Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Dam maintenance

I recently purchased property that had been laying out for 37 years, there are two ponds on this place of which the larger has trees growing on the backside of the dam. The trees are Pecan and Elm. My question is how to remove them, should I cut them and let the stumps rot or should I take them out with a track hoe?

Hoe's are generally the most expedient route...


BTW, I'm talking about the dam repair, and most folks i think would agree that using a hoe is the best way to guarantee the tree "parts" are gone for good and not part of a problem that continues on afterwards.

You'll have to follow the tree roots to get them all out on trees that are over 4" dbh (diameter breast height). Any trees larger than that have roots that are large enough when they rot they could compromise the dam.

Hi Monty - welcome to the forum! This is a great question that many of us face. Scott's right, the general rule of thumb I learned from Theo is over 4", leave them be. Good news is you have growth on the backside, not the front side, which made mitigate some of the issues. I'm sure some experienced soil and dam guys will be along shortly to enlighten us.

Please tell us more about your ponds, your goals, and how you found us. Again, welcome aboard, you just found the best source of free, expert information on Earth for Pond Management!

TJ