Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam several newbie questions

1- where can I get this Topo map? What is it used for? I have found a place to buy it but seems like it must be out there somewhere. I am looking for Sanilac county Mi. Not really sure I need it however. the land is very flat and no streams or canals. It is adjacent to a very large river BUT there is a natural 5 foot berm that would keep any run off from having any way to reach it. Also the river is WAY lower than grade at the future pond sight. Probably up words of 30 feet lower. In other words... walking the lot you walk it and it's very flat until you reach a steep hill that runs the length of the lot adjacent to the river. Walk up that small hill and then you would have to walk [ or fall ! ] 30 feet or so down before reaching the river. It's a big river. 40 feet across or so.

2- The pond will be irregular shaped and probably about 1.5 acres. Is this something that could be dug out with a dozer?? I am in construction and own a dozer, front loader, and dump. But... I have never tried to excavate such a large area. Not sure what would be the best approach.

3- I take it most large ponds do not have a liner?? Hope not they are expensive! I see many ponds in this area and I know the soil has a lot of clay. In fact it's wet into mid summer.

4- If no liner is used does the soil eventually get saturated and then hold water with minimal manual filling? There is no creek or anything to fill it and any precipitation would strictly be what lands in it.

5- I am reading here that the pond should be 10 feet deep or so. The first thing that occurs to me is man that is a LOT of soil. Is it generally taken off site or do most people build up walls or otherwise just spread it out in other places. It would seem the pond would look much more natural if it did NOT have a rise is grade before the pond. Plus if the wall ever developed a leak... major mess and potentially make some neighbors not too happy.

6- does the bottom of the pond get smoothed out compacted or prepped in some way to help it hold water better?

7- I keep reading about the 'damn' ???

Thanks!!
Rick

somehow this didn't get put in my first post...

Hey gang you got a newbie here. I have thought of building a pond for a long time. Found this sight and it has been fun and inspiring reading!! I will try and post some pics and layout ect. In the mean time I have a few questions. Thanks in advance!!

Hi Govsux and welcome to Pond Boss. I am no expert so I will stick to a fairly obvious (I exceed at pointing out the obvious) recommendation and that is read as much as you can about pond design and construction before you begin. "THE" Pond Boss, Bob Lusk, has written a great book named "Perfect Pond, Want One?" I highly suggest that you order that. As for your other quesions hang on and one of the experts is sure to be along shortly.

Thanks for joining in and posting, we're glad you found us.

Hi Guvsux,welcome to the forum.Your probably going to get this alot,but,buy the book.Its the cheapest thing you'll ever do in regards to a pond.Its not that someone is selling,its the money you'll save by not making the dumb mistakes alot of us did(insert me here)before finding this site.The dams you here about are ussually for hilly country.
There,thats my serious post for this month.
Oh and be patient,other people that really know what thier talking about will be along to help.

Thanks... I will definitely buy that book! After reading many posts here I find I have more questions than before but that is a good thing! I would rather find out now rather than after I have a huge and expensive mistake!!

The first thing I am going to do is dig a hole 12 feet deep and see what kind of soil it is. I think it's clay because of how it holds water so much. I also recall the Grey slick stuff all over my 4 tires as they where up the axles in when I got stuck! Also there is a guy 1/4 mile down the road that has a large pond so I think I will go ask him a few questions. The first thing I need to know is what entity do I apply for a permit ect. Beyond that I need to know how to finish the hole and what kind of pump and or plumbing I should install to fill and or drain the pond. I gotta get rid of a lot of soil too. I want this pond to look natural so there will not be a big wall around it or not much anyway. God I hate to think how many yards that is!!
RK

This is the general area I want to put the pond. this is in early spring so a high water table. But it stays like this a LONG time so I suspect it might de very well as a pond area. However if I dig down 5 feet and get into sand... not sure what that would mean. Guess I would need a liner. Can't wait to get that book!!

RK

This is the river mentioned. However as you can see it is WAY lower than grade. And you can't see it in the pictures but there is a 5 foot tall berm that run along the top so if the pond ever 'let go' or overflowed or whatever it would NOT be able to reach the river which would seem to be a factor in the permit process because I know if any earth is moved within a few hundred feet of a natural body of water that in itself is another permit. Hope the river doesn't thwart my pond idea. All it takes is one guy with an attitude with some authority to me a real hassle.
RK

Beautiful country side!

No expert here but a couple of points come to mind.
First remove & set aside topsoil.
Second set aside enough clay to line the pond 2' thick.
If you hit sand you can try to dig through it to more clay & if the sand goes too deep compact clay removed previously on top of the sand.
Otto says to ball up some of the dirt (not topsoil) & see if it holds it's shape. Next ball it up & set it in water & see if it still togeather the next day. If so you have good clay for a liner.

On second thought it sounds/looks like you won't have any watershed. Dig a hole & see where you're water table is. If you have no watershed the water table will have to be the main source of water & if you line the pond with clay you'll be cutting off your water supply.
Watertables rise & fall so figure that in the construction of the pond.

Do some testing, digging a hole, balling up soil, shoot some grades, check watershed & come back. Otto will be around when he gets time.

Is it common to have a well and pump with some sort of float to turn the pump on and off to maintain level?
Thanks
RK