High Hazard Pond Dam Breaching Project

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[@weezer-tx8pe]

To bad they didn’t want you to just rebuild the damn the correct way. Such a beautiful pond. Shame to see it drained.

[@joebledsoe257]

dam

[@Kolya_Smirnov]

Yeah, I wondered the same thing, or at least make it smaller. Maybe it's not feasible (i.e., no funds or maybe the state forced them to drain it or face large fines). Who knows?

[@marcryvon]

@@joebledsoe257 👏 Wise guy... 🙄

[@marcryvon]

Yep, sad. It will become a 4 acres mud hole. Short sighted decision to "correct" an old mistake. 🙄🙄

[@davidstevens7072]

(I

[@markreetz1001]

When you said the state wanted it taken out I thought it would be for some lame reason, but looking at it and seeing the leaks and shoddy work I see why they want it emptied. After that I think it could be rebuilt properly. You'd have to empty it to fix it anyway. Nice video.

[@Nighthawke70]

Not without some major surgery and expensive materials. There's a sharp corner in the design that's a point of failure just waiting to happen. It would barely take a major storm and that corner would break.

[@mrsock3380]

It would be interesting to get the whole story, it would appear they skipped getting an engineer, which in hindsight would have been the smart thing to do given that it's right next to a public road.

[@Harry-zz2oh]

@@mrsock3380 I wonder if the road came after the pond was built? It does happen.

[@ToreDL87]

Yeah as with everything that Chris has to correct/change, things weren't done right the first time around. Proof is in the pudding, and look at how the owners didnt even mow the area around it, the wall was basically left to overgrow with trees and stubs, which made the wall even more susceptible to further damage. If not for all that, this dam would still exist.

[@oxylepy2]

Just seeing the size and that it was elevated from the road made me clench. That wasnt very far away

[@assassinlexx1993]

Chris be on the lookout for Karan. When they find out what is going to happen to the pond. The smell of the drained pond will be awful in high temperatures.

[@brettduffin8412]

Or even Karen?

[@po4RP20361]

@@brettduffin8412 I think Karan is the new variant, like the delta covid variant, of course I could just be a conspiracy theorist

[@russelltrupia4479]

Wow that is some pond,looks more like a lake

[@MrYukon2010]

My favorite machine with one of my favorite toys attached to it. Hurray for the skidsteer!!

[@kirk467]

Yeah, they should have hired the (Pond Doctor) from the start to repair it! That’s a lot of water to drain! Thanks for sharing Chris👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻I hope your 220 is repaired by now my friend! That brush cutter is doing a great job!

[@esparka]

They hired the pond doctor’s daddy instead….

[@ranger2316]

SNAKES!! First, what a pretty pond, it's a shame to see it go. Second, man, that mower attachment on the skidsteer makes it a mowing beast!

[@zed8083]

I was going to say the same thing!!!

[@vectorm4]

Both snakes and bees nest's !!!!! .... and beavers carrying switch blades ....

[@ranger2316]

@@vectorm4 I know we need them, but I hate snakes. I can live with the beavers, even if they do carry switchblades! 🤣

[@joerabon4856]

I have watched several different contractors doing different things and am impressed with this one Letsdig18. He is a professional and gets to the root of the things that have to be done and how to do them. In other words, he makes it happen and takes pride in what he does.

[@rangerismine]

It’s all about appearances. Keep the pond in good shape and looking nice and no one would bat an eye. Once it starts looking rough, then people will start to dig into it.

[@donsturtevant2396]

That pond looks more like a lake. Also need to get some people to collect all the fish and relocate them…. because you know there’s gonna be a bunch of them

[@ImpulseMoss]

It's nice watching other people work just coming home from work

[@coldwarkid6611]

I've been watching this channel for years. Thanks so much for making these video's. I come home from the job I hate and get to watch something interesting. Chris makes life just a little bit better. A big thank you to Letsdig18.

[@supanami2241]

Why do you hate your job? Quit it and do something else!!

[@coldwarkid6611]

@@supanami2241 Huge reduction in pay. That's why.

[@supanami2241]

@@coldwarkid6611 ok, I understand ... well, good luck out there.

[@sugedb]

Even cutting grass Chris' professionalism is on display..

[@StubProductions]

Damn that’s a big pond! Seems like it could be reinforced and a proper spillway added instead of destroying it.

[@AW-yv9sq]

There was a ton of water coming out of the emergency overflow. That pond must have something decent feeding into it.

[@Burkis91]

Had been nice and seen more of how you set up the siphon, assembly, starting it, how far down in the pond you put the pipe, parts etc

[@donnaflanagan6612]

Yes, it’s a shame they don’t want it repaired. Nice looking pond. Goes to show that it needs to be done correctly in the first place. Take care & cheers from 🐨🦘🥰

[@terrybible1545]

Speaking of wasps, I'll never forget the time I was weed wacking with my Sthil FS94R a packing lot at a MX Track. I was wearing a face sheild and ear protection when I hit a Black Jacket nest. The Black Jackets seem to went aftwr the motor first of which when using this tool is close to the back of your head. I noticed a couple of them bouncing off my face mask and than I felt some bites on my arm. I freaked out and started running. I threw off the weed wacker, than my face sheild and ear protection and started running. I ended up with 10 stings! I now hate ALL BEES !!

[@rickwalling1148]

What a fantastic brush mower! Performs flawlessly!!

[@Stratos53100]

That is a shame, a great example of what having a bad contractor can destroy your property/land.

[@georgedunham6833]

Actually looks like a great pond that unfortunately was not taken care of. Probably was there before the road.

[@williamjackson5942]

And maybe before the house was across the road, how would you like to have that dam fail while you are sleeping?

[@augustreil]

@@williamjackson5942, All dams can fail. All homes are prone to lightening, trees falling, fire, etc.

[@williamjackson5942]

@@augustreil And the point is this one is in very bad place and very poorly done!

[@ToreDL87]

@@williamjackson5942 Thing is if you buy a property with potential of failure outside of it, it usually goes one way: You bought the property knowing the risks, so if shit hits the fan, it's on you.

[@omahabigbill2789]

@@augustreil First of all august, it's "lightning", not "lightening". And you didn't get what Jackson was saying. It was a rhetorical question, not a literal one.

[@stretchmfe4913]

Wife: “Babe, what are you doing up at 2:00 in the morning?” Me: “Watching a guy mow a field”

[@bcazee1]

Holy s@#$ so true..hahaha

[@wesclark4335]

"Watching the stuff you always wished you could do"

[@1unaffiliated1]

Damn shame, as many ponds I seen you fix, that one looks fixable...Beautiful Pond...Would be cool to have a water feature at the road.

[@benjamingrodgers]

I can smell the dog fennel, pine and sweet gum mixture. Once you smell it it stays with you forever. And don't forget all the fire ants being flung through the air!!!

[@jackdawg4579]

Dicey job something like that. Unhappy landowners being forced to do something by the state have been known to put bullet holes in things...

[@dvdadaudits7500]

KillDozer is my favorite

[@kingofcastlechaos]

I can see how the state would be having a cow about that once I saw the aerial. It really adds to the videos, thanks.

[@skagit58]

Dang, sad to see that pond go. It is a good one. RIP pond. 😥

[@josettesciberras1613]

This machine is worth every dollar. Top notch machine

[@ja5onl6]

I absolutely love brush hogging. So much enjoyment getting an overgrown property looking manicured. Use to run a huge case with a 20' batwing. That was some good fun.

[@mattsirmans9146]

Same here, worked on a small plantation about 12 yrs ago, had a 15' batwing and 95hp kabota. One stand of pole pines was so thick with underbrush that I couldn't see anything past the path of the tractor.

[@jerryegibbs1543]

It's great to see someone use a machine the way it should be used, no piddling around the way most are doing. you restore my faith in operators. ole timer

[@spamlessaccount]

Found that pond on the map - it's almost 9 acres!

[@MikeT-TheRetiredColonel]

Hey, got a location for the rest of us? Would love to google earth it - thanks!

[@jasonhill2180]

That's a nice pond, what a shame. Nice work, of course!

[@GARDENER42]

My thoughts exactly.

[@Taskarnin]

It is a shame, but shame on the owner not doing their due diligence with it right next to the road. Sad but people don’t think through the consequences and just go with “lowest bidder”.

[@LatitudeSky]

Never get to see that brush cutter in action, but man is that thing a perfect match to the Takeuchi. It never has to back down and nibble at anything. It just cuts and cuts. No offense to some other operators we all know but this got done so much quicker with Chris and this machine and this cutter. Nice work Chris!

[@donrainier6452]

Something about mowing that is so satisfying. I do it everyday and never get tired of it

[@crkproductions5000]

No different than in medicine, the more toys and tools that you have, the better prepared you are to do that job, and the better the outcomes.

[@shawnstrode3825]

Well we're coming on about a month. Kinda fun watching you take a pond apart for a change.

[@bobrussel8530]

Skid loader and brush mower, the greatest way to mow weeds and small trees and such. Don't think I had much more fun than with mine on the farm. 😊

[@kerrydagge4397]

Good grief. I don't work in your industry but even I can see that is a mess waiting to explode. Well, you are the best operator I have ever run across so it must be a really bad one if it is one of the worst you have seen. That equipment is just an extension of your hands. You keep us sane in this crazy world so thank-you. Kerry from Australia.

[@kirk467]

That one man crew stuff Chris, I hope you get some help with this job! Pretty big job brother!👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@johnlewis1443]

At least they know who to call to fix it. Hope John is recovering okay.

[@jonnyteeee]

I reached a new level of being old today……. I found watching the mowing very relaxing 🤷🏽‍♂️😂😂😂

[@Graeme408]

Compelling project. I am looking forward to the breach. That is a really nice brush hog. Looks like a nice fit for your equipment.

[@donaldtrabeaux5235]

That's just crazy how they built the pond, too bad they would not let you fix it the proper way

[@J2498]

Chris as long as your in an enclosed cab I'd use that to get rid of the yellow jackets

[@heinzwolf7146]

I swear I could smell the grass and brush as you were cutting it !

[@davidcarroll2908]

Gee, that overflow would wash the road out.

[@nelsonannett5427]

water falls are nice but not on the back of a dam. great. thanks for the ride along. cheers.

[@DavidSmith-zr3nd]

I've been waiting on that pond job. Great work with the oversized weed wacker.

[@Arahknid]

Mowing in the skid steer maybe more efficient but the mini looks like it's more fun

[@bendigr]

That's sad, it's a nice looking pond.

[@justincase7524]

I got a pretty sweet deal today at auction on a bunch of brand new unused manufacturer consignment skid steer attachments.. box brooms, open brooms, brush cutters, roto tillers and vibratory compactor. Price was so good I wish I bought more hammers. I’d be glad to share the luck today pass on savings and sell around 50% of retail.

[@melaniehugghins2924]

So sad the homeowner is losing such a beautiful pond because of a contractor’s shoddy work.

[@randymarshall1267]

That's going to be a lot of fish!

[@tiredoldmechanic1791]

In Wisconsin we went through this in the 1980s. Dams had been built to provide lakefront property then there wasn't anybody to maintain the dams. Some failed during a period of heavy rain then it became a question of who pays for the damage. Insurance companies started dropping people who had ponds on their property because of liability. In 2008, Lake Delton drained 700 million gallons of water in 2 hours which brought the problem back to attention.

[@vinamerosa1923]

really nice drone pans , as always entertaining watching you do your thing, never met you Chris, but I know you pretty well :)

[@Darthreloy]

Damn what a shame. I hope they can rebuild it properly someday

[@charlesc.3909]

These videos are so relaxing for some reason. Thank you!

[@kirk467]

lol yeah, you definitely have to respect those yellow jackets brother! lol one thing bad about brush hogging in tall weeds!

[@nandi123]

My neighbor accidentally plowed up a yellow jacket nest and died from the hundreds of stings.

[@stephencarlson1160]

This is gonna be a very interesting project.. Chris will certainly handle this project as all his job will his knowledge of these types of job.. Hope vids continue with project this its finished Chris.. Stay safe my friend.

[@davidnull5590]

Chris, do you agree with the State that pond dam is "high risk"? And the State road is at substantial risk of being washed out?

[@StudSupreme]

Kinda likin' those lawn mower attachments.... Sad that the beavers won't have that pond for a home anymore. Hope they find a new home quickly. Oh, the banana yanmar! Not sure which I like more, this or the strawberry one. Like 'em both, wish I had one of them. :-) I have admiration for the engineers who made these machines so versatile.

[@davids9520]

The mowing job to start with, reminds me, of a man shaving off a long standing beard! (g)

[@Thepondguy85]

Why wouldn't they let you just fix it. I would be pissed. Probably some good fish in that place too.

[@digofthedump]

on the drone shot there are houses on otherside of the road .. maybe cost too much too fix.

[@jurzdevil]

@@digofthedump yeah they probably want more than just a clay core, like a plastic/metal seawall sheet piles and a big concrete spillway.

[@Taskarnin]

With the history of failure they’re probably looking for an engineered dam. A civil engineer isn’t going to guarantee anything without having it all ripped out and re-done. Can you blame them with the recent failure? I bet you’re talking mid-high 6 figures for a project like that.

[@arbiter1]

My guess also would be need to widen the damn as well which to do that is gonna be a lot of dirt being to be hauled in just to make dam remotely safe which probably 100's of thousands in material alone.

[@cathiwim]

@@Taskarnin civil engineers built Oroville. Remember that.

[@robinl.a.matheson1838]

That is SOME mower. Some of the lawn mowers on YT, tackling some WAAY overgrown yards w/ only a small mower & string trimmer, would really love a smaller version of this.

[@doritleis2773]

Hello Chris i think that the clearing to the pond whit this machines the project to the future is. You see where is the pond to repair and where is all good. I think this is quick to with the excavator and you must not make a fire. I hop that you this too see. The video is best quality, thank you for this. 🇦🇹

[@alpharomeo15]

That mowing contraption looks like a DR Brush Mower that mounts on a Skidsteer 👏🏽👍🏼☺️

[@RitzWood32]

Always hate mowing grown up pond dams I’ve never been on before. Fingers crossed they still have some structure lol

[@robertrockwell7581]

Dam Chris what a shame. that is a dam nice pond. i know you and John can fix it. surprised there has been no lawsuits from the people too keep it. hard too believe how the clowns tried too fix it. I guess you can't fix stupid as the saying goes.

[@acorreira1915]

Had one of these down the road. State came in and condemned the pond. Three or four homes owned the water, one of them walked away and left the bank pay the bill. They ended up fixing the dam. It was about 18 to 20 feet high, holding about four or five acres of water. The contractors added a lot of compacted fill to the backside and then a thick layer of rip-rap. The state road was only a couple hundred feet downstream.

[@timmyfrierson2684]

Hey Chris the landowner must not have the money to pay someone to come in here and fix that dam the right way. Because it looked like to me that they had house is built around that pond and I don’t see how the state can come in there on his land and tell him that he hast to breach that damn and let all the water out of that pond when you did the flyover on it that’s a beautiful pond and I bet there is some big white perch and bass in there but I just don’t understand how to state can come on that man’s property and tell him he has to tear the damn down. Well anyway brother another great video I hope John is doing OK after his surgery so you and John and yawls family stay safe and I can’t wait to see the outcome of this project

[@alexirodriguez9121]

Nice little decorative waterfalls they made. lol

[@BobCaseyAerial]

Thanks for the aerial shots. That Yanmar is a little work horse. #KeepDiggin & I will #KeepWatchin

[@billf.9440]

QUESTION CHRIS , When does a pond become a lake? or how big does it have to be to be a lake?

[@rebelcitysports1outlook713]

Depth and surface area differentiate a pond from a lake. Typically, all the water in a pond is in the photic zone, meaning ponds are shallow enough to allow sunlight to reach the bottom.

[@augustreil]

@@rebelcitysports1outlook713, You Googler ! Lol ! I just looked up the same thing.

[@QuestiontheNarritive71]

Sad to see the pond go. But can't wait to see the videos of the transformation.

[@JonBurrows3577]

Not-so-patiently patiently awaiting Part II. 😎

[@dennisward1361]

Man that is one badaxx mulcher , money well spent ,,,,,, till it goes in limp mode ,,,,,,, wow , can you imagine having to do that with a swing blade and a Kyser blade ,,, especially with the yellow jacket nest .

[@thomasyerbey337]

Great Job Chris 🇺🇲 I really will enjoy watching this video 🇺🇲

[@AusJackal]

Pitty you're gonna destroy it... it's a nice looking pond...

[@jyienger]

If a state regulated dam fails, they make it hard to rebuild. Major expense for permits and engineering. Sounds like the owner just quickly.pushed some dirt back up and hoped the state forgot about it. Nope.

[@bobkohl6779]

Still smoother with the old Yanmar then Strawberry Shortcake. Time will tell. Great video and you make it hard to watch other people do this. They just get a bit crazy.

[@thesmokewagon6302]

I dunno about NC but most pond/lake dams have a minimum front slope of a 3 to 1 for the front slope and the back slopes are normally 4 to 1 or better. Looking at that back slope it looks like 1 to 1 or less. The 4 to 1 slope allows a machine to mow and maintain. By the time it was turned into a 4 to 1 slope the dam would almost in the NC state ROW. It could be fixed properly with enough $$ and Chris would be a great choice to do that. I’m guessing the property owner probably doesnt want to spend that kind of $$ at this time.

[@paullewis6612]

While lying in my hospital bed, I feel my body operating the controls as you mow the scrub bush on the slopes 😆😆

[@mikel9567]

I work for my county's road dept and we have several boom mowers that we use for shoulder mowing. One of our operators hit a rock and lost the blade. The bolt went through someones roof and landed in their living room. We never found the blade. The employee was fired for failing to properly inspect their equipment. Those mowers are dangerous. Judging by how loose that blade is I would guess that you lost a roll pin and the castle nut worked free. Verifying the roll pin and castle nut is one of our daily safety checks.

[@edwardmolloy7548]

Wow beautiful old pond. Watching you mow it down I'd pay you to do that job👌🏻 Such a shame you couldn't have been hired to fix the dam so it can be retained.

[@Tsamokie]

Never ever leave a valve open and against the stop. Always close a quarter turn. Then when someone tries to "open" it, they will feel it hit the stop.

[@timjones8210]

That dam cleaned up nicely

[@user-ik9gw4wh4c]

Cool bit of kit, need to buy one of those.

[@malbrandow7382]

Beautiful home looking over the pond, probably there secret fishing hole. Now gonna be looking at what will look like waste site!?

[@marcryvon]

Yep, a big, smelly mud hole.

[@Truthandlight77]

That's what i was gonna say. They probably built or bought that home because the pond was there. And now, it's just gonna be a big mess of stupid. State more then likely already had ideas for something to replace it. Because ya know.. Progress..

[@raymundo7687]

I kept yelling to watch out for the guide wire. looks good buddy

[@tranquilitybase6417]

Oh yeahhhhhh….. we gonna MOW!!! Pretty pond!

[@stevekissel605]

Great video 👍👍. To bad looks like a nice pond.

[@terrancecoard388]

It is a shame this pond has to be taken down!! If ever a pond needed a Go-Fund-Me this is it. Let's hope a fix is revealed and the pond is restored. It's like putting down Old Yeller.

[@noway990]

Whoever built the pond dam didn't care or didn't have a clue what they were doing. Unbelievable it hasn't already blown out below those pipes.

[@davidmessersmith786]

If It’s a ball valve in the drain line, you might be able to run a stiff pipe up the drain and either help locate the water side of the drain or even dislodge the blockage.

[@michaelowen1750]

That style "handle" and size pipe can be a gate, globe type or a geared butterfly... another foot of digging would tell you by houw the housing is made... but since he said it's over a hundred degrees F (38C), humid, and no breeze behind the dam and in teh sun.. I don't blame him for walking away...

[@samgunmagnus4583]

I'm excited to see how this turns out. Keep up the great work.

[@jefferymitchell9574]

Great drone footage to show the scale of this job.

[@danielputnam7191]

Shame about the pond. Really beautiful. Hopefully the dam can be rebuilt. Question for you Chris: When your wife asks you to trim the hedges, do you smile and break out the brush cutter? "Yep. I'll be glad to do that, Honey."

[@Nick-HBC]

Nothing makes a better pipe or property stake finder than a lawnmower ;-)

[@craigwavra3495]

This is going to be an interesting project. Good looking pond too bad the workmanship wasn’t up to par.

[@mikec8519]

Chris is the only person on youtube that can mow grass with a skid steer.

[@nandi123]

It could be a nice little meadow with a creek running through it if they hire Chris to sort it out.