I have questions about the practice of rimming ponds.
One thing I would like to determine is roughly how much difference rimming makes in controlling aquatic weeds. Can you expect to get only 10% of the weeds you would have in an unrimmed pond, or 50%? I know it all depends, but I'm looking for a generalization here.
If a rimmed pond does succeed in being low maintenance with regard to aquatic weeds, what is the maintenance like for land weeds around the shoreline? Would it be as easy maintaining the dry portion of a gradual embankment or is it easier?
If you have a perfectly functioning rimmed bank, what happens if your water level drops 2 or 3 feet and stays in that range for many months, or even a few years? What happens on the exposed rim and how do you maintain it? How does it look? Does it have an effect on fishing from the shoreline?
Then there's the question of diversity. How does a pond that goes from 3 to 12 feet deep compare to one that goes from 0 to 12 feet? I would think that the additional habitat in the 0 to 3 foot range would add a very large degree of diversity. Obviously it adds diversity concerning aquatic plants, but how does that compare to the diversity it adds to animal life? What cost is there to the pond in giving up that habitat for the goal of reducing maintenance?
I would like to hear from people who own or manage ponds where the bank is rimmed and this has created a low maintenance situation with respect to both land and aquatic weeds. These same ponds should also look good because I think aesthetics matter to everyone to some degree. In other words, I'd like to hear some success stories about rimmed ponds.
I'm also curious if some people have gradual embankments and feel that they don't have excessive maintenance issues.
