spring

[MarkV]

Wonder if it would be worth looking into some pond liner material to line the stream bed with. It would make sure that the surrounding area dried up, weeds would not grow and the water would head exactly were you planned.

MarkV

 

[elalexander]

Hi and welcome Kerrminator. This is the place to improve on your original ideas and get some excellent information and feedback. I have a few questions for you. 1st. is this just a wet weather spring or does it flow year round and 2nd, where are you located. Last year my neighbor and I increased the size of the pond on our property border line for wildlife's benifet. It is fed from a wet weather spring, usually only in the spring of the year. Next I lined a "chase" with rock to direct rain water to the pond. Some grass seed helped to act as a filter to keep incoming water somewhat cleaner for the deer. My/our problem is now the spring has been dry for months and only rain water enters the pond, with no new water the water gets awful looking. We have talked about some plants to help but haven't acted on anything to date. Good luck and again welcome, Eric.

 

[Kerrminator]

Actually I have two springs that run down the sides of my property and they run year round....

 

[Kerrminator]

Pond liner probably would be more suitable....Went price shopping for waders outfit with rubber boots attached....$79.00....Whew!
Wife advised me to just get muddy....Lol.

 

[Kerrminator]

Hi and welcome Kerrminator. This is the place to improve on your original ideas and get some excellent information and feedback. I have a few questions for you. 1st. is this just a wet weather spring or does it flow year round and 2nd, where are you located. Last year my neighbor and I increased the size of the pond on our property border line for wildlife's benifet. It is fed from a wet weather spring, usually only in the spring of the year. Next I lined a "chase" with rock to direct rain water to the pond. Some grass seed helped to act as a filter to keep incoming water somewhat cleaner for the deer. My/our problem is now the spring has been dry for months and only rain water enters the pond, with no new water the water gets awful looking. We have talked about some plants to help but haven't acted on anything to date. Good luck and again welcome, Eric.

A "chase?"

 

[elalexander]

A chase is just a run to direct the water into the pond. I am having trouble attaching a picture of it. Pic won't upload for some reason? If you or anyone knows how to attach a photo I'll be glad to share it.

 

[turnkey4099]

No advice on 'how to do it' just:

Having been in the middle of a 'wetlands' brawl, I would be checking to be sure the EPA doesn't want to stick their nose in on the "wetlands" issue. They get real nasty and that one I was in is still going on 10 years later.

How to check on it without drawing attention is another problem and I don't have the answer.

As for 'hand-dug' - been there many times myself. Hand dug 2 foundations, about 300 ft of 4' deep water lines, dug out septic tank 5 times, etc. One can move an amazing amount of dirt with nothing but a shovel. Takes time and it doesn't pay to madly attack the job, slow and easy gets it done.

Harry K

 

[elalexander]

I think I have succesfully attached the picture I was talking about.

 

[Kerrminator]

Nice pic...thanks.

 

[Foozle]

Sorry to resurrect an older post, but I was looking for freshwater spring enhancement ideas myself and this was the most recent topic I found on the subject so far.

Kerrminator -- any chance you can post pics of your finished product?

I had an NCRS guy over on my property this week to look for potential pond sites and he heavily discouraged me from pursuing because there was no good place to create a dam, and he also said because of my spring and soil type (crawfish holes emerging, etc.) that the area would likely be considered a wetland. He said since I had livestock I could likely get a "livestock" exemption to do something, but would still likely require permits and some sort of wetland mitigation. Anything associated with the word "mitigation" sounds expensive to me, so I am abandoning the idea of a pond for the moment.

Instead the NCRS guy said I could likely take advantage of a state cost-sharing program that would help me either dig a well or potentially enhance the spring. He said he could work up a plan to enhance the spring, but I haven't pursued that yet. He cautioned against trying to use a backhoe on the spring or downslope areas as it might cause erosion, etc. I'm not sure if he was just being conservative so as to not have me disturb the wetland. But I like the idea of small pools, and creating a better flow as I have the same issue as Kerrminator in that the area gets rather boggy. I can see merit in preserving large wildlife wetland refuge areas, but I question the merit of imposing severe restrictions on small private land owners for the sake of a few crawfish. The NCRS guy said he once saw a soil conservation guy declare an area as small as 20' x 20' an official wetland area.

If I start on my spring project, I'll likely start another thread with more details and pics.

Sorry for my rant.

Dave