Cleaning out the pond.

[rekees4300]

When we dug out our pond, nothing would grow on the spoils, not even weeds or grass.

That was also my experience. Would never recommend putting muck on a garden.

 

[keegs]

search for "settling chambers" on www.koiphen.com

more so if you have a creak / grass areas of fields that feed the lake. a DIY settling chamber (area were you can get in with a backhoe) to dig a dirt hole / trench. before the water enters the pond/lake. can help settle and remove a good amount of solids. again if designed correctly. normally with settling chambers though require a good amount of space. settling chambers work better with large "dwell time" there are 2 different main types, round / cylinder shape settling chambers, and then long wider/deeper settling chambers.

the actual stuff coming into the pond/lake, may be to small / light in weight / mass to actually settle out. at which case a settling chamber is basically useless. and may only be effective in the sudden large down pours of rain, were proper grass water ways are not able to filter out majority of the heavier / bigger stuff, due to, to much rain water to handle at one time.

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the sledge ya getting from the pond, a warning, you can get yourself into trouble, with various "smell laws / nuisance laws" or how ever it is worded. kinda like taking pig waste and spreading it on a field but not properly injecting it to a given depth and /or mixing it with the soil. to help reduce the stink along with make sure it does not wash away during the next couple rains.

the stuff coming out of the pond, you may try to work it like a compost pile. were maintaining proper heat inside the pile. to keep the bugs, parasites, bacteria, etc... in good healthy condition. along with mixing some soil with it. but this may mean dealing with what ever ya taking out a couple times a day turning it over. ya need to remember the sledge coming out from bottom of a lake is basically a "septic system on your home" from fish waste, to dead rotten fish that predators didn't eat, to urine from animals, to everything else.
other words treat it with some respect, along with were you place it and were winds blow, if the stink blows into your home, or a neighbors home you maybe in for some trouble!

you may find it takes a couple years for the sledge coming out of the lake to actual be use-able / be able to drive on it without sinking. along with you may find that it may not be a suitable substance to use as a deeper compaction layer soil. "to squishy / wet" and if placed in areas were "wash outs could occur" such as in ditches, hills, etc... it may end up leaving large wash outs within it. and cause erosion problems for years to come if not correctly dealt with.
other words, don't dig a hole and push all the crud into it, and then cover it up with some dry dirt. other words, find a place to put it were it can drain water out of it, but still allow water to drain without causing major washout / erosion to happen.

Thanks....it smells only slightly better than low tide... if you know what I mean . No neighbors for at least a quarter mile. I'm pretty sure the guy that's doing the work knows what he's doIng. Unless I'm wrong, I'm staying out of his hair. I think it will need a few more dry days before he goes at it with the doser.

 

[keegs]

Plugged up the breach and installed a 15" poly overflow. Went down about 3 feet and sloped the edges. Set some stumps and logs along the bottom so the fishes have a chance with those pesky otters.

Pack yer swimmies darling ...

 

[SPYDERLK]

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the sledge ya getting from the pond, a warning, you can get yourself into trouble, with various "smell laws / nuisance laws" or how ever it is worded. kinda like taking pig waste and spreading it on a field but not properly injecting it to a given depth and /or mixing it with the soil. to help reduce the stink along with make sure it does not wash away during the next couple rains.

the stuff coming out of the pond, you may try to work it like a compost pile. were maintaining proper heat inside the pile. to keep the bugs, parasites, bacteria, etc... in good healthy condition. along with mixing some soil with it. but this may mean dealing with what ever ya taking out a couple times a day turning it over. ya need to remember the sledge coming out from bottom of a lake is basically a "septic system on your home" from fish waste, to dead rotten fish that predators didn't eat, to urine from animals, to everything else.
other words treat it with some respect, along with were you place it and were winds blow, if the stink blows into your home, or a neighbors home you maybe in for some trouble!

you may find it takes a couple years for the sledge coming out of the lake to actual be use-able / be able to drive on it without sinking. along with you may find that it may not be a suitable substance to use as a deeper compaction layer soil. "to squishy / wet" and if placed in areas were "wash outs could occur" such as in ditches, hills, etc... it may end up leaving large wash outs within it. and cause erosion problems for years to come if not correctly dealt with.
other words, don't dig a hole and push all the crud into it, and then cover it up with some dry dirt. other words, find a place to put it were it can drain water out of it, but still allow water to drain without causing major washout / erosion to happen.

How about piling it for awhile to drain - then mixing into the manure/compost pile and spreading on fields. ... ?? Sound OK ??

 

[Streetcar]

We had a detention pond dug out and the material was spread over a low spot in a field. It was several years before anything would grow in the pond muck

 

[keegs]

Some of the material removed was piled on the far side of the pond where it remained since last summer.It had a crust on it at first but this year, weeds and grasses grew over it. The dozer was used to pile the material up close to the opening and the excavator was used to fill in and compact it. The dam is almost 30 ft. wide at the top and wider at the base. We'll see if it holds but I think it will.

 

[Coyote machine]

Plugged up the breach and installed a 15" poly overflow. Went down about 3 feet and sloped the edges. Set some stumps and logs along the bottom so the fishes have a chance with those pesky otters.

Pack yer swimmies darling ...

View attachment 447278

Can you give us pics, closer up, to the poly overflow, and maybe say more about why you chose to go that route?

 

[keegs]

Coyote,

I'm back in Jersey now. If you do a save as on the image I posted and open it up in photo viewer, you can zoom in on the overflow pipe.

There's two main feeders that keep the pond full year round. One is a small brook that drains the two fields and the other is a spring. Both flow year round with the brook's volume varying, depending on the amount of precipitation.

There had been an open 4" sched 40 pipe set low in the dam that kept the water level about 2-3 feet below the top of the dam most of the time. That drain was damaged during the clean out and is no longer functioning (although I might be able to clear it). In years past, during the spring snow melt and with any extended period of very heavy rain, water would top the dam at the far end where the new 15" overflow pipe is now.

The top of the new overflow is set approx. 12" below the top of the dam.

 

[SPYDERLK]

We had a detention pond dug out and the material was spread over a low spot in a field. It was several years before anything would grow in the pond muck

... If a littles good, more is better - and too much is just right.