Hello all, I am acquiring the 90 acre property in question for a retirement homestead for my parents.. It is located in central NC and has a sandy loam topsoil with clay about 12 inches down (PhC). NRCS has determined that the soils should be good to hold water which is confirmed (I think) by a dip in the uncrowned clay road (you can see the dip on the topo) on the entrance of the property holding water now. I marked on the topo map areas which I thought looked like good sites. "A" is the pond I would like to build first (3/4 acre) and the others can come later down the line. I calculated the dam for Pond "A" to be 200ft. I am looking for some opinions on what you guys think. You wont hurt my feelings if these are not good pond sites or even if you don't think there is a good pond site on the property. Thanks for the help!
Wouldn't pond "C" be a better place to start? It will catch water from the watershed of both A and B, and the dam should be a bit smaller (read cheeper) than the dam for pond A.
Also, the drainage in the upper right area in the back of the property looks like it would catch more water. I understand you will have more work back there, but it will be a better pond because of the trees and topography if I were to guess!
Brian
The one thing is the one thing A dry fly catches no fish Try not to be THAT 10%
Hi Roy, welcome to Pond Boss. The only reason I might suggest "A" is that it is further away from neighbors and that driveway that runs thru your property. It looks like a great piece of property. Good luck. Other more knowledgeable people than me (like Brian) will be checking in later...
Thanks Highflyer, Pond "C" would catch more water but the downside is (sorry, I left this out)that I plan on planting fruit trees below "A" in the hopes that I can gravity irrigate them. If "A" is not feasible or too costly then I will have to rethink that. From what NRCS told me I need 10 acres/1 acre runoff/pond area and I think "A" gets that. Now, just because that is what I would like to do doesn't mean it will work, is economically feasible (or sensible). I am all about cheaper and if "C" is 50% cheaper that would make the decision for me but with a 10% cost difference I would still favor "A". "C" would get runoff from about 50 acres and would probably fill up with a slight mist so that is a positive. I think the back right hand corner of the property would be cool but would also be megabucks. In my mind the perfect setup is something like Sepp Holzer (youtube him) has on his property with the ponds stair stepping down the hillside.
rmedgar, that's kind of my thoughts. I feel like I would get more use out of it among other things which is why I would like to build it first. The driveway to the south will be no longer as it is an old easement that is being abandoned.
