Instead of wading back downstream I cut across a pasture and pick up the road for a quicker return to the prairie schooner.  Saving time was important this morning because I hoped to battle just one carp.

Traveling to Charlie's Pasture, where there is still inflow from a confluence, a rust colored Creek Critter of Charlie's hand went out across the flat water to the far bank.  A carp absolutely slammed the fly on the blind and we began a chin-chin.

I'll have to say that for a small young carp this was the toughest fighting fish I've had on the rod in a long, long time.  This little common carp simply would not quit.  Finally I decided to walk-the-dog and took him downstream where he could be gently beached in three of four inches of water.

The thought of staying longer was on my mind, but breakfast with Miss Carol sounded good too.  Miss Carol won out.