Thanks for the comments Brian. Very good point. Maybe trouble free was a strong request. I just want to avoid any major catastrophes. Fortunately there don't seem to be any structures downstream, it's mostly timberland.
Maybe a better plan would be to find someone that is experienced with man made ponds that would be willing to do an inspection of it for me prior to purchase. I think I can find pond construction companies in the area but are pond inspections a service that these folks commonly provide, for a small fee of course? Like you mentioned though it may be near impossible with the pond full and there may be reasons someone might not want to give their blessing to a pond they didn't build for liability reasons.
As far as depth, I've noticed on a few websites, including on SC dept of natural resources, pond depth is only recommended up to 6-8 feet. This has to do with the amount of DO in the water greater than 8 feet and the possibility of turnover that can cause kill off. I've been reading up on here peoples ponds being 15-20' or more. Maybe those kind of depths are only necessary in areas that are susceptible to freezing over.
