Heritage

Mike Sterling

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Storm funnels try to form over Lake Huron that brought very heavy rain and hail

Photos by Carol Walberg

Bruce Koenig begins the French Drain

Volunteers from the Propeller Club worked in back of the Bruce County Museum to install a "Poor Man's" French Drain.

The large roof of the Museum and the land above the walking path around Fairy Lake drain to a large catch basin.  This is in the area of the Stokes Bay Lighthouse restoration.

The drainage is very good.  It has been observed over the last year and nature has found a path to the basin.  The Volunteers job was to help gravity a bit by digging a one foot wide by one foot deep trench along the clearly discernable path that water takes to get to the catch basin.  Once dug, the trench was filled with large erratic gravel and tested for efficacy.   There could not have been a better day for testing as very heavy rain and hail pelted down on the site making the water cascade along the course that was selected..

In addition to natures contribution the volunteers poured water from a hose on the new drain to see if it worked properly.  It performed perfectly along the 60 feet of its travel.  The job did not take long, but was interrupted twice by the intensity of a hail and heavy rain storm as it battered ears and exposed hands and faces.  (see storm picture above)

Variations of this can be used with PVC perforated pipe or drain tiles, but this way is for sure the cheapest and it was accomplished in short order and should last for a long time.

The final step will be to install a 4 foot in diameter drain cover at ground level.  This will cover the 15 foot deep shaft with ladder that leads down and across the path to the "Little Lake".

This step will complete the project of restoring the Stokes Bay Lighthouse and installing a geodesic dome over the HMS General Hunter's ballast pile.  The historic signs are in place as is the fence made from chain from yet another mystery shipwreck off the coast of Southampton.

(L) George Gilmour, Don Nicholson, Carol Walberg and Bruce Koenig dig the final stages of the ditch

Good drain gravel

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Saturday, September 17, 2011