Small Pond Project.........

[cartod]

I think I am going to put a small pond on the backside of our new 5 acre lot. There is a natural crevice in the rolling land and it looks like it will be fairly easy. I will post photos of my progress and will be asking for your advice on the dam, the structure, the fish and anything else you wish to contribute. I am getting cabin fever and went up and took some photos of where I would like to put it. I have always thought a little pond would be nice, and having fresh fish in your backyard has always been appealing to me. Thanks in advance for any and all input!


As soon as photobucket is done with its site maintenance I will post up some pics of the future site.

Here it is looking down.

 

[dave1949]

It looks like you have a nice bowl-shaped profile to work with. Any chance of hitting a good seep or spring?

 

[creekbend]

Looks like a decent place to begin. It would help if you contacted your local County sources to advise you regarding the Slope and the proper depth that ensures the survival of fish during hot weather and severe cold weather. Best wishes.

 

[Gary Fowler]

All of those trees that will be covered with water will die, so you may as well take them out before you build. Also you may want to increase the size as you will loose a lot of pond area to the dam slope and it needs to be at least 6 feet deep so it gives the fish some cool water in the summer and doesn't freeze solid in winter. That looks like a good tractor project. Just make sure that you make your dam plenty thick so it holds the water pressure, nothing worse than a busted dam to upset the downhill residents.
That looks like an easy project as for dam building, removing the large trees might be work for an excavator though. You may want to excavate on the high end so that the pond gets deep rather quickly. Shallow water attracts moss and other aquatic life that is not good for a pond. The excavated material could go into the lower dam if it is good clay type material. That is the first thing you need to determine is if the existing soil is suitable for a dam and pond. Porous sandy type soil is not good for dam use and also wont hold water in the pond unless you put in a thick clay liner or plastic liner. Having to buy and import liner material might be too expensive to deal with.

 

[cartod]

All of those trees that will be covered with water will die, so you may as well take them out before you build. Also you may want to increase the size as you will loose a lot of pond area to the dam slope and it needs to be at least 6 feet deep so it gives the fish some cool water in the summer and doesn't freeze solid in winter. That looks like a good tractor project. Just make sure that you make your dam plenty thick so it holds the water pressure, nothing worse than a busted dam to upset the downhill residents.
That looks like an easy project as for dam building, removing the large trees might be work for an excavator though. You may want to excavate on the high end so that the pond gets deep rather quickly. Shallow water attracts moss and other aquatic life that is not good for a pond. The excavated material could go into the lower dam if it is good clay type material. That is the first thing you need to determine is if the existing soil is suitable for a dam and pond. Porous sandy type soil is not good for dam use and also wont hold water in the pond unless you put in a thick clay liner or plastic liner. Having to buy and import liner material might be too expensive to deal with.

Soil won't be a problem as everything here is red clay. My plan is to scrape off the topsoil and use it on top of the dam for grass. The 150' poplar tree is the only thing I'm not looking forward to removing. I wonder if It can be left to die safely? I will heed your advice and dig the pond deep and make the dam wide. I will also dig a trench under the dam and fill it with red clay before I start going up.

 

[jel1988]

Any beaver in your area? They love poplar and aspen they'll take a small pond and turn it into a large one over the course of a summer. I've seen beaver damns 10 to 12' tall stretching a couple hundred yards. There are lots of people down here in South Carolina that would appreciate you taking a couple home with you.

 

[corl]

There is a lot of information about building and maintaining ponds available as well as rules and regulations. here is a URL for NY. Constructing Recreational and Farm Ponds - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Check with your local authorities before you dig. You didn't mention where you are getting the water to fill your pond. If you cut your popular tree off and dig the pond around it, it will be easy to take out the stump. They don't have a great big root ball. Good luck!

 

[radioman]

looks like a nice spot to put it with one problem. You have quite a few trees and you will be fighting roots all the time. The root zone extends past drip line of trees and the big tree in middle needs to be taken out. No ,I wouldnt leave it to die. I think it could/might topple over when you are digging around it. be prepared to cut alot of roots with an axe and resharpening it often.

 

[HarryN]

Do you have your own equipment or are you renting as you go?

 

[EddieWalker]

Nice looking location for a pond. Have you seen how much water comes through there when it rains? Figuring out how much water you get will give you a better idea of how big you can make it. Bigger is always better with ponds. The more surface area you have, the more fish you can have. If you want to fish it, you need to decide what type of fish you want to have in there. Smaller ponds should only have one predator fish. Bass or catfish. One feeder type of fish like bluegill and minnows. Be sure to go deep enough to allow for evaporation and long periods of not getting any rain. Nothing worse then seeing your fish die because the water got too low for them to survive!!!! When digging the pond, make sure you make it ugly. Create ditches, drop offs, peaks and irregular shapes. Fish do not want a smooth, even bottom.

The dam itself is pretty easy to build. Just remember that it is held in place by gravity. The higher you build it, the more it weighs and the stronger it will be. If you want just a few feet or freeboard, then you need to go wider. From your picture, I'd make it wide enough to drive across and slow the sides with a 6:12 pitch.

How are you going to handle overflow? Water running over a dam will create erosion and wash it away. Going over virgin soil is good, but the sides of your hills make that kind of difficult. Pipes work, but they have a bad habbit of plugging up with floating debris over time, or not being big enough for the big storm and then the water goes over the top of the dam and washes it out. A concrete spillway over the top works, but it's costly and very labor intensive to create. It also has to be big enough to handle worse case situations.

Get rid of all the trees. It is easy now, and very difficult once the pond is built. You wont miss them, and you don't want them dropping leaves in there every year either. Ponds like sunshine!!!

What are you going to use to build the pond with? A pond this small is ideal for a dozer.

Eddie