Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam I have inherited 3 ponds and one dam

I've been sentenced elected to the presidency of an HOA here in SW Ohio. One of the 'features' we have is three ponds, upper, middle and lower that are fed by a pump out of a larger lake and flow down one to the other and ultimately back into the lake.

Between the middle and lower ponds is a dam with a decorative waterfall spillway. The dam is concrete, the original spillway was made of large timbers, and when it started going bad a prior board decided to put about three inches of concrete over top of it, solidifying it but raising the pond level. Now, a fewyears later, it had been leaking around one side of the dam and has eroded enough soil to be a problem. On top of that they built a long wooden bridge over the entire causeway.

I've had the county engineer's office and the soil and water conservation folks out. They seem to think we can plug the leak and fill back in, using either bentonite, a rubber membrane or just compacted soil.

My thinking right now is to fix the leak, build up the causeway a little, run a paved path over it and install a much shorter bridge over the dam.

I guess my question is does anyone know of any reputable, experienced firms in this part of thye country that do this kind of work, or how I might go about finding one?

Thanks

Mik

Hi Mik, welcome to Pond Boss. Hang on and one of the experts will be along to help you out.

Oh and sentenced was right! Been there, done that. Never again will I get so abused for free.

Howdy, Mik.

Ryan Freeze or one of the other SW Ahia members may have some pond excavator preferences for you.

Worst case, ask the Soil & Water guys for a list of local pond builders, then politely pressure a recommendation or two out of them. Usually they know who's good, although (IIRC) they aren't supposed to provide reviews. You might ask who they have used more than once for pond excavation/repair/dry hydrant installation demos.

Thanks, guys. I did ask both county agencies for contractor suggestions - they could not recommend, but Soil & Water gave me a few this morning they use. If I can find members around here I'd PM them to ask if they know them.

Jeff, I fixed the abuse thing right away. In our annual meeting shortly after I was elected a resident started in being belligerent about some concern or another. I just let him have it with a torrent of invective on the volunteer nature of HOA boards and that if he wished to address us with that tone he could do so after he started paying us a professional wage for our efforts. Until that time he could keep a respectful tongue in his head or I would personally escort him out of the building and did he understand my position clearly. He did.

The lesson was not lost on the membership. No one yells at my board members anymore.

This sounds like a fun project Post some pictures. Let us know how it is going.

Well said and done Mik.

Thanks all.. I see a lot of Texans here. Anyone around New Braunfels? My closest friend lives out there on the farm roads. No pond, but he's got a sailboat up at Canyon Lake. I get down there once or twice a year. Love it.

I am not close to New Braunfelds but I did stop and look at Canyon Lake a few days ago, or what is left of it. They need some rain.

Mik, I answered your PM before I read your posts. Post some pics if you can.