Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Just starting site selection

Hi all, great site. Just found it so I am reading and learning. Check out the pictures of my proposed site and let me know what you think. http://picasaweb.google.com/westie76/PondProject

The pro's for this site for my 1.3 acre pond are: it is near my house, it is naturally sloped and will require minimal digging, there is a large amount of good clay nearby if needed and the coolest part is the water will come up to the edge of my driveway so I can bulkhead it and make it look awesome. The con's are I am not sure if the watershed is enough to keep it full if we have a drought like last year (although there is a well nearby if needed). I have other sites to choose from but they would require much more work (and $) and are not close to my house but they do have creek water 7 or 8 months a year.

Anyone know of someone here in southwest virginia (Christiansburg) that can come out and evaluate this site? Thanks for any comments or suggestions. Jeff.

You can't really evaluate the sites potential without a topo map. Will there be any problem with the water coming up to your driveway and the possible/perenially wet ground?

I don't like the idea of a creek fed pond. You get a lot of trash during heavy rains and trash fish in the pond.

Howdy, jeff. Welcome to the forum.

Slope looks good to get a decent volume of water without having to remove too much dirt (my 2nd pond only had 5 feet of elevation change - we had to remove a lot of dirt to get any depth). Like DD said, a topo map will go a long way towards answering the watershed questions - if you can post one, we can help analyze.

Permanant water right next to the driveway can be problematic. If you don't have a real good, solid base below the driveway, it could slough over towards the pond every time a vehicle goes past. This configuration is doable - we have a couple of member (at least; Bob Lusk comes to mind) with driveways next to the pond, but IMHO the roadbed needs to more aggregrate than a dry location would to be stable. I would want to oversize the drainpipe to minimize water backing up over the gravel, too.

Jeff
Glad you found the FOURM.
Your project will be made successful before you move a yard of dirt, just the way you are doing PLAN ASK QUESTIONS MAKE ADJUSTMENTS.

All water levels fall in dry conditions, you need to know that and plan for it.

How many acres drain into the pond?
What is the average rain fall in THE GREAT STATE OF VIRGINIA?

OTTO

I added my topo map at http://picasaweb.google.com/westie76. I know my drawing is pathetic and not in scale but I hope it is useful. The pond will not be that close to the driveway for there to be an overflow problem. Also the grade is steep enough up to the driveway that the water would be overflowing over the spillway before it could hit the driveway. I cleared some of the topsoil yesterday but not enough to really tell how much clay is under it. I will try to get my neighbors backhoe this week to dig some test holes. Thanks for all the replies so far you guys are awesome. Jeff.

Jeff,

Sounds like you are doing a good job in researching. I plan to start a project like this sometime this year also. Where did you get the topo maps? I went to maps.google (where it appears you are getting them) and my level of detail is much worse than yours.

Thanks,

Dave

Foozle...

Did you try the Google Planimeter? The resolution on that site has been good for everything that I have needed it for.

I didn't know about Planimeter, but the measuring tool is awesome, so thanks! Regarding the topo maps on Planimeter, they are basically the same as the terraserver ones, which once I learn to read better should be adequate. Not as slick as the 3d Google Map ones posted by original poster above, but should be useable.

Thanks!

Jeff
Looks like you are having some fun.The more home work you do the
the better the pond will be.

OTTO