Sunday, January 19, 2020

January starting out very wet!

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1b4E6KteZAv-TMBZf4hLGDMm-CNwH4Hw0

      2020 has started out very wet at Marietta Country Club, with the Club recording over 6 inches of rain so far in less than 3 weeks!  When heavy rains fall as in the past few weeks, the creeks and ponds rise very rapidly. This causes a lot of debris such as leaves and sticks to come down the creek from upstream.  The forebay constructed in 2014 has been very helpful in capturing most of the large debris before it enters the pond.  Each year we remove up to 100 cubic yards of material from the upstream side of this wall (or calm side in the picture above) to the first bridge you cross when playing #13.  By removing the debris periodically we can have a "reservoir" to hold more dirt and material the next heavy storms will bring.  A continuous cycle!!!

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1hXfWE1Xk6a2msndmagKn3NhlLJIZIn-h
One problem we are facing with the forebay now 6 years after construction is the rock facade is falling off.  This is due to the heavy water flow when the wall gets overtaken during flooding and heavy rains.  As you see in the picture above, the water will come completely over the top of the dam very rapidly at times. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1f_sDJsmzbaTpKSclRTJYxoAwRDuT6noM
This rock facing is coming off both sides of the forebay.  This is showing the backside, or upstream side of the wall.  These areas will only continue to get worse until we install new rock.  We have scheduled a brick mason to come fix the problem on Monday, January 20th.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1m8w6ePk3LWlX0MBK4E_p6D6UIMHDdKH5
This photo is a good example of what a normal day at the forebay looks like.  It is easy to see the rock missing from the front.  A lot of work will be done in this area over the next few weeks including dredging the creek and replacing some large boulders, but is all starts with fixing the flat stone facing!

No comments:

Post a Comment