Creating a Lake

[npaden]

Eddie, something tells me that some of the last few posters didn't bother to go back and read through the last 18 months of posts on this thread and only skimmed through the last couple pages. I wouldn't take their half cocked advice to close to heart.

I know that you try to glean as much input as you can but some people just like to criticize and don't have a clue what it really takes to complete a project like this. Most of the time they hear from a friend who heard from a friend that someone had a failed dam after a big rain so they just assume everyone will suffer the same result.

If anyone had genuine advice they would say something specific that they thought you had neglected i.e. the dam should be 50' wide at the base instead of 40' wide or something like that.

Also, I would think they would have said something a year or so ago when you were building the dam rather than wait until the lake was filling up.

I think some people are just jealous.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[Dozernut]

I've got to agree with npaden, the only failure of a dam that I am familiar with is an acquaintance who dammed up a central drainage creek. This creek drained several acres of farm land and only had an overflow tube. A large rain and the small creek became a raging giant and the overflow tube could not handle the onslaught, thus washing out the dam. The now non-existing pond was poorly constructed with no thought of a heavy rain. I see none of this in your pond. If your overflow is significant you might want to rip rap the spillway but all I have on my large pond (4 Acres) is a grass spillway and I have no problem with erosion. The oldest pond I have built is over 30 years old with a grass spillway and it is still standing and has never had a problem with erosion.

 

[EddieWalker]

Hi Nathan & Dozernut,

I agree that somebody with actual knowledge of what they were talking about would mention something specific as to what I did wrong. The other option would be to ask pertinent questions regarding an aspect of pond construction that they are concerned with.

My resourses are well documented in the thread as well as what is required to build a dam and how I did so. What's interesting is that I've overbuilt the size of the dam over twice as thick as it needed to be. I cored it, compacted it and used a high quality clay with 3:1 slopes on the inside adn 6:1 on the outside. Nobody in there right mind would pay a contractor to do all that extra work and move that much additional material, but since it was my hours and machines, I wanted it to be stronger than it had to be and also pleasing to the eye. When it's full of water and the grass is grown in, I want people to walk along the dam and not even realize it is a dam!!!!

Since klm and hillbillyfarmer have both chosen to make rude remarks without offering anything suggestive, I take it they don't have any knowledge of what they are talking about and are just angry with me for some other reason. Might be they don't like another post I made or that they are just against ponds in general. Hopefully I'm mistaken and they will take as much time to offer some insight to there wisdom as they did to insult me.

Eddie

 

[CurlyDave]

Eddie:

As I recall it, you were planning to concrete the spillway, at least at one point in the project.

Once you have removed the possibility of erosion, I don't see how you would be in much danger at all. As I recall this, the head at the dam is substantially less than the total depth of the lake -- you excavated a large basin. This makes it a lot safer than someone coming in at the end and assuming a 15-foot dam would think.

I am certainly impressed with the size of this project and your tenacity at it.

 

[Glowplug]

klm and hillbillyfarmer basically show their ignorance of this whole thread and the project in general with their comments. They obviously didn't read the earlier posts from 1 1/2 years ago. Those of us who have followed every post in this thread for the past 18 months feel confident in your ability Eddie. We have seen all the forethought, planning, as well as the blood, sweat, and tears that went into this project. To lose your dam with a storm, it would have to be something of biblical proportions. And you definitely didn't just slap a dam up anywhere without any planning in order to make your pond!

 

[john_bud]

I can't think of a better way to mess up some good land than to go off half cocked building a pond. Ponds need to be designed and built according to a well conceived and engineered plan.
Yea, you might get lucky, but more often than not, a poorly though out pond construction job becomes a disaster.

Having read the previous 600 odd posts, I really don't think that this particular pond was done in a slap dash fashion.

jb

 

[schmism]

dont feed the trolls....

any new pics? how deep is it!

 

[Renze]

Hopefully I'm mistaken and they will take as much time to offer some insight to there wisdom as they did to insult me.
Eddie

Eddie, when about 120 years ago the first steam train in the Netherlands was achieving the speed of 40 km/h, in some small town they hired an excorcist to protect the villagers against this devilish machine, as it was common belief that a man made machine could only reach this speed when it was somehow connected to the devil....

mocking is a result of ignorance.

 

[Farwell]

I can't think of a better way to mess up some good land than to go off half cocked building a pond. Ponds need to be designed and built according to a well conceived and engineered plan.
Yea, you might get lucky, but more often than not, a poorly though out pond construction job becomes a disaster.

Hillbillyfarmer,
I would like to have a $100 for every hour that Eddie has spent thinking about how to correctly build his pond.
David

 

[Glowplug]

I would like to have a $100 for every hour that Eddie has spent thinking about how to correctly build his pond.

A hundred dollar bill for every hour?!? You planning on retiring rich? Heck, I'd like to have a dollar! I could probably buy a nice tractor implement! Possibly even a tractor!