Overflowing Bog

[jbowyers]

I am having issues with my bog overflowing. I constructed the pond a few years ago with a bog at one end. There is a shallow lip with a rock wall that holds in the pea gravel. I coiled a piece of flexible 3-inch tubing in the pea gravel with drilled holes to let the water into the pea gravel.

The issue is the water level of the bog seems to keep getting higher and higher and overflow. I believe this is due to increased roots in the bog that is restricting the flow of water creating a kind of damming effect.

Just wondering if anyone has had a similar issue and what they did to rectify it. Thanks

 

[addy1]

When I built mine (large bog) about 2-3 years after running the water level was higher. What I did was just unfold the excess liner I had around the bog and make it deeper.

Now, every now and then , it does overflow but now it is due to excess plant growth diverting the water out of the bog.

 

[Jhn]

Where is your feed pump to the bog located and does it have some type of mechanical filter between it in the bog?

How deep is the bog?

Does it have any type of clean out stack from your tubing at the bottom of the bog?

It could be roots, if it is raising the edge of the bog or lowering the spot where it dumps into the pond as Addy1 said will solve the issue for now.

 

[mrsclem]

Mine overflowed last year , too many plants. I had excess liner on sides so just raised edges.

 

[jbowyers]

The pump is a submersible located about 6 inches deep in a well at the side of the pond. It has a filter at the end of the intake. The bog is about 18 inches deep to the top of the pea gravel. The end of the flexible tube has a cleanout. It seems the issue is the bog is getting too much water, relative to how much can drain from it, so there does not seem to be any issues with the tubing being clogged.
I was wondering if taking some of the pea gravel off the top might help. I can reduce the flow rate but would prefer to keep the rate as high as possible.

 

[Lisak1]

Well actually your bog should flow slowly, but if it's been fine until now then that's not the issue.

Can you increase the size of your output? We did find that we had to pull a couple of rocks back from ours to allow water to flow out faster as time went on. Plants take up a lot of room and do slow things down. Giving the water a bigger exit helped in our bog.

Could it be that the bog has settled so it's not holding as much water? That's where that extra liner @addy1 and @mrsclem referenced would come in - just raise the edges. Or as you said, remove some of the pea gravel.

 

[jbowyers]

It has not settled. If I leave it running in its current state the entire pond (4ft deep) would drain out by overflowing the bog, which is only about 1 ft deep when the water isn't flowing through it. The liner in the bog is a good 6 inches above the intended pond waterline. raising the liner isn't really a good option in my case.

I think increasing the output from the bog might be a good idea. removing rocks isn't an option but was wondering if anyone has experience with putting drain tile in the bottom/along the sides of the bog.

I believe the primary issue is the bog has accumulated organic matter from the pond and the flow rate through the pea gravel has been reduced. I did have an issue with string algae earlier this year and there seems to be residual sludge in the filters/etc.

 

[Lisak1]

I guess I don't understand how the slower water flow would make the bog overflow. The output should still handle the same amount of water flow, and if it's reduced flow you would think the opposite would happen.

Maybe some pictures would help.

 

[jbowyers]

I am saying a slower flow rate should solve the problem but would prefer to try to solve the problem by increasing the output from the bog so I can maintain the amount of water flowing through the bog

 

[Lisak1]

I believe the primary issue is the bog has accumulated organic matter from the pond and the flow rate through the pea gravel has been reduced.

This is the statement I was referring to - if the flow rate has been reduced, it seems you would have less water in the bog, not more. Unless I'm missing something... and it sure wouldn't be the first time!

 

[jbowyers]

The restricted flow through the pea gravel equates to restricted output ultimately causing the water level to rise and overflow

 

[poconojoe]

Widen the output from the bog to the pond.

 

[Lisak1]

The restricted flow through the pea gravel equates to restricted output

That's the equation I'm not getting. If my water flow is restricted to, or through, the bog, my bog water level will reduce, not rise. We have a ball valve on our bog so we can change the flow - reducing it reduces the water level. I think I must be missing something.

 

[addy1]

I have almost all of my 6800 gph pump sending water into the bog. I have never reduced the flow into the bog. Mine is huge. The one time it almost overflowed I just raised the edge about 2-3 years after turn on and have not had to do it again. But like I said I do need to watch the plant growth, they go crazy. It is not the roots it is the green growth, they restrict the flow back out of the bog. Most of my bog plants are shallow rooted. Mine is 2.5 feet deep.

 

[poconojoe]

When I built my bog I made the walls extra high. At first I thought I made them too high, but now I'm glad I did it that way...