Fashioned a suction head from old pipes for my property's drainage ditch

My backyard drainage ditch gets packed with silt after heavy rains, so I tried a DIY fix. I used scrap PVC pipes and a spare pump to make a basic suction setup. It moved some mud, but leaves and twigs jammed the intake every few minutes. I spent more time clearing blocks than actually dredging. This mess got me thinking about real dredge work in messy water. How do you guys deal with constant clogging in shallow spots? I'm thinking of adding a filter screen, but won't that slow things down too much? Any tips from your own jobs would help.

3 comments

3 Comments

sage_schmidt65d ago

Ever try a coarse mesh screen instead of a fine one?

elliot5644d ago

Half-inch mesh on my sump pump last year caught leaves without slowing flow much.

barbara_coleman543d ago

That half-inch mesh idea is smart, my cousin in Michigan swears by it for his sump pump. He had so many leaves in his yard that a finer screen would just get blocked right away. It reminds me of when I helped him clean out his gutters, what a mess that was. But yeah, using a coarse mesh like that really does the job without slowing things down. Solid choice for sure.