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How to Make a Flashboard Riser

Some farms and ranches have small ponds that are adjacent to a homeowner's crop field, lending an aesthetically pleasing appearance to a typical rural area. However, the homeowner needs to make sure that the pond does not overflow into the crop fields, possibly damaging an entire growing season. Flashboard risers control water flow by damming the specific area with stop logs within a large supportive vertical pipe. Any overflow trickles over the stop logs and into piping that directs the flow away from important crops. Homeowners can construct their own flashboard risers out of heavy duty High Density Polyethylene and basic wood planks.

Things You'll Need

Power saw
Measuring tape
Large HDPE pipe
Small HDPE pipe
HDPE glue
Wood planks

Instructions

- 1
  Cut a 3- to 4-foot length of the large HDPE pipe from a longer length with a power saw. Make sure that the pipe̵7;s diameter can house the wood planks within the middle section. The wood planks̵7; length can measure up to 42 inches long.
- 2
  Cut the 3- to 4-foot large HDPE pipe lengthwise, creating a half pipe, with the power saw.
- 3
  Measure the diameter of the small HDPE pipe with a measuring tape.
- 4
  Cut a hole with the power saw into the HDPE half pipe. The hole should be large enough to fit the small HDPE pipe̵7;s diameter. Make sure the cut hole is located near one end of the half pipe.
- 5
  Connect the small HDPE pipe into the newly cut hole. Apply HDPE glue to seal the connection and allow to dry.
- 6
  Measure the diameter of the half pipe. Cut four to six wood planks̵7; lengths to match the half pipe̵7;s diameter.
- 7
  Stack the wood planks sideways into the half pipe. Verify that they remain upright and sturdy. Also, visually inspect the planks̵7; connection points as they are stacked. There should not be any large gaps between each plank.
- 8
  Install the flashboard riser into the ground, as desired. Confirm that it is stopping the water flow. Adjust any wood planks if an excessive amount of water passes through the riser.

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