Pond Building in East Texas

[meadowlarkponds]

There have been a lot of great posts on this forum about pond building....Eddie's being most notable...and I'd like to share with anyone interested some step-by-step photos of a pond I currently have under construction in hopes you will find it interesting, if not as great as the other posts.

The pond has been in the planning stage for over a year, with clearing of the area started by me last spring with my small Case 450 dozer. Serious dirt moving started about a week ago with two D6 size dozers and the dam is now about finished. It will be 2 to 3 acres in size.

Pictures are posted on my website at

Meadowlark Ranch

Just click on "Ponds" and then select "PIPELINE" for the pictorial story. Posting them on my web site was easier for me than posting them here, so hope you don't mind jumping over there to view the pictures.

In the next few days we will shoot the water line, cut the spillways, do some finish work, add structure to the pond bottom. Then I'll build a couple of fishing piers and following that , depending on rain, begin stocking.

I hope you find this interesting but for me its an absolute blast to build a pond.....and even more fun to catch fish out of it with your grandchildren. Thanks.

 

[bearhawk]

Looks Great !

 

[EddieWalker]

I haven't been to your website in awhile, but I really should book mark it to keep up with all you've been up to!!!!!!!!! WOW, it's just amazing what you've accomplished with your dozer. Definiately a good argument that size doesn't mean as much as experience and skill!!!

I've found that getting the trees down is only the beginning of the job. Getting rid of them is where all the work is. Did you just pile them and burn them? What did you do with the remains like stumps and ash?

I really enjoyed reading the progress of your pond. Those two dozers sure move allot of dirt quickly. How big is the dam, and how deep will the water be next to it?

I'll be looking forward to your next updates and especially to the building of your pier.

Eddie

PS Did you buy any trout this year?

 

[meadowlarkponds]

Eddie,

Thanks for your comments. Most of the tree stumps will be moved back into the pond for structure. I plan to start on that tomorrow or the next day after some rest!! I've cut up a bunch of fire wood and whats left of the trees, I'll just burn, but there isn't going to be that much.

The dam is just over 600 feet and I figure something over 7000 cu yards of dirt. Haven't done the final calculations yet. The depth in the deepest parts looks like about 15 feet going up to about 4 feet deep along the back edges.

I'm trying to get a truck out to deliver about 8 tons of lime which I will spread over the pond bottom and inside walls of the dam.

Still several things I want to do before it gets rained in but they are saying high chance of rain on Monday. I'm just so thankful we got it in before the rains and everything else will be bonus.

When I've done other sizable ponds, we always left an opening in the dam to drain off any rain water during construction and then go back and close it when appropriate. This time, we knew we needed to get it sealed before rains so we didn't leave a rain drain slot open. I also like a continuous, homogenous compacting of clay in the dam rather than going back and packing clay into the rain water opening. It can work either way, but I'm really pleased it worked out for this one to make the dam continuous right from the start.

I love those new D6's with the high running tracks. They can move about 100 yards of dirt an hour....amazing machines!!! They are actually less noisy than my old Case 450. Amazing machines!!

p.s. Yes, I'm planning to stock rainbows again in Dec.

 

[ldabe]

First, your ponds look great!

But I was wondering if you had any info/pics (besides the couple you show on your site) on your "micro-pond" you made?

 

[meadowlarkponds]

ldaba,

The micro-pond was born out of a hole left in the ground by a tree that was uprooted during Hurricane Rita. I used my back-hoe to shape it into a 1500 gallon pond, lined with a pond liner, and added the waterfall for aeration/appearance. We really enjoy the little pond, but are always fighting algae in it. Here is a recent picture of it:

 

[EddieWalker]

How did you figure you needed the 9 tons of lime? I didn't lime my pond, and I'm still not sure if I needed to or not. My water clarity is very good and the fish that are in it are spawning like crazy, so maybe I just got lucky. Did you have soil tests done to determine how much lime you'd need? What will the lime do for your pond?

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[meadowlarkponds]

Soil tests determine the amount of lime needed. In my area of East Texas, soils generally require 2 to 4 tons of lime per acre to achieve/maintain proper ph levels in the pond water. If its needed, adding lime is like magic to pastures and ponds. It enables efficient utilization of nutrients while protecting against sudden ph changes.

Fish generally prefer a ph of about 7 but especially dislike sudden changes in ph. With adequate lime in your pond and in the drainage that feeds your pond, you can minimize the potentially adverse effects of large sudden rains which can significantly alter the ph level in ponds. This is often referred to as "buffering". The lime effectively buffers the effects of the influx of large volumes of acidic water and thereby minimizes the ocurrance of fish kills.

I've heard of cases in our area where the ph can fall to 5, 4 or even lower during periods of extensive rains.

On my place, the effects of liming lasts about 5 years. Even though costs have increased lately, lime, if needed, is still very cost effective. For existing ponds, we have the spreader trucks drive as close to the pond banks as possible and throw as much as possible into the water....but it works almost equally well if applied to the immediate drainage areas of the ponds.

You don't have to spend a fortune paying someone big bucks to bring out a lime barge...a spreader truck with agricultural lime works just great.

 

[meadowlarkponds]

Dam construction is now complete, spillways are in place and the pond is weather proof. Much work remains, however before it fills. Check out the grandkids exploring the LMB ambush areas and having a great time.

 

[EddieWalker]

The kids look tiny!!!! Will you plant anything, or just let nature do her thing?

From what I keep seeing on the forecasty, unless you wash your car, it's just not gonna rain!!!

Eddie