The Aqueduct: Success at last?

But for now, it’s back to the aqueduct and the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.

I think it is working! I think we have solved the myriad problems that plagued this project since the end of June. I can’t write this unequivocally, I hesitate even to think it, since I don’t want to jinx what now appears to be working well. But definitely water is flowing as it should.

My last post about The Aqueduct was a over a month ago, on July 22. Since then, we’ve proceeded systematically to check the source of each possible problem. For the second time we  dug around the small pond that feeds the aqueduct. We relined the sides with clay. That seemed to do the trick. So I breathed a sigh of relief and sat back to enjoy the view.

Too soon. The pond held water perfectly — until the water rose to the finished height. At that point, the pond began to leak again, with water finding a way down the hillside underground. So once again we removed the rocks and the newly planted grasses that surround that pond. This time we raised the ground level a few inches and brought the clay higher up the sides.

This is a very messy job, particularly when you are working with pure clay and not clay mixed with rocks. (Although that isn’t much fun either.)

 

Messy boots, caked with clay.

The large culvert visible at the bottom of the pond allows us to drain the pond. We have to do this to ensure that water can flow freely underneath the ice in winter. But obviously the opening has to be covered for the pond to fill. Once the pond was relined, it became clear that the cover for the culvert wasn’t doing the job. We replaced it using an old-fashioned technique — a wooden plug that swells when wet. A local woodworker made the cover in a day. (Thank you, Greg!) It fits snugly into the 12″ hole and seals the gap.

We’ve had almost no rain in recent weeks so filling the pond took some time. After a few days, though, water began to flow. At first it was only a trickle.

The water falling into the basin pulsed, a heavier flow alternating with a drip, as if the water was mimicking the heartbeat of the earth. I didn’t know why the water pulsed. Was it caused by an unevenness in the steel channel? by the angle of the steel?

Then one night it rained, and the water flow increased, reducing friction. Suddenly, The Aqueduct was working! No pulsing, just water falling gently, as I had hoped.

 

Look closely and you’ll see water falling from the upper and the lower channels.

There are minor issues to work out. The effect of the wind, for instance. The wind was blowing fairly hard when I took the photo below. When this happens, water is blown around. Not a problem, really, just something to be aware of. With more volume, though, when the water falls into the basin, it splashes back onto the wooden posts. This is not good — water on wooden posts means rotting wood. So in the weeks ahead, we’ll experiment, finding a visually pleasing way to direct the water away from the posts.

We need to correct the sinkhole that has appeared in one small section of the gabion wall.

We’ll try to level the stainless steel lip, where the water exits, so that it flows out over the entire length of the lip rather than leaving one small section dry.

These are important but minor issues — they reperesent the fine-tuning that any large project requires. For the next month, I’ll simply enjoy the view. I’ll admire the interplay of clean lines.

I’ll marvel at the softness of green grasses against the weight of rusting metal.

I’ll watch the flowers grow,

and wait for the cedar on the wooden planters to weather to the same grey as the steps.

I’ll begin to think about the final element of the project, re-designing the small pool where the rill ends.

The style of this pool no longer works with the clean, contemporary lines of the aqueduct. We may add a coping, maybe a seating platform. Ideas, anyone?

But mostly, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that the aqueduct continues to flow. It’s been almost a week now without problems. Long may it last!