Hello everyone,

This is my first post here and I am glad this forum exists. I have recently(7 months ago) moved to a place on over 10 acres with a pond at the back of the tract. I live East of Norman, OK. The pond is not fed by a spring but is fed mainly by wet weather streams and run off. I have noticed that the water levels have been declining since I moved here and am wondering if there is anything I can do to help this. Because the water level has fallen so much I walked around the pond where water used to be and found a large hose with a sort of filter at the end coming out of the pond. What is this hose for? All of the land/ground surrounding the pond is at higher elevation and from areal pictures taken years ago I know it to be a natural place for water to be. I am posting this here to educate myself and to help maintain this pond properly. This weekend I will take some pictures to help aid my question and learning. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

UPDATE: I was doing some reading and have determined that the hose coming out of my pond is the drain or overflow. I am guessing I will need to investigate further to find where the drain leaves or exits the pond. If I find that the drain/overflow pipe or hose has damage, what is recommended? Drain the pond let it dry and repair? Hope not

Just a thought. I dun know how big the hose is or anything about yer layout, but some folks have been known to draw water from their ponds to water livestock, irrigate, etc. It might be something like that as well.

Walt,

First, welcome to Pond Boss. We should be able to give you reasonable answers to your questions.

I was in Edmond a few weeks ago for the 4-inch snow. At that time, all of the ponds and creeks north from Norman/OKC looked pretty low. The approximate 1 acre pond behind my son's place on the north end of Penn sure had a lot of muddy shoreline showing before the snow started.

I'd say drought is certainly part of the problem. But, I would also have to agree Bill D. People don't want their livestock in the ponds for many reasons. So, water is/was furnished to tanks (manufactured tanks -- not like "livestock tanks" in Texas) where the cattle or horses can get water without damaging the pond. With the drought, it may just have drained down to a reasonable level that does not let it suck mud.

Do you have any idea of how deep the pond is below the drain you mentioned? If the drain is several feet below what appears to be "full pool" you should be able to install a different overflow. Just make sure you have a good emergency overflow area.

Pictures and dimensions would be very helpful to determine a reasonable course of action.

Ken

I

Post a few pictures if possible,

Sorry guys...I forgot my password for a while apparently and work has been so busy. Another UPDATE: Bill D. hit it on the head. The hose I was seeing was leftover from firefighters fighting a wildfire a few years before I moved here. Friend of mine pulled on it hard enough to dislodge it from the pond bottom. Those of us in Oklahoma and Texas, all the recent storms and rain(19 inches in less than 30 days c'mon!) I now have a huge 3 acre pond. I also now have a huge problem that I will post a separate question about...All this flash flooding has caused some overtopping and can see erosion damage starting to form on top of the dam. I will post a new question here in a few minutes. Thanks everyone, love the website and glad I remembered my password