Busting The Dam On A 60 Year Old Irrigation Pond

[@tinderbox218]

I'm a simple man. When I see a video about busting a dam, I click on it.

[@AnnArbor393]

Fr

[@JGB411]

👋🏻

[@westcoast9285]

Dam right

[@Legoguru4u]

Gentlemen, we meet again..

[@kiwigirl6135]

I’m a ‘simple gal’ and I concur 😊

[@deplorable_2024]

You nailed it. They piled the clay over the topsoil. No wonder it won’t hold water. A good pond builder has to know much more than how to run machines! I had a new 2 1/2 acre pond built 2 yrs ago. They brought in 2 scrapers and separated all of the top soil around the pond and piled it up. They used the good clay below that to build the dam. They also made sure they had good clay lining in the bottom. Then they took the topsoil and regraded it around the pond. No leaks. Beautiful pond. Great fishing in just a couple of years.

[@Bailey-y9b]

I want to know more

[@deplorable_2024]

@@Bailey-y9b. My pond build was in SW Iowa . My farm is hilly, not flat, which is typical for this area. Over decades of previous farming, the good black topsoil moved to the bottom of the hills, leaving only a thin layer over the clay base on the hilltops. When we built the pond we needed good solid clay for the dam, and to create a firm clay bottom in the pond. Clay holds water. Black dirt doesn’t. So. Using two large scrapers, my builder removed a thinning black topsoil layer from a nearby hilltop. He also used them the scrapers to remove the good black at the bottom of the hills where the pond was going. He went down over 30 ft where the dam was going to be built. All off this black dirt was stockpiled. The scrapers then began moving the good clay for the dam and pond bottom. Using the two scrapers and three large dozers and a large excavator, the dam and pond bottom were sculpted from solid clay. All of the good black dirt that had been stockpiled was spread on the hilltops where we took the clay. We also put about a 12” layer across the top of the dam, and on the face that slopes away from the pond. This created a nice layer of topsoil for seeding brome grass for permanent cover to stop erosion. Brome is very hardy, relatively fast growing, and creates a very deep and tough sod layer in just 2-3 years. This was all very carefully researched and planned. Also expensive. We used clean 4-6” rock to face the dam on the water side. And we built 3 silt basins in the waterways above the pond. And we tiled all the ground above the pond into those silt ponds. And all of that drains through more tile to feed the pond in a way that lets us control all the drainage from 260 acres that is the watershed feeding this 2 1/2 acre pond. Deep end is 28’. We built tow large spawning beds. Stocked with large mouth bass, bluegills and perch. Fish were stocked 18 months ago. I was fishing this evening. I tagged 4 bass. Smallest was 1 1/2 lbs. largest was 2 lbs. I’m also weighing and tagging bluegill. The oldest ones are already 3/4 lb. I caught and tagged one 15 oz.

[@sneezing_panda]

@@Bailey-y9b @bamabass did a "5 acre pond build" and you can see what they did there.

[@me3333]

@@deplorable_2024 Thank you for the detailed explanation. I have always wondered how to properly build a pond. I have watched ponds being dug and built up but have never heard the details about what went into it. Very cool

[@anthonyburnam3415]

Makes me wish I had more acreage to build a pond on. Thanks for posting it.

[@barryelizando4597]

So grateful you been posting regularly. Had surgery a few days ago to remove cancer. Nothing more calming and soothing than to hear the whine of hydraulics . Thanks

[@Pavel-palavel]

Get well soon, my unknown friend

[@eaterofallchicken]

Rest well, i would watch this too if i had cancer.

[@Stosh126]

Best wishes for your recovery.

[@JB-eg1tb]

Watching this brings back my early childhood days of playing with mud, water and dams! Thank you for sharing.

[@nelsonglass6]

You can’t cut a 2 foot wide to put back a 2 ft clay wall?

[@JJfromPhilly67]

Me too!

[@rozmoran1840]

The low level photography of the water draining from the pond dam was brilliant. Thank you Chris.

[@SilentKnight43]

Best shot of the vid.

[@Vickie-Bligh]

Yay, I've been looking forward to this pond rebuild. Can't wait to see what the future pond looks like. Thanks, Chris.

[@Sandy_Marley]

Please kiss me

[@brianwheldon7177]

Been waiting for this project Chris Even with the issues found your the man with the expertise to resolve it, Im assuming you also have a fair amount of geological knowledge as you understand the all the different soils and clays. Thanks for taking the time to do the videos for us id hate to think how much go go juice gets burnt while your out placing your cameras for our enjoyment keep up the awesome work Chris and thank you. great camera work today buddy.

[@bosshogg3548]

Great job 👍🏻 2:04 don’t fall down 4:38 love the green leaf in the dirt you squeezed with your hand 5:31 love how the tree fell down when you barely touched it 19:03 love the camera angle 20:27 love the camera angle and I didn’t know you fished I love to fish it’s my favorite thing to do been doing it since I was little 21:03 love how the stick rolled back in to the water 22:34 love how the chuck of dirt rolled back in to the pond

[@steves9915]

This is Chris enjoying his day off running an excavator!

[@alpintourer]

Chris... Some of the best camera placements I have seen in your videos. Well done!

[@WatcherNine]

I especially liked that 'down the rapids view'. Very artistic Chris! An artist with the excavator as well as the camera.

[@stang9660]

That's gonna be quite the project! Hope you all made through the hurricane okay

[@robertmccullough4822]

19:20 and 20:37 water drainage footage: Chris, That is some of the best footage you have shown on draining a pond. Well Done Sir! It looked amazing!!!! Thanks for the view!

[@PeterKnotts]

Amazing camera work , thanks Chris

[@RGB06084]

Good for you Chris! Doing a job for yourself!

[@ravengale]

My man is about to destroy a whole ecosystem.

[@warthogpilot774]

Yes wtf is wrong with people enjoying this ? Meanwhile kzbin.info/www/bejne/an3ZkottaZ2jjKs

[@ChemEthius]

He’s rebuilding it, making it bigger, along with assuring it is constructed correctly. The pond was man made to begin with, this is human intervention to create a stronger eco system in the long run.

[@joshportie]

You don't live in the country do you....

[@MobileICTHengelo]

no he isn't

[@JF-bc2lw]

It’s a rebuild.

[@gethinjones1348]

Another interesting video Chris, hope you're all safe after the hurricane 🙏

[@chuckbrown2765]

Can’t wait to hear an update. Hope all is well

[@Katie-fg8kc]

If he is east of Asheville they are fine.

[@121xc]

Probably busy cleaning up the mess left behind.

[@jrand2631]

According to Geoff (Bealy Good Farm) most of the storm and rain went Vest from their location, and they only got a couple of inches of rain, or so.

[@johnnyholland8765]

@@jrand2631 Very lucky. I am in middle Ga where it came through my front door and out the back it seemed. Got 8 inches of rain in 24 hours and some pretty gusty winds. Last thurs night was pretty scary. I don't do hurricanes very well. Out of power for 3 days. Just got it back late today. Prayers to all those folks up north. Gonna be a hell of a mess to deal with for a time...

[@creedsixteen891]

After a couple of really crappy days, the drain cam made me smile. Thanks Chris and looking forward to this job.

[@scottburk4083]

No better time than the present to start the next farm project. Looking forward to seeing what you are going to do with this pond. Take care,stay dry and God Bless!!!❤😊🙏

[@samuelrusso1708]

Can you recover the fish, maybe make a small temporary pool or leave a little water for the to survive while you repair the dam ?

[@oldageisdumb]

I’m having a hard time watching this because he clearly hasn’t taken any precautions for the wildlife

[@lookingoverhell3448]

@@oldageisdumb today im going to destroy an eccosystem .hold my beer .

[@oldageisdumb]

@@STOK360 Man made pond that has been there for 60 years and become part of the land. I understand you don’t feel the same way but what an odd thing for you to tell someone to cry about something?

[@Pavel-palavel]

He probably hasn’t thought about that, I hadn’t thought about that either till I read your comment

[@matt01506]

​@oldageisdumb It would break my heart to do this to a 60 year old pond. There is a pool that i fish near me that mediaeval monks used for carp when they were part of the staple diet in Britain. It is absolutely stunning, and that was MAN MADE ! It doesn't look like a human hand has ever touched it now though.

[@AbbyHagan04]

It's a Saturday night. Weather is amazing, life's good. But somehow I find myself watching this for a whole 25 mins. And it's totally worth it

[@s0wndman949]

Some great camera work in this one. I enjoyed “floating” the river and it has been a while since we had a camera attached above the bucket shot.

[@popko12345]

its a big job chris have fun whit it

[@wardvanderberg1403]

The more I watch these types of videos, the more I'm convinced the person who invented the thumb should be sainted. Amazing tool!!

[@kens.3729]

Nice job, Chris! Can’t wait to see you work on this Project again over the Winter or next year. Keep up the Strong 💪 Efforts. 👍🙏

[@LifcoAttachments]

Thanks for taking us through your process. Love watching what attachments can do.

[@Nobody-did-it]

Dudes everywhere had waves of unexplainable joy watching that water break through. I did too.

[@Iamdarthplague]

Im not sure what kind of channel I have stumbled across but it is strangely mesmerizing.

[@stevechapman7053]

Been waiting on this. This will be a great series of videos.

[@bookworm67-hv7nm]

T/S 19:00 that's the money shot right there weird how satisfying a bit of water brightens your day up good job guy

[@kennethjones3337]

You are absolutely the smoothest operator I’ve ever seen. That’s going to look great when you get it all cleared of trees.

[@gregw3432]

Great cinematographer with the low level ditch views and bucket POV. Makes it look very dramatic. Well done!

[@dennis2376]

It has been a long time coming, but the home pond renovation has begun. Nice wet goopy mud. :)Thank you and have a great week.

[@wavydavy9816]

I've been painting all day, and then I had to fix my ******* motorbike, so I am _more_ than happy to sit back, drink my coffee and watch some digging 🤗 I was gonna ask if there was any fish in there 😉👍

[@spencer6764]

I've been waiting a long time for this pond video can't wait to see the final results. Awesome footage on this video well done Chris. Thanks for sharing 👍

[@mrLawson84]

Chris needs a brush haulin assistant lol As he pulls trees out and sets them to the side, someone could be tossing them onto the main burn pile. Would save him a lot of time trying to organize the brush and a good option for folk with a lot of friends.

[@tangopaparomeo338]

Great little video, mesmerizing! I could watch all day. Best of luck with your project ... and please keep us updated.

[@robinparkes988]

great video Chris. It’s good for someone like me, with no pond experience, to listen to your thought processes and how you intend going about the fix. 🇬🇧

[@heatherlane9270]

At last this part of the dream has begun. It will be a large undertaking bye the looks of it. Love that grey mud - reminds of my yabbying (crayfishing) days as a kid.

[@aileensochon7500]

Really enjoyed watching that. Very interesting. 👌☺️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@michaeldemaranville7645]

It is good to see you working on your own place and making more ground for a pond is a good idea. Nice work Sir.

[@Todd.Roberts]

I remember you did a walk around that pond sometime last year .

[@davidprocter3578]

The tannin levels in your pond from rotting leaves will be too high for most species add in that rotting leaves strip standing water of any oxygen and the chances of finding any fish very low, carp will tolerate very poor conditions but that poor ?????????????????

[@davidepool5884]

I agree, he should dredge all that rotten material while he’s at it. The way he works it will probably only take a couple of days or so.

[@davidprocter3578]

@@davidepool5884 Yes he will need to remove most of the nearby trees to prevent future problems certainly has the potential to be a nice little fishing hole. If it were mine I would stock with brown trout and fly fish it. I know most people like to bass fish but just too easy for my taste much rather have a bit of a challenge.

[@Yourmomsboyfriend666]

Exactly what I was thinking watching all that brown water flow out. dredge it and clear the sides, then stock it for a nice little fishing pond.

[@petewarby7158]

I'm a techno idiot that can barely operate my own toothbrush so watching you with that digger is like watching a surgeon at work. Great video.

[@LeiYuanHong]

Oh great I found another pond build channel! That was satisfying to watch. I look forward to seeing the whole process!

[@donnamullins2089]

Chris I know you will make this area beautiful. Such a nice cozy area for a pond. I pray the hurricane doesn't hit your area of NC.

[@BensHalloween]

Nice jungle there! That Yanmar is a little beast.

[@petenolte4192]

I agree that's why if I buy a mini excavator it will be this one

[@ifyoutip]

I run one like this but without the angle blade option sometimes. When the boss man told me he was going to buy a new one we thought Kubota. But after demo runs on both it was clear the yanmar was better. A real pleasure to run as it is a very capable machine.

[@themorganator]

Loving 'bucket cam' Chris!

[@terryrogers1025]

Oh boy, that’s a project for the farm. I envision a good sized burn pile(s) and when you engage the pond that also means moving existing dirt aways to/from the new dam location, going to look sweet when you get it done though. Thanks for the update, looking forward to the build of the pond.

[@garymessina1609]

Great dam busting video very interesting thanks Chris

[@LesliePowell-o5p]

I love it that you are so neat when placing the trees you removed.

[@72chargerse72]

It is such a pleasure to watch you run a machine chris. You make it look so easy. It makes me want to try it, and discover no doubt that it isn't at all easy. But being a man who wouldn't want to run a machine for awhile?

[@AndrewKamensky]

you should count the rings when you remove the big trees

[@bigears4014]

That doesn't work perfectly, as sometimes a tree can grow 2 rings

[@shawnthomas314]

Rumor has it you caused all that mess in Asheville by busting the dam lol . Glad your doing ok and dodged that nasty hurricane. Been watching your videos for ever always good.

[@brucevogel2693]

Old Time Dam deserves some "Old Time Equipment" like the dragline and cable shovel. Course progress might be a tad slower than you're used to.

[@janetbent2339]

I find it interesting to watch your expanding repertoire of techniques to uproot/take down trees. The type/size of machine, the type/size of tree and where and with what it is growing and what it's growing in all play a part in how you deal with them. Almost endless combinations and never the same thing twice 🙂

[@dirtfarmer7472]

You said that this pond was built in the mid 1960s, I wonder what the technology of pond building will be like in the mid 2080s. Significantly different. Thank you Sir for this video of the farm.

[@amandaosbourne8081]

Thats gush at 14:50 amazing 😂

[@ranshuk5166]

! Very Good !

[@P.Freytag]

Running water, with sound. Now I gotta pee.

[@davidrobertson1980]

😅😂🤣🤣🙃😁

[@steveengelbrecht7271]

Funny how that works!

[@williammurfin6354]

The old pond is looking like one of those Christmas holiday projects. Oh, oh, oh!! You could get few You tubers together and do a collaboration set of videos on this pond rebuild.

[@CatMeow24-qr7uo]

Busting a pond with the yellow mini excavator was one of my favorite videos 😊

[@Machines-TV]

Good Project

[@timziegler9358]

I am looking forward to your working on this pond! I know that it will be great when done! Best wishes.

[@richardcasey4439]

Nice restoration project

[@SangPejuang.]

Good luck with your work ❤❤❤

[@pbagosy]

The moment you're looking for is 14:01.

[@JohnShinn1960]

Thanks, it's all I came for. 👍🤠

[@SSS-pn9ex]

I want to see all the fish left over. All kinds of memories from childhood of drained ponds and fish fry's.

[@daviddarrall9384]

Driver knows what he is doing 😊😊 UK.

[@johnpyle8027]

I think the pond videos are my favorite. Imagining after you make it bigger and add all the clay, the next person shouldn't have to mess with it for more than a hundred years next time.

[@mrLawson84]

Can we get a close-up of some mushrooms? Looks like a premium pheasant-back at 1:19, I'd eat that any day don't care what the mushroom snobs say lol What a fun project, would be so satisfying to hand dig that center channel and let the water erosion take things from there ❤

[@davidrobertson1980]

Love the fact you're so young Chris, and have so much in assets, a real testimony to the hard work you constantly do, truly the Creator has blessed you. I wish you all the abundance you desire mate and a beautiful life, been watching now for what seems like years and it's motivating to say the least! I tried getting my young son watching, since he's still not decided (far as I know) what he's doing in life @ 17 and as an ex-construction worker I have high hopes for him. Power ON and Diesel on! Cheers buddy.

[@whburton1]

Yo fundie what is wrong with your nose? Did you get too many injections ROFLMAO

[@Andy-ib6xd]

You're good with that excavator!!

[@SilentKnight43]

Love the variety of cam angles. Fun to watch.

[@Bill-cg6oh]

Cant wait to see this pond job get going in full swing. The thing is it is nice since it is your pond, make it as big as you want or deep as want. Keep up the video's really going to be good content with tree removal dirt hauling.

[@NAVITS]

The dream job of every man on Earth. Excavators are awesome.

[@JP-rf7px]

Nice to watch an operator who has become "one with the machine" he operates!

[@RB-wl7ct]

The Yanmar looks in good shape. Great job sir.

[@michaelmcclure8673]

Chris I hope the storm passed you by . That pond work is going to be a good one .😊

[@leonbradford5649]

Water flowing is very relaxing

[@JeleznyiMotiv]

Хороший экскаватор 👍 Такой же хочу 😉

[@troyledbetter6597]

This is going to be a large project! It would be cool to get a drone video of before and after!

[@morphast2090]

Looks like it would be a nice little bass pond when you get it finished

[@nelsonannett5427]

small pond big project but will be a fun one. nothing like home chores. cheers.

[@glennspreeman1634]

Obvious break between topsoil clay fill.

[@SuEnRoD]

Chris, the next time you bust a dam, you should attach an Airtag to a small toy boat and see how far if goes. Ask people to comment on how far, and Pin the winning comment. 😁

[@johnhearn4622]

I think I can guess what you and your buds are doing today for your neighbors. God bless you guys!🎉

[@dmwi1549]

I always wonder where all that water flows. Has any neighbor ever complained?

[@letsdig18]

No worse than a heavy rain

[@waynenooffense3000]

I don't know what it is but I can you opening up dams all day long. Great multiple new camera angles! You should start another channel..."letsdigdowndams" I would watch it!!!

[@spamlessaccount]

Hope all is well in your part of NC.

[@charleswelch249]

Great to see you made it through the hurricane in tact. You have been waiting for a few years now to work on this pond project. The 350 and everything else you have should make it interesting to watch.

[@jerryhubbard4461]

What did you do with the fish?

[@mickbaker2483]

Hi Chris very interesting what you pulled out of the dam so far I'm looking forward to the series on this one there's going to be some almighty fires hear, hope everything is ok for you and all of your family from the hurricane.

[@blkmagicwmn4461]

Damn, where have you been. I used to watch your channel religiously every day. I missed you 😊

[@mankind2112]

Yeah baby, this is the pond I've been waiting for letsdig18 to start working on, let's get it!

[@morlanius]

Post10 would love this.

[@oldageisdumb]

Do you not take any precautions for the existing wildlife in the pond?

[@Asorbing_asb]

Fish aren’t that stupid too go through a small creek that bro built and he didn’t destroy that big of trees

[@jscottmaclean226]

your footage going up the dam breach down low was incredible, nice job!

[@Clint.Kelley]

That was every bit as satisfying as I thought it would be

[@tap820]

I love watching stuff like this.

[@larshowen3319]

11:40 dude finally figured it out.🤣😂🤣