Upstate Newb - 05/18/04 01:43 AM
Hi everyone,
I just stumbled across this site. It's just what I've been looking for.
I'm in Upstate New York and am starting to play with the idea of putting a pond in. I've read a lot of the posts on the site and gotten some ideas, but still have a few questions. Just for reference I'm thinking of a 40 X 60 pond. I have no outside source of water (i.e. stream). I wouldn't mind being able to support fish but that's not my main goal. Mainly want it for the visual aspect and for the kids and dogs to play in and around.
This past weekend just for "fun" I dug out a "hole" (the kids call it our pond) that's about 6' diamater and 5' deep at the deepest point. About 2.5' down I hit pretty dense clay. I hit ground water at about 5' and now have about 8" of water in the deepst part. I'd love for this "hole" to be the start of one side of the pond and for it to reach back into the lot (there's a gradual slope towards the back of the lot). I picked this spot to play around with because I have an 8" drain pipe running from my driveway dry well that allows rain overflow to be carried off into the back away from the drive. I thought this would be a nice extra source of water for my "hole".
So...my questions...
1. I assume if I have a good clay content I wouldn't need a liner. Is there a good way to know this for sure? Would I just dig more holes (with an auger this time) to see if I have clay everywhere I want to lay the pond out? Is there a way to have the clay analyzed?
2. Is having ground water enough? For instance the ground water I hit with my hole I don't think will ever rise above the leve it is at now. What good is ground water if it only fills up the bottom couple feet of my pond? Will rain water fill the rest? Or do you fall back on filling it with outside water from time to time? Are there people who will come in and dig holes down to try to hit a spring or larger water source? Do I have to worry about messing up my well? It's a 300 foot drilled well.
3. Can anyone give me an idea what a 40 x 60 foot pond would cost to dig out? If I have to dig down to hit some groundwater, I figure it's going to have to be at least 10 feet deep in the middle. I will probably keep the dirt and just push it into the back of the lot. Maybe make some hills for the kids to play on in winter.
I know I have a lot of questions. Just trying to decide if this is something I can afford right now or need to wait on. I'm not really able to spend a lot of money on this, but would like to pursue it if it's not too bad.
Thanks for any answers anyone can provide.
I just stumbled across this site. It's just what I've been looking for.
I'm in Upstate New York and am starting to play with the idea of putting a pond in. I've read a lot of the posts on the site and gotten some ideas, but still have a few questions. Just for reference I'm thinking of a 40 X 60 pond. I have no outside source of water (i.e. stream). I wouldn't mind being able to support fish but that's not my main goal. Mainly want it for the visual aspect and for the kids and dogs to play in and around.
This past weekend just for "fun" I dug out a "hole" (the kids call it our pond) that's about 6' diamater and 5' deep at the deepest point. About 2.5' down I hit pretty dense clay. I hit ground water at about 5' and now have about 8" of water in the deepst part. I'd love for this "hole" to be the start of one side of the pond and for it to reach back into the lot (there's a gradual slope towards the back of the lot). I picked this spot to play around with because I have an 8" drain pipe running from my driveway dry well that allows rain overflow to be carried off into the back away from the drive. I thought this would be a nice extra source of water for my "hole".
So...my questions...
1. I assume if I have a good clay content I wouldn't need a liner. Is there a good way to know this for sure? Would I just dig more holes (with an auger this time) to see if I have clay everywhere I want to lay the pond out? Is there a way to have the clay analyzed?
2. Is having ground water enough? For instance the ground water I hit with my hole I don't think will ever rise above the leve it is at now. What good is ground water if it only fills up the bottom couple feet of my pond? Will rain water fill the rest? Or do you fall back on filling it with outside water from time to time? Are there people who will come in and dig holes down to try to hit a spring or larger water source? Do I have to worry about messing up my well? It's a 300 foot drilled well.
3. Can anyone give me an idea what a 40 x 60 foot pond would cost to dig out? If I have to dig down to hit some groundwater, I figure it's going to have to be at least 10 feet deep in the middle. I will probably keep the dirt and just push it into the back of the lot. Maybe make some hills for the kids to play on in winter.
I know I have a lot of questions. Just trying to decide if this is something I can afford right now or need to wait on. I'm not really able to spend a lot of money on this, but would like to pursue it if it's not too bad.
Thanks for any answers anyone can provide.