Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Small Spring Feed Pond

Our property is a 2 acres lot in a subdivision with a perennial stream that never runs dry. The property adjacent and North has an 8 acre pond. 20 years ago the damn was fortified and backed up a lot more water (now 8 acres) Following construction of the damn, under-ground water found its way to a grove of trees in a low section of our property and killed all the trees. The previous land owners installed french drains with limited success, draining the excess water to the creek, it only trickles out of one pipe and the other two no longer drain. The ground stays soft with moisture and only water hungry plants grow , the ground is sinking, slightly in this area. It is 150' circumference. I intend on digging up the drains and establishing a small water feature 150’ round pond. I bought a backhoe attachment for my skid steer and dug a 3’ deep x 3’ long hole. In 36 hours the hole was completely filled (no rain) 1 foot from the surface. The soil is 90+% clay. I’m certain the pond will hold water but I’m concerned I won’t get enough flow to keep the pond clean. Is this an issue? Should I go through with my plans?

Hello Willowbend and welcome to Pond Boss. Hang on and one of the experts will be along to help you out.

I think that depends more on how deep it is and the contour of the pond, and some other factors that I never quite understand. I have two shallow ponds/wetlands less than 5 feet deep. The upland one is spring fed and field-tile fed with very little run-off getting in. The lower one is fed by the upper one and some additional field tiles with little runoff getting in. The tiles run under non-tilled acres. The upper pond is almost always clear and full of water plants. The lower one never clears completely and has very few water plants. They are only a couple years old, so I am waiting to see how they mature. Last year my real pond (10' max depth, 1 acre) was cloudy almost the entire year but has been pretty clear in the past, and is clear again this year. I think its gremlins.

RAH, Did you dig your ponds? My 3deep x3x2 test whole is clear after 24 hours. It is probably in 100% clay. Another concern is that in this hole there is an oilish/clay colored film on top of the water, I skimmed much of it off last night and it was back this morning. I did however only dig this on Saturday. I assume I must have some way of draining the surface water off through a vertical pipe at water height. With so little water comming in, (3/4 full in 24 hours) do you think it is going to be a swamp rather than a pond?

willowbend -Welcome to the forum- glad you found us.
Your idea is a good one -What else could you do with that area?
Do you have any surface runoff or will all the water come from seepage?

Yes you will have to have some sort of spillway to drain the water when the pond is full.