small shallow pond or puddle need advice

I am wanting to make a small area say 15' wide and 100' long or so that is only 6"-1' deep. I am wanting to run a hose to it and fill it up with water and keep it full. I am doing this to make a watering hole for doves mainly with hopes of hunting around it this fall. I have a lot of farm land around me that the birds feed in but they don't really have a good watering hole so I was going to try this.

No bigger than it is I figure I could just keep the water going to it and keep it full but I was hoping there was some sort of product I could put on the bottom to seal it.

Obviously what I am doing is way different than the large and nice ponds some of you have but I was hoping I could get some ideas on making this thing hold water. Our soil here does not hold water well. There is a hole about 8' deep and 10' in diameter that was dug to bury some old junk in at my place and last year we had a ton of rain and it filled the hole to the top. We did not get 8' of rain but the location of the hole catches a lot of runoff. Anyway it was completely dry in about 4 days.

Use the search option on top of this page. Input "pond liners". Not sure how much you want to spend on your dove watering hole, but a liner would probably be most effective.

for a hole that size you probably could go to a home depot are lowes and buy a liner like they use to build back yard garden ponds.

Probably the cheapest way is to get a piece of 16 by 100 pvc plastic. Should last about 2-3 years and lots cheaper than a true liner.

http://www.mytscstore.com/detail.asp?pcID=2&paID=1017&sonID=250&productID=1706& zz=35801&x=0&y=0

Bob

Bob's right. The plastic liners available at Home Depot are generally used by painters to lie under their work area. The cost is less than 25% of what you might pay for Firestone Pond Gard. It comes in 6 and 8 ml and various lengths and widths. I've thought about using it to line a pond and then cover with soil to improve water chemistry and prevent UV from breaking down the liner. It's certainly worth consideration. Durability and UV resistance vs. cost would be the determining factor.

You all are correct. I sell garden pond products and my 45mil EPDM liner with a 20year warranty will be a great deal more money. Cost will be $839 + shipping. Weight will be approximately 400#. On top of that you would want to have an underliner for about $300.

If you use the PVC keep in mind if it is not protected from UV, it will shrink 15% per year. I would also recommend using old carpet or something underneath it to protect it from the roots and rocks

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. I think the stuff at Home Depot is just what I am looking for. No roots or rocks to worry about. The place I am going to put it is in the middle of a farm field.

bdog,

Dove like to keep their feed dry when getting a drink. They prefer a gravel bed slightly sloping to the water.

Good luck,

The plastic film from TSC listed above is the same material I use to cover large round hay bales to keep the weather off. It is very brittle when cold. I have not figured out where Bdog is located, but I think this plastic in a shallow water filled ditch would be toast if the water froze - uneven expansion between the ground and water would just rip it up.

If you don't need to worry about freezing it might last a couple of years. You should be able to pick up enough to cover your 15'X100'X6"-12" hole for under $50.

I am in the Texas Panhandle - Lubbock area. It does freeze here.

I am not really trying to do something permenant, just cheap and effective for 60 days. Thanks for the tips on the gravel. I was thinking that as well.

If you really want dove to use the water hole, make sure they have somewhere to roost(dead tree, power lines, ect.) near the hole. They feel safer when they can scope out their surroundings. Also make sure you have at least 10 feet bare ground around the banks. They like wide open spaces to see predators.