Clearing out a plugged drainage ditch

The winter after we bought our property was very wet. There was standing water all over the area where we could lpossibly build. The stopped up character of the drainage ditch begged our attention. This ditch followed along north property line and required a lot of work.

So after excavation began we asked our contractor Ron to clear the ditch.

This required, first, pulling out trees and brush. Ron piled the tree trunks and stumps near the wetland buffer for later consideration.

Also, tall grasses had overgrown and soil sediment had collected so that stormwater wasn't flowing down the ditch. So a thorough scraping of the ditch was necessary.

Ron used a big excavator to do all this work. It was awe inspiring to watch that monster machine uproot trees, pile them up, and dredge brush and grass.

Soon we had a clean ditch along the entire length of our north property line.

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