cleaning up the pond and making some improvements - 08/28/14 08:21 PM
I have a one acre pond that over the years started filling in with silt, cattails and more recently water lily. It's deep enough to be used for a swimming hole but it's a favorite target for river otter that come up from a nearby stream and so I don't think I'm going to ever keep anything but the smallest minnows and frogs.. fish are not in the cards for me.
I hired a dozer and excavator and in two days had the pond drained and the bottom scraped. It's approx 12-15 feet deep in most areas now. There's a dam on the one side of the pond. To drain the pond the excavator opened/breached the dam. The opening is approx. 6 feet wide and will remain open during renovations.
Next up is to make some improvements. I'd like to address a ongoing silting problem. There's a small brook that is the main feeder to the pond... there's also two springs that source some water to it. Silting is evident in the area where the brook enters the pond. During heavy rain and in the spring the brook does carry quite a bit of water and it's likely when the heaviest silting occurs.
The brook meanders through a stand of trees right before it enters the pond and there are some deep pools where the water has a chance to slow up and settle. I plan to get it there with a small excavator and enlarge and deepen these pools and build up the area where the brook enters the pond with some various grades of stone.
The shape of the pond approximates a triangle. Two of the sides have steep drop offs. The other side is where the brook and springs enter. It's on this side I plan to put in some gravel and sand for people access. Northern New England ponds are known for leaches. I'm also looking at a floating dock to anchor off on of the deep sides.
Lastly, I'm considering some kind of sluice pipe and valve to be positioned in the slot that was made in the dam to drain the pond. I think such a thing exists???? My thinking is that a sluice may provide a mechanism to clean out some of the muck and silt that will inevitably accumulate over time. Above this, I plan to install an overflow pipe.
Has anyone had experience with a sluice pipe and valve? If so, was it fabricated locally or did you purchase it from a retail supplier? What diameter should I be considering for the sluice and overflow pipes?
Thanks in advance for any advice and or suggestions.
http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz215/keegsbucket/pond.jpg
http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz215/keegsbucket/photo1_zps030a8b30.jpg
http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz215/keegsbucket/photo2_zpsaf189154.jpg
I hired a dozer and excavator and in two days had the pond drained and the bottom scraped. It's approx 12-15 feet deep in most areas now. There's a dam on the one side of the pond. To drain the pond the excavator opened/breached the dam. The opening is approx. 6 feet wide and will remain open during renovations.
Next up is to make some improvements. I'd like to address a ongoing silting problem. There's a small brook that is the main feeder to the pond... there's also two springs that source some water to it. Silting is evident in the area where the brook enters the pond. During heavy rain and in the spring the brook does carry quite a bit of water and it's likely when the heaviest silting occurs.
The brook meanders through a stand of trees right before it enters the pond and there are some deep pools where the water has a chance to slow up and settle. I plan to get it there with a small excavator and enlarge and deepen these pools and build up the area where the brook enters the pond with some various grades of stone.
The shape of the pond approximates a triangle. Two of the sides have steep drop offs. The other side is where the brook and springs enter. It's on this side I plan to put in some gravel and sand for people access. Northern New England ponds are known for leaches. I'm also looking at a floating dock to anchor off on of the deep sides.
Lastly, I'm considering some kind of sluice pipe and valve to be positioned in the slot that was made in the dam to drain the pond. I think such a thing exists???? My thinking is that a sluice may provide a mechanism to clean out some of the muck and silt that will inevitably accumulate over time. Above this, I plan to install an overflow pipe.
Has anyone had experience with a sluice pipe and valve? If so, was it fabricated locally or did you purchase it from a retail supplier? What diameter should I be considering for the sluice and overflow pipes?
Thanks in advance for any advice and or suggestions.
http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz215/keegsbucket/pond.jpg
http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz215/keegsbucket/photo1_zps030a8b30.jpg
http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz215/keegsbucket/photo2_zpsaf189154.jpg