How to clean out a culvert

[GeoHorn]

 

[jyoutz]

One question: if the culvert is blocked, how do you thread the chain through it?

 

[GeoHorn]

Yeah…I wondered that also. Maybe push a long pole thru and then use it to pull the cable or chain.

 

[jyoutz]

Yeah…I wondered that also. Maybe push a long pole thru and then use it to pull the cable or chain.

I guess if the mud is soft, that could work. Culvert cleaning is not easy and many are replaced due to the difficulty of cleaning.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

if a culvert is prone to filling, you put a chain in BEFORE it's plugged up......
5 years ago city came by,was told they'd unplug neighbour's culvert ( water bypasses flows onto road.) nice guy.. I cut and remove material at both ends, making it easy or the city to insert their backwards tipped pressure washer..a month goes by, then 3, then a year so I filled in the ditches ,added more material, LOTS of water flows over the road.... that was 4 YEARS ago....

 

[notforhire]

Last fall I cleaned out my driveway culvert. I started by pushing 2 1/2 lengths of 1/2 inch EMT through, followed by rope , followed by chain.
I made up a scraper from a harrow disk and a piece of pipe. It didn't really work that well. I think the rubber tire trick is a much better idea. Next time.....

 

[Lil Foot]

One question: if the culvert is blocked, how do you thread the chain through it?

"Jet" a hole through with a garden hose with a sweeper nozzle. All that water softens the muck also.

 

[jyoutz]

"Jet" a hole through with a garden hose with a sweeper nozzle. All that water softens the muck also.

That works if it’s near the house, what about the culvert at the end of my road; 1500’ away?

 

[Mowbizz]

Love the woman’s comment “LMAO THAT’S THE BIGGEST TURD IVE EVER SEEN”!
That said, I don’t think a tire would fit through the one at the end of my driveway! The town does “maintain” (has dug out each end) it but I know it’s cull of sand anyway.

 

[mikester]

Our township used to use the town fire truck to flush out clogged culverts. These days they just replace the complete culvert. Probably faster and cheaper than trying to clean out rusted and damaged corrugated steel culverts.

 

[Lil Foot]

That works if it’s near the house, what about the culvert at the end of my road; 1500’ away?

500 gal water tank & a gas powered pump?
I keep forgetting that not everyone was a 200' driveway and 250' of garden hose.

 

[jyoutz]

500 gal water tank & a gas powered pump?
I keep forgetting that not everyone was a 200' driveway and 250' of garden hose.

The idea is interesting because my road culvert is above half volume now due to sediment.

 

[Lil Foot]

I used 25' of steel 17" x 24". (pic shows one 12 1/2' section)
(they put a 20" in a big press & squash it)
But my ground is a LOT drier out here.

 

[jyoutz]

I used 25' of steel 17" x 24". (pic shows one 12 1/2' section)
(they put a 20" in a big press & squash it)
But my ground is a LOT drier out here.

View attachment 97443
View attachment 97444

Nice job. A couple of differences from the op: your ditch is narrow, not a wide swale. And you did a nice job constructing headwalls and using sufficient fill. It looks perfect for your application.

 

[D2Cat]

Make a nozzle to use with your pressure washer. Copy some of these ideas. A couple of years ago my neighbor and I built a nozzle and opened undisturbed earth about 20'. Enough to insert 1" PVC water line under a concrete apron by his barn. Only took a few minutes to push the pipe through the earth. A larger opening wouldn't be a big problem.

https://www.cleaner.com/editorial/2023/02/arthur-products-offers-custom-made-jetting-solutions

 

[Lil Foot]

Pics below are before & after of the county culvert (16") that dumps onto my property. It had plugged up due to a 3" phone trunk line that had been trenched thru and laid into it. The county dug it up, cut off the culvert, had the phone company splice a new line under it, and tacked on a new section of culvert. The "plug" was full length, 40+ feet, and hard as concrete. You can see the pick/mattock marks that I chopped into it.
County was unconcerned, they said it would wash out.
It finally washed clean, but it took about 2 years, or 2 monsoon seasons.

I guarantee if you tried the above method to clear it, the culvert would pull out of the road bed before the plug would come out.

 

[Lil Foot]

Nice job. A couple of differences from the op: your ditch is narrow, not a wide swale. And you did a nice job constructing headwalls and using sufficient fill. It looks perfect for your application.

Thanks! link to the whole project:

Raising my driveway...

My place up north has always had a little water across the driveway when it rains heavily, but the county has recently re-graded the roadbeds, ditches, & culverts. We used to get runoff from a couple blocks, now it's more like 1 1/2 miles. A 16" county culvert brings all this water across my...

www.orangetractortalks.com

 

[JimmyJazz]

One question: if the culvert is blocked, how do you thread the chain through it?

fishing line with a small float/bobber followed by a rope.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

JJ, the culvert is BLOCKED..FULL of mud and crud, can't see daylight on the other side !!

 

[jyoutz]

fishing line with a small float/bobber followed by a rope.

How would you thread line for 20’?