Spring runoff help??

I have one fan. What an inspiration that is! The question was posed, " what can be done to minimize problems with spring runoff.?" That is a tough question, one in which the only answer that came to me was "buy a wet vac". Well, I have another POSSIBLE answer, one which I would like feed back on. One which is difficult to get across in a blog so questions too are appreciated.

The following will help divert water If you know the grading of your property. If you have a slope like we have and a swale between your house that you want the water to run to then this solution is a possibility. It is creating an ice dam that will take longer to melt than the surrounding snow. It will mean looking silly and doing things that seem counter productive.

First step. Determine a line across the back of your property that you would put sand bags along to redirect water. Second step, walk back and forth across this line. Bri.g the whole family and invite your neighbours and start stomping. Put snow from the lower end of this line on top of the packed snow and take another walk. Repeat. Third step. Pour water on the uphill part of this packed area and make this area ice.

If you are really ambitious and really worried about a basement you know is prone to leaks then take the snow from your deck, window wells and snow on the down hill side of this ice dam and move to the upside. Use a scoop or a blower. In theory the thicker ice you created will take longer to melt than the unpacked snow. The thicker this ice the longer it would take to melt and, hopefully, it will be the last to go and this will be when the ground frost is gone so it will dissipate into the soil and not pose a problem. Also in theory the runoff from the snow on the higher grade will hit this dam and divert around. Like all ice dams it will freeze behind this dam and slowly the water will go over it.

If anyone is trying this let me know.