I'm in NW Arkansas and am in the planning stage of digging a new pond.

I've gotten input and soil maps from the NRCS and am about to dig test holes in the areas of the pond.

Here's an idea of what the pond will look like... .

It is design for training retrievers, that's why it's an irregular shape with channels, points, etc.

I'd like to provide some information on the type of soil and what I've learned about it to get any input from you guys that might be helpful in making decisions such as depth, etc. based off this info.

The area where the pond will be is PeC Soil type(Peridge).

Here’s what I know about it.

PeC

Depth to bedrock: Greater than 60 inches.

Seasonal High Water Table: Greater than 5 ft.

0-9 inches: Silt Loam

9-42 inches: Silty Clay Loam

42-54 inches: Gravelly Silty Clay Loam

54-74 inches: Gravelly Silty Clay and Silty Clay

Permeability is moderate and available water capacity is high.

I realize this is not the optimal soil type, but I've looked around on the soil map for other ponds there seem to be several ponds in the area built on this soil type that hold water.

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Keith

KeithA :

Does the existing pond hold water well and is its depth comparable ? Are the soils the same over the entire area ? If the answer is yes you should be ok . Just make sure the best clay type soil removed is used to form the pond bottom and dam. Does your expanded site get runoff from the tract to the north with the apparent chicken houses. If so you may have nutrient overload problems to consider.

some thoughts...
First of all, excellent approach digging test holes since soils maps are not always that dead-on accurate...but...as Ewest points out, you also already have a very good test hole to judge by. What is the Plasticity Index for the soil type? (as noted by Bob Lusk in another parallel thread and discussed in an article in Pond Boss...2 issues ago). Who's doin the engineering and gonna push the dirt? Lastly, please indulge me....are they chicken shacks?
Welcome to the show...I'm pretty new here, too...this would be my first exposure to a puppy pond.

Does the existing pond hold water well and is its depth comparable?... It has a leak in the back of the small dam (I've located it), but it will keep about 2 feet of water year round and fill up after a huge rain.

Are the soils the same over the entire area?... The area where the pond will potentially be dug is all PeC (Peridge soil).

Does your expanded site get runoff from the tract to the north with the apparent chicken houses. There's some minor run off behind the dam from the gravel road, but nothing from the Chicken House across the road.

What is the Plasticity Index for the soil type?... According to the Soil Survey from NRCS.... 0-9 inches = NP; 9-26 inches = 16; 26-42 inches = 16. What does this mean?

Who's doin the engineering and gonna push the dirt?... A very experience pond guy here locally.

Lastly, please indulge me....are they chicken shacks?... Tyson Chicken Houses

Welcome to the show...I'm pretty new here, too...this would be my first exposure to a puppy pond.

Thanks, here is what a Retriever Training concept pond looks like when complete...

Also, for what it's worth, I will have access to a double roller sheep's foot that's suppose to have the highest compaction rating for that sized roller.

Keith,
right from the Pond Boss Nov/Dec '05
...they look for soils that have a P.I. between 13 and 30......(now paraphrased): learn the plastic limit (correct amt of water to go from dry to the correct amt for adequate compaction). Next, the liquid limit (amt of water to go from no moisture to mud). The rest is a calc to arrive at the Plasticity Index.

Call the PB office, ask for Cathy, and she will send you a copy. The balance of the article will help (not to mention the entire pub)

I'm assuming 13 being acceptable and 30 being optimal? If so, would 16 be on the low end?

Thanks for the input.

Keith

try this
USDA website

scroll down to Plasticity....well, you know.
You can google it and study until it drives you mad....our friend Bruce Condomello is evidence of similar studies in fish bio.

Thanks.

Keith:

A question about your proximal chicken houses: How are they for smell/dust/flies? I'm wondering if Tyson in Arkansas does a better job than the big egg producers here in Ohio.

Also, about the small structure to the Southeast of the pond site. Is that an outdoor tanning spa for mummies?

The chicken houses aren't as bad as you'd think. If we get a strong North wind you'll get a wif of them, but other than you never smell them. Summer time is bad for flies, but there are a lot of cattle in this area as well. They are bad for a few weeks, then it's all over with.

Dog kennel to the south east.

Theo...I'm tellin' ya....you get me just about every time If you're comin' up with this stuff when you're sober (presumably), what happens after a couple beers?

Keith,

If the soil you have is similar to what is mapped and described (i.e. silty clay) you should have no problem compacting and sealing it.

Remember that the description you see in the soil survey is based on the "Typical Pedon" that the soil survey crew may have had to search and search for. In order to map that series in your county the crew had to find a soil profile (usually 3) that classified correctly in order to map it. If the survey is an older one from the 60's or before, the majority of the mapping may have been done with shallow sampling (30" or so). Many of the old soil surveys were completed with attention to shallow conditions as they affect agricultural uses. Your idea to dig is a good one.

Dirtguy... Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.

Here's the photos of the test holes we dug. Looks like we have good clay (about 2-3 feet of it).

Here's a picture of a clay ball that I rolled up while we were standing around talking...

These are photos of the test holes...