First time poster...thanks for all of the information. Very, very helpful!
We just completed our pond at the end of August. Even with the drought it is slowly filling or at least holding some water.
My question is to see if there is a good way to create a "depth gauge" for me to see from a bit of a distance or from shore to see if the pond is up or down. I can't find anything on youtube. Maybe it is a dumb question, but do I just drive in a piece of 2" or 3" PVC and mark it accordingly? With all of the smart pond people that I have seen on this forum I wondered if there was a "best practice" for doing this.
Do I just drive something into the ground at the current water line at the shore, or go out and develop a baseline depth? Thanks for any ideas!

I have always wanted to try one of these. Castable fish/depth finder that works with an app on your phone. This would allow you to check depth anywhere in the pond you wanted.

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/lowranc...mp;gclsrc=aw.ds

Cheap and easy usually means simple. I would look at a PVC pipe/pole.

I just drove a wooden stake and marked the waterline as a reference point . Mark it or measure to the original notch or mark, then as the water comes up you can move your stake close to shore again( winter the water gets a bit cool). Mostly for weekly changes.

I'm using a T Post

Im using an aluminum surveyors rod that had the first section damaged and unusable, securely tied to a tee post at the bottom, after the pond gets full my plan is to drop a rope noose around it and hopefully be able to remove the whole thing, post and all.

Cheap would be a PVC pipe, file markings into it, then paint the filed markings with nail polish or enamel paint. Without the filing, not much sticks to PVC long term, and marker will fade away within a year. Different colors for different numbers.

Consider making a concrete base for it rather than driving it into the bottom. It can be moved if needed and removed for repairs/modifications.

Also, design it such that freezing conditions do not cause any trouble (if your pond freezes over). It does not take much ice inside a PVC pipe to bust it.

Thanks so much! Good ideas.

Well, I actually ended up ordering one from Amazon for $35....used some "free" credits I had. Somebody out there manufactures them for monitoring streams and ponds. They have several sizes for depth and width and got good reviews. I am going to incorporate the ideas shared. Will fasten it to a post and have the post fastened to a cinder block or equivalent. I guess I will have to establish a "base line" to record current depth and then can judge from there. My pond is shallow where this will be located so I purchased the 4'-8' version. Sorry I am not smart enough to paste a link for reference.