Another New Pond

[knute_m]

Your project sure looks fantastic. It appears that your contractors are doing a great job. The kids in the pictures really add size and scale to the project.

There are a lot of good pond people on this site. There is even more good info -- with many of the same people from here, over on the Pond Boss Forum. A number of really knowledgeable Pond Bosses live near you, and they'll be glad to help you manage your pond when the water starts filling in.

Keep the progress and photos coming.

Knute

P.S. A spring at the bottom of your pond can be a good or bad thing. Talk to your contractor about this. During wet years it can add water. During dry years it can act as a drain, and may need to be sealed with heavy clay.

 

[jamestaylor72]

Your project sure looks fantastic. It appears that your contractors are doing a great job. The kids in the pictures really add size and scale to the project.

There are a lot of good pond people on this site. There is even more good info -- with many of the same people from here, over on the Pond Boss Forum. A number of really knowledgeable Pond Bosses live near you, and they'll be glad to help you manage your pond when the water starts filling in.

Keep the progress and photos coming.

Knute

P.S. A spring at the bottom of your pond can be a good or bad thing. Talk to your contractor about this. During wet years it can add water. During dry years it can act as a drain, and may need to be sealed with heavy clay.

Hello again Knute,
thanks for the compliments. Ah yes the spring,, LOL,,, we anxiously sat and watched this little hole flowing water up from ground all evening Saturday,, and then it appears to have stopped. There are however numerous wet spots of the bottom that feel like rubber, or spongy when you step on them. ??? I don't know if that means that water is just below the surface waiting to be "unleashed" or what. But for now, the spring appears to have stopped. At least their calling for rain pretty much all this week,,, maybe that'll help.

 

[3RRL]

Great project.
I'm really enjoying the progress and all the photos you have.
Question... what would happen if they took the excavator and went after that spot where the spring water appears? Would you get a flowing water source from it?

 

[dtd24]

Awesome project!!! Gotta love seeing dozers at work! It's amazing to see all the angles they can go on.

 

[jamestaylor72]

Great project.
I'm really enjoying the progress and all the photos you have.
Question... what would happen if they took the excavator and went after that spot where the spring water appears? Would you get a flowing water source from it?

Hi 3RRl,, that was my thought too. But I guess it's a crap shoot, and since it could be only a few feet or another 20 feet,, the price would go up do to their extra digging. So, I guess I'll just let the rain fill it.

 

[srsu99]

It is always hard to see grade from pictures but I cannot see how this thing is gonna capture water. Looks like there is a small ditch behind the pond. Too badthey could not divert that water intothe pond. Guess we just do things different here in TX. I would only build a tank for someone if I could calculate the watershed area which would be feeding it. Also what in the world are you gonna do with all that dirt. Could you sell it as fill in your area. Otherwise youll have to grass it and the have the joy of mowing that hill for the next 50 years. I have a neighbor who wants me to build a tank for him. He has a great location draining about 75 acres into it but if we get any hieght on the dam its gonna flood to much of his place. Probally gonna end up with a damless pond. Hate building those lots of dirt to move to get just a small capacity. Gets expensive when you haveto charge $160 an hour for scraper and $120 an hour for 6d cat dozer.

 

[travis potter]

For the fish old fiberglsaa boats are very hard to git rid of, people will pay you to dispose of them. Remove the floation and sink it upside down will never rot or cause polution. Just my thought.

 

[srsu99]

Well thats great. Hope it fills up soon, nothing better than a tank that is about to run over the spillway! Hope the newly found srings work out for ya. Must have a high water table. Did they core your **** or is there a high clay content in the soil?

 

[jamestaylor72]

For the fish old fiberglsaa boats are very hard to git rid of, people will pay you to dispose of them. Remove the floation and sink it upside down will never rot or cause polution. Just my thought.

Hey thats another pretty nifty idea. Thanks Travis, I've been thinking of things to sink for fish habitat..

 

[jamestaylor72]

Well thats great. Hope it fills up soon, nothing better than a tank that is about to run over the spillway! Hope the newly found srings work out for ya. Must have a high water table. Did they core your **** or is there a high clay content in the soil?

The contractor said didn't need to core,,very high clay content, and he made sure the banks are tied in with the underground clay. As far as the springs,, ?? not sure yet, after a while, they seemed to stop flowing,, but I have noticed that the deep basin with the spring seems to have cleaner or clearer water in it, then the other basin. So, hopefully the spring is still flowing or seeping.

 

[Tororider]

Is all the equipment gone? I was going to say you could have the excavator dig a couple "holes" for the fish. We are thinking about doing something like that in the future, although I think we may buy a crawler loader and try to do it ourselves. Can you give me a price range that you paid? Thanks, love the pictures.

 

[Tim Stuart]

Great looking project !!! A spring in the bottom of a pond is not always a good thing. Just as water can come in, it can leave out the same hole. When the water pressure from the pond gets full it can flow out the hole, think of a funnel. Especially when a drought hits.

 

[jamestaylor72]

Hello everyone,
I started this pond thread back in the summer,, and didn't really find the time to keep up with the progress/pictures the way I wanted to. So, I thought I'd post a few photos to show just how fast the pond has filled. It was dug in late August '07,, and started filling almost immediately. The earlier pics shown here are from right around the Holidays '07,, and the snow covered ones are within the last month or so. As of today,,, water is flowing freely and continiously from the overflow pipe,, which can be seen in the last photo!!! Will try to get new pics of that soon. So, in a "nut shell",,,,,,,,,,,,she's full !!! This summer I plan to work the clay dirt/ topsoil piles to start dressing up the site. Also, disregard the date in the pictures.
JT

 

[EddieWalker]

Awesome pics!!! Sure is a big hole that you dug.

I'm not sure what is more shocking, how quickly it's filled up with water, or how cold that snow looks. Man does it look COLD!!!!!!!!!

When can you put fish in?

Eddie

 

[jamestaylor72]

Awesome pics!!! Sure is a big hole that you dug.

I'm not sure what is more shocking, how quickly it's filled up with water, or how cold that snow looks. Man does it look COLD!!!!!!!!!

When can you put fish in?

Eddie

Hey Eddie,,
Thanks for the compliments!! Cold aint the word for it ,, right now we have this ice storm going on!!! Not sure on the fish, I was thinking probably in the spring. And the girls already want a few ducks too . Ya know the more I think about it,, I think that the pile of clay, which is shaped like a giant slope aided in the filling process. It's visible where the water just collected on it and ran its course down into the pond. Kinda neat actually,,, a huge rain/snow catcher!!

 

[Tororider]

And it looks like it could be a nice sledding hill. Its hard to get perspective but the spoils hill looks huge. Nice pond, I look foward to the pictures of fish and ducks this spring.

 

[Blagadan]

Pond....?

Around these here parts they call that a LAKE!!!

Nice job. Thanks for sharing the pics. Looking forward to seeing it again in a few months when the grass grows up on the banks and it settles in a bit...

 

[WBWI]

Do you guys with ponds and those thinking of building ponds have issues with the state dept of natural resources? I bought 5+ acres with 2 small manmade ponds and the WI DNR has say over what I do with them. I'll need to dredge them in 3-5 years and I'll have to get permits...
I understand if they were naturally occuring but these were both dug by the farmer that owned the land.

 

[jamestaylor72]

And it looks like it could be a nice sledding hill. Its hard to get perspective but the spoils hill looks huge. Nice pond, I look foward to the pictures of fish and ducks this spring.

Yeah Toro,, the clay hill is pretty big. Would be an excellent sledding hill,,, except that you'd end up in the pond. LOL Sure makes for a great observation point up there though!!