 Our crew at Gravel Grading & Excavating is dedicated to moving the earth for our clients and customers. We jump at the opportunity to assist with any project that we can, especially those that consist of waterway or sediment basin work because the efforts can benefit future generations of Iowans. Maintaining a sediment basin or waterway is essential to preserving Iowa’s most precious resource, black dirt topsoil. To help aid water drainage for a local community in the summer of 2020, our Gravel Grading & Excavating crew was called in to help clean out an existing drainage basin that had reduced efficiency after years of silt/sediment collection. Years of rain events had moved so much dirt into this drainage area, that all you could see of the outlet's 10-foot structure was the cap (pictured below). This told us that it was more than time for the silt basin to be cleaned out. Sediment basins are ponds with open water that capture coarse sediment and litter carried by stormwater or runoff. They intercept the runoff before it reaches the waterway, and slow it down to allow the coarse sediment to fall to the bottom.This way the cleaner water stays at the top of the pond and flows through the outlet source.  A well-designed sediment basin should be just large enough to allow time to capture most of the target coarse sediment. It should only capture a small amount of finer particles and contaminants, the majority of which should be treated by a constructed wetland or raingarden downstream. In order to maintain a sediment basin, it needs to be cleaned out regularly, usually every two to five years. For our project in question, almost 10 feet of outlet pipe had been covered up with sediment over the years. Using our dozer, excavator, and wagons, our crew was able to clean out all the dirt that had settled in, and used it to build up the sides of the existing berm structure. See the photos below to watch our crew unearth and relocate years of sediment. Our guys then relocated the dirt and shaped the berm and drainage areas to facilitate future runoff and soil preservation efforts. Contact our team at Gravel Grading & Excavating today to see how we can assist you!
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Today we bring you the process of rural pond making. We're going to show you how our crew can move the earth for you and your family to create a retreat you can enjoy for years to come! In 2019, we were called in for a pond expansion job south of Cascade. Our client had the beginnings of a recreational pond on his property, but what he had and what he envisioned for the property were two different things.... and that's when he called in our crew at Gravel Grading & Excavating! The project was soon looked over and discussed, as the property had an overgrowing of trees and shrubs and a shallow pond not suitable for the recreational fishing he was looking for.  In the first phase of this project, our crew came in to help grub out the area surrounding the pond and grade up the banks to allow for a deeper water feature.  After we had the new banks laid back, we needed to clear out the sediment and plants that had accumulated at the bottom of initial basin. Our excavation team got right into the thick of it, clearing out the debris and allowing the spring/water table to fill the new pond basin.  After much anticipation, the pond we helped our client with was full and stocked last fall. It is now more accessible since our crew grubbed it out and laid back the banks. And with the additional depth we were able to give it, this pond can stock additional, healthier fish to provide hours of relaxation and recreational fishing for our owner. We so appreciate our client asking us in to help with this fun project!
If we can give you your own retreat like this one, call us at 563-542-6610 or email [email protected] ! Valentine's Day...the annual day where we men get to express our love without shame, has recently come and gone, but we thought this week would be a good opportunity to remind our followers why we at Gravel Grading & Excavating aren't just tough, good-looking guys. We love a lot of things. 1. We love to help people. In our line of work, we are lucky to help people build their dreams. Whether we get called in to help dig the foundation for a family's new home, install ag tile for a farmer making the best use of his field, or dig a new pond for some fishing and relaxation, we take great pride knowing that the work we do helps our customers. 2. We love to drive big machines. Remember how much fun it was to play in the sandbox as a kid? Especially with those toys you could sit on and use the hand levers to scoop and move the sand? Yeah. We get to do that every day. At work. Now the sandbox toys are bigger, and they have engines and names like John Deere, Caterpillar, and Bobcat on the side. 3. We love to play in the dirt. Much like #2, our favorite things to do as kids have become our jobs. There's nothing like the satisfaction of building something new or solving an engineering problem. It's a humbling experience to use our experience and skills to reroute waterways or reshape the landscape, and it never gets old. 4. We love our local communities. Oftentimes our crew gets called in to help on public works projects, and we enjoy helping our towns infrastructure function better. In the last year we've helped create new parking lots for our local schools, prep sidewalks to keep our citizens safe, and work below the surface to keep water and sewer services functioning. The guys on our crew volunteer at local events and fundraisers and serve the community as members of organizations. Our homes and communities are important to us, and we're thankful to serve them. 5. We love to help people. In our line of work, we are lucky to help people build their dreams...oops. We already said that. But really, it's the best part of our job. Thanks so much to our customers, family members, friends, and followers. We are grateful for your business in the past, and we look forward to even more projects in 2018. |
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