I live on an approx 2 acre, stocked (LMB, Bluegill, Catfish,) pond within a subdivision in Illinois. One of the properties on the lake has a damaged retaining wall... the contractor needs to draw the pond down about a foot to repair the wall properly. The upper end is shallow, about 1 to two feet, the lower end is approx 8 - 10 feet. Was wondering if a temporary drawdown would cause any significant negative effects to the pond? We would let the run off refill the pond. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Drawdowns are a common water management tool. It concentrates the crowded prey fish allowing predators to consume a lot of the spring summer crop of small fish. It also helps control some of the shallow submerged weeds.

During droughts my pond can go down a foot. It fills right back up when the rains comes. I dont see you having a problem there. Hope it works for ya.

No expert here, but might be best not to draw down when temps are hot. Could be stressful on fish.

A draw down might also be a good time to consider digging out the shallow end if that 1 to 2 feet is very extensive. Not expert advice on my part, but free just the same.