Making a Creek Pond

   / Making a Creek Pond #1  

Boeing

Platinum Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2010
Messages
643
Location
Botetourt, Va
Tractor
kubota L3010
Fellas I have a small flowing creek, narrow, shallow, you get the picture. I have hauled in tractor buckets of rocks and made a "crossing" so I can drive my tractor across. Kinda steep down and up the other side. Got a great idea, uh oh, I got 2 surplus 18" culvert pipes about 10' long and figure that IF I remove some of these rocks, pad the "floor" with dirt and gravel and install the culverts, then bucket after bucket after bucket of dirt and gravel I could reduce the steep down and up for the cross.
THEN, I got another idea...OMG, IF, I could rock, sand, bags of conrete....SOMETHING to stop water from going UNDER the pipes I might leave the pipes 12" or so above the creek bed for a little pond. Great idea but HOW does one make this water pool instead of work it's way under or around the culvert pipes? Hmmm???
 
   / Making a Creek Pond #4  
Fellas I have a small flowing creek, narrow, shallow, you get the picture. I have hauled in tractor buckets of rocks and made a "crossing" so I can drive my tractor across. Kinda steep down and up the other side. Got a great idea, uh oh, I got 2 surplus 18" culvert pipes about 10' long and figure that IF I remove some of these rocks, pad the "floor" with dirt and gravel and install the culverts, then bucket after bucket after bucket of dirt and gravel I could reduce the steep down and up for the cross.
THEN, I got another idea...OMG, IF, I could rock, sand, bags of conrete....SOMETHING to stop water from going UNDER the pipes I might leave the pipes 12" or so above the creek bed for a little pond. Great idea but HOW does one make this water pool instead of work it's way under or around the culvert pipes? Hmmm???
Just put the culvert in the dirt. Drive over it and pack the dirt. My pond is the same with a creek. Five acres.
 
   / Making a Creek Pond #5  
You probably don't want rocks and sand and concrete. Rocks and sand are porous and won't seal well. Concrete seals except where it joins something else. For what you are talking about, you want good CLAY. You know, the stuff that packs hard as a rock? Clay also expands as it gets wet, which helps seal it. You may want rocks and concrete for your overflow, but not as part of the dam unless you are excavating to bedrock first.

There is good information available on pond building and dams. I've only done a couple of very small ones. Check your local library and/or your local soil and water conservation office.
 
   / Making a Creek Pond #6  
When laying the pipes MAKE SURE the water is discharged BEYOND the dam wall or the crosssing will be quickly destroyed. You will ned to plan for floods when you make the crossing, or the first good flood will destroy the crossing.
Good luck
 
   / Making a Creek Pond #7  
You build a nice pond - likely to get beavers or muskrats as guests. They can tend to complicate the maintenance.
 
   / Making a Creek Pond #8  
You build a nice pond - likely to get beavers or muskrats as guests. They can tend to complicate the maintenance.
I get a at least a pair of each ever year plus the mink and otters but I does provide evening or early morning entertainment.
 
   / Making a Creek Pond #9  
Scape the ground free of loose rocks, fill in with good clay and compact it every layer you add in, dam side and spill side.. Stop filling in at the level you want the water to be and place your culvert pipes.. cover with clay... Compact..
Depending on how much water will be held back 10 ft pipes may not be long enough if you're laying them side by side.. earth dams are usually wider than tall..
If there's flowing water present.. you'll need to figure out a way to redirect around your dam area.. until finished.. can't be soggy wet when compacting only just wet enough for compaction. Clay too dry won't compact either..
Like mentioned above might want to read up on it a bit...
*Very important to compact as you go on every layer, dam side and spill side*
 
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   / Making a Creek Pond #10  
Also even for a small pond add an emergency spillway for flood water to go without over topping your "pond" dam. We have 20' spillway (or culvert in your case) and 120' emergency spillway. We've had it close to maxed out at over 24" deep flow during a massive flash flood even with 60" plus deep flow though the normal spillway.
 
   / Making a Creek Pond #11  
How fast is the water flowing? Is there a time when it's not flowing?

Does the creek have a name? Here in Texas, you can dam up a creek if it's not named, but if it's named, you have to get permission from the Dam Authority for that area. Seems like every Dam has a claim to every named creek.

As mentioned already, rocks are very bad in a dam. They allow water to flow around them. It's the same thing that happens to roots from a tree.

If you want to do this, you need to remove all the rocks, then dig down below the bottom of the creek, and into the shoreline of both sides. How much you have to remove depends on how big the dam will be. I forget the rule of thumb, but the idea is the weight of the water should push down on the dam more then it pushes against the dam. Then you want to build the dam of compactible clay. Here in Texas, red clay is the best for this. Compacting the clay is critical because it needs to be solid enough to keep water from penetrating it. To do this, you add the clay in lifts, then spread it and compact it. The best tool for compacting is a vibratory sheepsfoot roller. You want as much weight as possible, but you also want to mix it a little as you compact it. I personally use the front tires of my backhoe, with a yard of dirt in the bucket to compact my red clay. I can see the tires sink into the clay when I start, but it quickly becomes solid as I go over it. Then I dump the bucket, spread it, get another load of dirt, and drive over the clay all over again.

Once the dam is where you want it, then you need to dig out the dam to install the pipe. It will be very hard to compact the soil around the pipe, so try to remove as little soil as possible. Water will want to run along the sides of the pipe, so the better your compaction, the less likely it will leak under the culvert. I like to put concrete around both ends of my culverts.

The biggest issue will be where the water exits the culvert. The water come out of it will erode below, and then under the pipe. This is where you want to put all your rock. The more the better!!!!

Since you can never predict how much water you will get during an extreme storm, you need to have an emergency way to deal with more water then the culvert can handle. You can either dig a wide shallow trench off to the side of the pond to direct the water around the dam, which would be the best way to do this, or you will have to have a hard surface of some kind to allow the water to flow over the dam, which will be the expensive way to go, and what will probably eventually lead to the failure of the dam.

Most creek dams eventually fail. I wouldn't dam up a creek, it's very involved, very expensive, and rarely works out. Both of my ponds are far enough away from creeks to avoid flooding. I've put in roads with ditches on my land to carry water to my ponds. If you really want a pond, walk around during a heavy rain and watch what the water is doing. This will give you an idea of where to dig, and how big you can make the pond.
 
   / Making a Creek Pond #12  
We have a dam in the creek bed and across the flood plain, been there since 1972 so has held well. Does require repairs and upkeep. After floods it can be massive repairs behind the emergency spillway. I think a bit over 150 dump truck loads was worst in the 20 years. Never threatened the dam but it worth providing the water enough material to NOT threaten the dam in 100 or 500 year flood cases. Been through at least two 100 flood cases.
 
   / Making a Creek Pond #13  
I've had the same extended beaver family on my lake for over twenty years. They graciously took over maintenance of the outlet many, many years ago. They built and maintain a low dam at the outlet. Over a twelve month period the lake level will vary only 8 - 12 inches. Looking West - off my front porch and down the lake. Five acres of open water - five acres of cattails. The lake( Martin Lk) is 80 feet deep.

Same view - summer & early winter.

IMG_0041.jpeg


IMG_0002.jpeg
 
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   / Making a Creek Pond #14  
In my case after being nice to them they started cutting big trees where I wanted them and the nice has been gone for many years. If they are working an edge that needs cleaning up they get to stay for a few months or until they cut where it is verboten. This one build a big lodge at the dam in an area the was over grown, had to build up an access ramp to destroy lodge and started tunnels. Sadly he is no longer with us.......fed some coyotes or the neighbor's dogs.
 
   / Making a Creek Pond #15  
Well you obviously do not live in Washington State or you would be in jail for doing anything within 75' a creek.....
Yea, since his profile says Botetourt, Va I'm going to guess he doesn't live in Washington State.

About 20 years ago my neighbor, his father, and I hired a contractor to dig a pond and build a dam with a culvert to replace a failing farmer made bridge. When the pond is full it's about 35 feet deep. During the summer there is little to no water flowing, most of it leaks into a sand vein and runs down a ravine a different direction. In the spring, especially during the thaw the water can completely fill the pond and max out the 24 in. tile. It has topped the dam once or twice and eroded the back side a little, that was a scary time.

When the pond was being constructed, I always wondered if we were in violation of any laws, but no one even mentioned it.
 
   / Making a Creek Pond
  • Thread Starter
#16  
Guys, thank you so much for the input. I have had to rebuild my rock crossing twice due to "flashfloods". That's why I acquired the culvert pipes to lay side by side. The little pond was just a recent idea. Does Lowes or who...carries clay? Thanks.
PS, remind me to avoid WA.
 
   / Making a Creek Pond #17  
If you are going to buy clay, you will need it hauled in by a dump truck. Most are 10 yards at a time. It's also called clean fill dirt, which is used for building up a house pad or any other dirt prep for a building. Cost used to be pretty reasonable, but with inflation, it's gotten to be ridiculous what dirt costs.
 
   / Making a Creek Pond #18  
Guys, thank you so much for the input. I have had to rebuild my rock crossing twice due to "flashfloods". That's why I acquired the culvert pipes to lay side by side. The little pond was just a recent idea. Does Lowes or who...carries clay? Thanks.
PS, remind me to avoid WA.

I have a similar situation with a small creek, rocks, sand, and culverts. You are overthinking it. Just dig a channel and lay those pipes into it at the depth you want the little pond. Put them at least a foot or two apart. Slope them a bit down - a quarter inch drop for each horizontal foot is the standard.

Then backfill with whatever dirt/sand/and rocks that you have. Use what you dug out. Yes, the material is porous, but that doesn't matter because if it is wide enough to drive across there is more than enough resistance to flow for your purpose.
This is technically called a "low water crossing" but it makes a nice little creek pond. Creek ponds are different from dug ponds. In making a creek pond you are looking to slow the flow of water which you do by increasing the resistance to flow. This is not a dug pond where you want to prevent flow with clay and concrete.

Since the cross section of the pipe is less than the cross section of the creek - and if you don't slope them too much - then a shallow pond will form naturally. You want a creek pond to "leak". It's healthier that way.

You can change the depth of the pond a foot or more by either restricting the flow into the pipes or by adding another pipe. For restricting the flow, just placing one big rock in front of each pipe will make a difference. Again, you are just increasing the flow resistance. Not flow prevention.

Do it with what you have and you'll be done in a weekend. Mine isn't much larger than a game room and you would be amazed at the wildlife and plants it supports.

Good luck,
rScotty
 
   / Making a Creek Pond
  • Thread Starter
#19  
That sounds great. Thank you for the explinations.
 
   / Making a Creek Pond
  • Thread Starter
#20  
I've had the same extended beaver family on my lake for over twenty years. They graciously took over maintenance of the outlet many, many years ago. They built and maintain a low dam at the outlet. Over a twelve month period the lake level will vary only 8 - 12 inches. Looking West - off my front porch and down the lake. Five acres of open water - five acres of cattails. The lake( Martin Lk) is 80 feet deep.

Same view - summer & early winter.

View attachment 770521

View attachment 770522
That's beautiful.....
 

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