We have an old pond on our place that generally has a gravel/sandy bottom. The pond is filled via a windmill (when it is working) and it is a dammed portion of a small stream that begins essentially right above the pond. This is the natural drainage channel for a huge area of generally flat prairie.

For some reason the water is extremely murky, I mean if I put a lure in it, I cant see the lure as soon as it breaks the surface of the water.

I have read about using aluminum sulfate, and I have read a little about building sediment traps. I would like some advice on what I might try. The pond is about 1 surface acre and ranges in depth of about 7 feet on up.


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Cattle using it can keep it muddy from their activity. The nutrients from the manure in the water runoff can keep the fertility high creating algae blooms that will reduce water visability.

It may not be practical for your situation, but fencing off the pond to either remove cattle access totally (install a drinker) or reduce their access to a small drinking area will help your pond in numerous ways.

What keeps it stirred up?

Fencing off the cattle is a no-go, I really don't think they are walking through the pond enough to keep it that dirty.

I know the long part of the "T" is very shallow, and wind might be stirring it up in those areas. I plan to dig it out some in the future.

Wind and wave action on a clay bank can definitely add to turbidity. Here is a thread on the subject.

wind and wave action causing turbidity

Its hard to tell from the picture but it looks like even the stream feeding the pond is similar in color. Is the water from the stream and/or windmill cloudy at their source?

As you may have seen from other postings, the recommendation would be to get some water samples in a clear glass jar and leave them sitting for a few days to see if the suspended particles settle out over the course of a few days. If they do, then you are left with finding what is "stirring up" the mud. Based on the picture alone, I would be highly suspicious of the cows even if all they are doing is crossing the flowing stream water.

Best of luck to you. I'm fighting muddy water myself but the cause is obviously muddy run-off from newly cleared land. So I'm just trying to figure out the quickest way to fix that.

Alum will definitely clear the water there, but the stream looks to be the source of colloidal clay. If you look at Google Earth, I will bet you will see several ponds/tanks are muddy along the seam of colloidal clay, with clearer (fertile green) ponds outside the colloidal clay seam...