I am very new to this forum and know nothing about building ponds.
I just bought 25 acres in Morgan County In, about 5 miles South of Mooresville off Hwy 67. It is heavily forested, our land hasn't been logged in well over 50 years and has many large mature trees.
Attached is a rough topo map of the area. The sections in the RED boxes are our property.

It is crossed diagonally by a 100' deep set of ravines. Yes the ravine sides are very steep and will require the construction of trails down to the pond level. There are many ponds in the area, so I suspect the soil will retain water well.
Water from these ravines flows down a few miles to another lake.

We thought it would be a great idea to build a 20' high dam in this ravine and build a pond w/spillway. We would like it for fishing, and general entertainment. We want to encourage wildlife as well.

Here's my first batch of questions?
What am I missing?
How big of a project am I really looking at?
So does anyone know a good pond contractor in this area?
What are the main problems I'm likely to run into on a project like this?

Welcome to PBF Mskomal!

I have a new pond I built before I found PBF. If I could do it over again, I would start by reading Perfect Pond...Want one by Bob Lusk and Just Add Water by Mike Otto. Both books are available in the Pond Boss bookstore. If you want to take a look the bookstore can be found here:

http://www.pondboss.com/store.asp?c=8

There are lots of Indiana guys around that should be able to offer up advice specific for your area.

Again, Welcome!

Bill D.

P.S. I grew up in Rushville if you know where that is...

I'm about 35 miles south of you, also off highway 67. Our ponds are all dammed up ravines, they have held water well for 40 odd years now. I don't have any specific builders in mind, but I would recommend that you try and find a pond builder, not a dirt mover. Ask for references, and talk to those references....see if they are satisfied.

Thx!

Thx! That is encouraging.

Welcome to PB.
Fellow Hoosier here.. I drive by your place on 67 pretty much every week.
Call / visit your local NRCS. See how much help they are willing to give you. If they'll come out and do a site review would be best. Looks like Morgan Co refers you to Johnson Co office.
Franklin Service Center
3059 N. MORTON STREET
Franklin, IN 46131-9662
Phone: 317-736-6822 Ext. 3
Fax: 855-391-1915

There are issues we ran into with steep ravines.
1. Getting soil. We scraped down to bedrock and had to take out forest to get enough. It may not go very far down, meaning you have to bring soil from further away to get the volume.
2. Bedrock. If it's limestone, you're gonna hurt- it fractures so you have to compact clay on bottom.
3. Steep sides. make sure there's something flat around it above water line.. as much around the circumference as possible. Falling/sliding into the drink isn't great. Think about kids on a steep slope to water's edge.. not good.
4. Size. a 20' dam will not create a very large pond. The steeper the ravine, the less acres you get. More than 20' gets you into state regs and cost.
5. Access. You casually mention building a trail down to it. You have to be able to get there. Parts of my property aren't really safe for a 4WD Gator. They have to be able to get dozer/track hoe in there to work too.
6. Trees. Looks like you'll be surrounded. Research effects of tree cover up to the water. pH, leaf litter, sunlight, wind etc. Some clear trees back from the water.
7. Look into water rights/regs on altering stream. Is there full-time runoff through the ravine now? Who controls the water going in? How many acres does it drain?

Thx! The stream is likely seasonal only, but we will see come summer. I hope to have the spring continue on after filling the pond so hopefully there would not be any real loss of water downstream over the long term. Your cautions are noted. In not expecting this to be easy (or cheap)

Something that will help you get an idea of what to expect, is the other ponds in your area. How do they look do they hold water. Do not get in to big of a rush--- it can be as much fun to build as it will be to fish,