Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations DFW REPORT --SITE SELECTION--BMR

Below is the second in a series of reports to forum members of the DFW PondBoss meeting by ewest and edited by Bob Lusk. More to follow.

SITE SELECTION --- BMR

Once you have an understanding of the basics {Water , Dirt and Light} it is time to start thinking about your very own pond. Notice that I said start thinking about, not start building . The old adage “Look before you leap” is very good advice, only in this context it should be “ Think before you act” . Whether you are going to buy land and build a new pond or buy land with an existing pond, your upcoming decisions deserve careful thought. Moving dirt or building a dam is not the same as creating a pond or sculpting an existing pond. The difference is stark, like night and day different. A person with knowledge of operating heavy equipment can move dirt but isn’t necessarily qualified to create or renovate a pond. It is like trying to compare a house painter to a great artist like Picasso. Pond building is an art ,a vision backed with math and science. Knowing how to put all these things together is where your objectives meet your site through experience and vision.

The process of selecting a piece of land for purposes of having a pond, whether building or renovating is complex . There are many, many things involved. Way too many for most of us to remember. Even if we have pond experience there are too many factors we may not see or realize are problems. For example, remember when you create a pond you are changing the land, wildlife habitat and sense of place for all time. You may not be able to go back and fix a mistake and if you can it will cost a lot to try to do so. That is where BMR comes into play.

What is BMR? It is a way to remember that to create or renovate a pond you need expert help. Even if you can operate the equipment you need expert help . You can still do a lot of the work but with expert help. The important thing is to do your thinking and planning with the ideas and power of many brains especially the ones that have done it before and are experts in the process and this all takes place before the land is purchased. Pre-planning is critical. Another adage, if you don’t have the time {ability} to do it right the first time you can be sure that you will have to do it over. It’s not what you know that hurts, it’s what you don’t know.

Start pre-planning with goals of what you want your land and pond to be and write them down. I cannot list or include in this report all of the thousands of potential questions and ideas that may arise. They are as many and as different as there are pieces of land and types of dirt. Start with your goals and go get BMR.

What does that mean? I will tell you—it means go talk to Bob , Mike and Ray .

BMR – Ray Scott has a set of tapes {PondBoss has them} that cover the topic in detail , Bob Lusk can guide you through your pond goals and has knowledge of what is possible and where to look , Mike Otto has the skills , experience and vision to "create" your pond and to tell you if it can be done and where.

What are some things to think about :

Will the dirt work —sand or clay — acid or base— cores and samples to analyze

Fix soil problems — acid/base,lack of nutrients
or clay

Elevations—is there a place to put the pond and
where

Will you have enough water—rain and drainage area

Recreation---swimming , piers , beaches , house
locations

Wildlife habitat – it will change forever

Trees and plants – what to leave both in and out
of the pond

Pond bottom contours and structure—how much and
where

The dam – size , design and building

The water control system---outflow and overflow

Plans – draw them out and go over them with dirt
man until he understands

Can I be there enough to supervise the building

All things fish —type, stocking plan , when , how
and by whom

And on and on —All before you turn the first
shovel of dirt

The same can be said about renovation and enlargement of existing ponds. You only want to move the dirt or silt once if possible. Often it is more cost effective to raise the dam to renovate than to remove silt. This can be done without draining the pond and having to wait a long time for the silt to dry enough for equipment usage. Raising the dam requires a sound existing structure, the proper construction methods and a good seal between the old and new parts. Every time you move the dirt the cost goes up and up. Get the right contractor not necessarily the lowest priced one. When you get a price quote count on adding 25% to get the job done.

When you think you have considered, after expert advice , all the aspects of the plan then stop and think 25 years in the future what will this place be like. Is it what I want and what would I change and plan for it now?

Here’s the bottom line. Decisions you make now will impact land users for several generations to come. These decisions deserve careful thought , pre-planning and expert advice to "create" your dream – your very on pond.

by ewest
edited by Bob Lusk

ewest, thank you so much for these summaries. It takes time and effort on your part and I appreciate it so very much.

Norm :

Thanks for your kind words. I hope that others who were there will fill in the points which I have forgotten. Much thanks to Bob Lusk who even though very busy manages to find time for very valuable editing. The next topic will be Fertility , Food Chain and Fish -- the Power of F cubed. ewest

Well said. I'm finding more and more that it takes a pond builder to create a pond. An awful lot of guys can use a dozer to grub mesquite and build a dam. But they're not pond builders.

It is indeed an art, but an imperfect one. The dam can be properly built but one lousy little streak (future aquifer) of unnoticed sand on the side or bottom can ruin the whole thing.