Mini swamp situation

[CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert]

Hello, i have a home with a sort of stream/swamp running very close by. I am wondering if it is feasible to put some kind of drainage or piping system overthere so I can dry it out to a degree, and let it be wet further downstream. About 100-200 yards i want to dry up a bit.

This thing is fed by natural waters in my area and they are always flowing though very slow. its starting in the front of my neighbors home, and runs between our homes. Then our 2 sump pumps dump water into it, and my other neighbor dumps water into it but way further back at the tail end of the property line.

About 8-9pm in the summer, sometimes earlier it becomes unliveable in the backyard due to mosquitos. Do you think the City would help? or take offence at me piping this water back a bit? I am almost certain this is all on my prperty and I am paying tax for it. But I know city wont allow me to cut the trees there though not that I want too.

Any ideas? Is their a specific type of professional i should call?

[SQLit]

Better start with the county folks before you go very far. In the world of tree huggers you may have a protected swamp and not know it.

[Andy Hill]

Instead of drying it out, would it be practical to dig the area out and make a shallow pond / catchment basin out of it? Then you could either introduce some native mosquito-eating fish, or at least float some BT dunks.

[Joseph Meehan]

Any such change is usually covered by regulations. You need to start by contacting your local authorities.

[SJF]

Unless that's the only pond around in a rather dry area, you probably shouldn't expect that drainage or other treatment will greatly relieve the mosquito problem. Mosquitoes have a pretty wide foraging area if they smell prey upwind.

SJF

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

In South Louisiana when they want to dry up the marsh to put a drilling rig up or run a pipe line in it. They will dig a deep ditch across the land and all the standing water will run into it and let all the other land dry out. So dig you a ditch something like a ditch witch would cut right down the middle from one end to the other. the water will stand in the 1 foot wide ditch and the land around it will dry up.

Now the same thing can be done with culvert with ports for water going to it and / or big PVC pipe run to drain it. Then land fill it in even with all the other land.

The Professional to call is Landscapers that does Golf Courses and Putt Putt courses. call your local Golf or Putt Putt Course and ask them who keeps up their greens and grounds landscaping for them.

TURTLE