Hello Forum, new member here seeking help. The level of a spring fed pond nearest the farmhouse has started dropping while all the other 5 or 6 ponds on the property further from the house and the spring fed stream about 75' from the pond are all full and or flowing better than ever. So I'm looking for thoughts on why it might be happening as I have no solid leads. I'm completely at a loss. I will try to keep this posting as simple as possible so pls ask any clarifying questions needed though I'm not sure I can give much more detail. All the ponds are essentially spring fed with a white overflow pipe that goes to a stream. They all seem to be clay bottomed and the ground seems to be clay.

I'm in MD. Last year we had a terrible drought. All the crops died, but my spring, springhouse and the pond downstream that's now almost drained were all totally full all last summer. This year has been one of the wettest in memory yet my springhead that has been flowing for a couple hundred years has essentially dried up and the pond now has only 2' of what use to be 7' of water. The only thing I can think of is that an underground water line that was run up to a barn from behind the house could have disrupted water flow just under the surface as it is a bit uphill though still 100+ feet away from the springhead. There's no obvious animal holes and the spring has been fine and flowing for at least the past 6 decades (neighbor's memory). Can anyone give me ideas of what might be going on or what to look for or who might be a good person to call locally to take a look to see if they can figure out what happened?

Many thanks in advance!

Wow, that is a bummer. Something has disrupted your source of water for sure. It could be the installed water line just damned it up and wound up diverting it, who knows? Any chance of probing either side of that ditch to see if water has backed up?

It is also possible there is new construction nearby, or culvert roadway cleanup that has hit that water table and drained your supply.

Thanks for the thoughts. The only construction I know of in a mile or more is my water line trench. And the line runs right behind the house, basically the length of the house, yet the cellar is no more damp than normal so I'm guessing the water isn't backing up. If anything maybe the ground water is now following the trench away from the spring head? But that doesn't seem reasonable either as the trench was only 3.5' to 4' deep and 18" wide and was packed and repacked.

Would love to hear war stories of others experiencing a mysterious draining of their ponds and what the reason/fix ultimately was. Thanks!

We live on an old farm where there is an outside hand pump well that was used to furnish the water for the house. A little further from this there was always a wet spot for mowing. Our barn is approximately 500' from the house. I did work around the barn one summer, which included putting new drains in for the gutter systems. I hit a bit of a wet spot and just made an adaption to the drain to let that go into the pipe so it would keep everything dry in the area. Later that year, I noticed the wet spot at the house all dried up, and has been dry ever since. Just goes to show that yes, it can happen.

Fresh dug dirt is almost always more porous that any ground around it, even with some packing. Water will follow the most porous route. Along this trench that you dug, is there any soft, damp spot. If so, you might start there and follow it to where it is coming from in the undisturbed earth. You then might be able to bridge the water across the trench with a pipe. Were you there when the trench was dug, and did you see any water? Is this a spring that used to flow year round?

How about house wells. Anybody put one in recently?

By the way, welcome to PONDBOSS. With as many ponds as you have, I am sure you have found a good place for their care.

Thanks for the great reply. I was there when the trench was dug and there was no obvious water or wet spot I saw, but great question. It was open for a little bit so if it was going to be rerouting ground water I probably should have seen something. But I didn't, which makes this even more perplexing. And no new house wells either. I did just get the number of a farmer down the road who might be able to give me some insight. But would still love to hear from anyone that might have a suggestion. Thanks again!