Putting in a pond questions

[etpm]

We got a bid yesterday on someone putting in a pond for us. 34 grand! Yikes! Too much for us so we want to do it ourselves. The pond we want is to be about 40 by 60 feet and 3 feet deep. I have a Case 580 CK backhoe and a Yanmar YM2310 that will be used for the excavation. I'm sure I will have plenty of questions but the first one is whether to use bentonite or a rubber liner. I don't know if plastic liners are available. My wife wants to do the liner installation if we go that way. Like me she has no idea what is involved with putting a liner in. Actually, that's not true. I have seen pictures of a rubber liner being laid down and the seams being glued or heat sealed. But that's all I know. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Eric

 

[lsgreg]

Unless it is 100% out of sight, explore the legal issues before digging. It may be nothing, or it may be a nightmare.

 

[etpm]

I will check with the county about digging but I don't foresee any problems there. Especially after talking with my wife about the cost of pond liner and evaporation loss the size has shrunk considerably. So now maybe 15 by 20 feet. I knew it would shrink.
Thanks,
Eric

 

[lsgreg]

I will check with the county about digging but I don't foresee any problems there. Especially after talking with my wife about the cost of pond liner and evaporation loss the size has shrunk considerably. So now maybe 15 by 20 feet. I knew it would shrink.
Thanks,
Eric

https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/2079/2015/03/Const-Ponds-2-12-15.pdf

 

[lsgreg]

WAC 220-660-240:

 

[rScotty]

We got a bid yesterday on someone putting in a pond for us. 34 grand! Yikes! Too much for us so we want to do it ourselves. The pond we want is to be about 40 by 60 feet and 3 feet deep. I have a Case 580 CK backhoe and a Yanmar YM2310 that will be used for the excavation. I'm sure I will have plenty of questions but the first one is whether to use bentonite or a rubber liner. I don't know if plastic liners are available. My wife wants to do the liner installation if we go that way. Like me she has no idea what is involved with putting a liner in. Actually, that's not true. I have seen pictures of a rubber liner being laid down and the seams being glued or heat sealed. But that's all I know. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Eric

The problem with lining dams or ponds with clay is that the clay needs to be compacted to be effective. Just putting in loose clay soil doesn't work to seal the bottom and sides.
The compaction needs to be done in fairly thin lifts and at a specific range of water content in the clay. Too wet or dry and it just will not compact.

Hitting the right percent water is pretty easy when the project is large like a reservoir. There the wet area can be confined and compaction equipment brought in to work the rest. So clay is the way to go when the project is large.
On something the size of a pond the problem I've seen is that the center area remains wet and the water gets splashed around. The clay stays sloppy and won't compact. Now if it is a seasonal pond you are working on, and has a flattisj bottom you can drain....so as to get in there when the water content is correct for the clay to compact.... then you fo stand a better chance with clay.

I don't know anything at all about the liners. Let us know what you find out

For more info on clay, get hold of a soil mechanics book. It is fascinating how clay modifies soil strength and makes it into a workable material.
Berry and Reid wrote a good intro soil mechanics book with chapters on clay some 40 years ago. Their insights are amazing..

rScotty

 

[wolc123]

I put one in on the other side of the country (upstate NY) about 30 years ago with my 1951 Ford 8n and 3 point pond scoop. I paid $1200 for the tractor (from the widow of the original owner), and $175 for the scoop. The pond was 32’ x 22’ x 6 ft deep. It took me about 50 hours to dig with that, and that old tractor needed a valve job when I finished (cost me $375).

I didn’t get any permits. You can’t see it from the road. I was a little worried about its proximity to a natural gas line right of way, that crosses our farm, but I didn’t have any issues with that.

We had a severe drought about 10 summers ago and it dried up completely. By that time, I had a newer 4wd diesel tractor (John Deere 4120). I drove that down into it and scooped out 20 years of sediment, and dug it down 2 ft deeper into the clay, with the 400X front loader on the John Deere.

Now it’s 8 ft deep and it has not dried up since I cleaned out and deepened it. It holds a decent population of bluegills (ducks must have brought them in). I added 4 largemouth bass a week ago but one of them didn’t survive.

I dug the pond on a very dry summer, at the lowest point in our farm. That spot always seemed to be wet and I hit solid clay about 5 ft down. I used that clay to line the banks.

 

[newbury]

I will check with the county about digging but I don't foresee any problems there. Especially after talking with my wife about the cost of pond liner and evaporation loss the size has shrunk considerably. So now maybe 15 by 20 feet. I knew it would shrink.
Thanks,
Eric

Man that shrunk fast, like when I jump in cold water.
15x20 - a simple swimming pool liner or an old billboard vinyl should do.

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Might be able to do it for $100.

 

[ChiefBodie]

Be sure to calculate annual evapotranspiration.

 

[rScotty]

I put one in on the other side of the country (upstate NY) about 30 years ago with my 1951 Ford 8n and 3 point pond scoop. I paid $1200 for the tractor (from the widow of the original owner), and $175 for the scoop. The pond was 32’ x 22’ x 6 ft deep. It took me about 50 hours to dig with that, and that old tractor needed a valve job when I finished (cost me $375).

I didn’t get any permits. You can’t see it from the road. I was a little worried about its proximity to a natural gas line right of way, that crosses our farm, but I didn’t have any issues with that.

We had a severe drought about 10 summers ago and it dried up completely. By that time, I had a newer 4wd diesel tractor (John Deere 4120). I drove that down into it and scooped out 20 years of sediment, and dug it down 2 ft deeper into the clay, with the 400X front loader on the John Deere.

Now it’s 8 ft deep and it has not dried up since I cleaned out and deepened it. It holds a decent population of bluegills (ducks must have brought them in). I added 4 largemouth bass a week ago but one of them didn’t survive.
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I dug the pond on a very dry summer, at the lowest point in our farm. That spot always seemed to be wet and I hit solid clay about 5 ft down. I used that clay to line the banks.

That's a nice pond. And thanks for pointing out that there is more than one way to make a pond. Around here we dig a hole and then bring in truckloads of bentonite to seal our sandy soil. There is no native clay. Making a pond becomes a whole lot easier if the site already has compacted clay that just needs scooping out.
rScotty