Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site New Pond/Upgrade

Hello All. Like most others I have been reading the PB forum for sometime sine we purchased our new place in south texas just east of San Antonio. The new place has a pond that the last owner/builder dug out about 2 years ago. He had only a few days to dig before the rains came (last big rains here, we are now in a 20 month drought) but he was able to dig out about a 3/4 acre area, one round end with a long channel on the back. The round end (4-8ft deep) had completely dried up over the winter while the deeper channel (15ft+ in some areas) kept water all winter.

The pond is fed by watershed from the pasture which is kept for hay production. I had my doubts about the pond ever filling up again but the first big rain and the pond was full in two days - the overflow could have filled the pond up 5 more times by the end of this spring, and this in the drought.

As of now the pond has lost much of it's water but still mostly covered in the round part - amazing when you figure the hottest summer on record (58+ days over 100, 1" of rain in the last 70 days). The guy who dug out the pond did a great job, and while not a "pond guy" his business is dirt work so I very much trust his judgment.

He has only added a few bait fish to the pond, but no bass.
This spring I have VERY MUCH been enjoying the pond, fishing 3-4 times a week. We assume from swimming up the overflow stream during the rain events the pond has many catfish (no ponds up stream, only pasture that all drains into the pond) . With cat-fishing is boring, just drop a line in the water and pull up a fish - but using a lure is quite fun. Today I also pulled out a 1.5 lb LGM bass, and a few 4" bass from a new shallow area created by the lower water lvl - quite surprising. In a couple areas of vegetation I have pulled up a few perch/sunfish? just 4 - 6" long.

So now to my questions. We are (this week) renting an excavator (JD 200D model w/42" bucket) and expanding the pond. Like I said, we really enjoy the pond - and the time is right for the expansion ($$ & free time & Neighbors help and equipment) We are going to widen the channel end of the pond as much as time will allow on a one week rental. I hope to double the size of the pond or more. Our property has a few tanks dug out for cattle, all of which hold water without any treatment. One neighbor dug out a cattle tank and hit a spring - tank filled up by the next morning and he could never finish it. The well for the house hit water at 15ft down and our other neighbor has a 20 acre pond that is fed by an artisan spring (free flowing) water source. The ground is clay, and my neighbor (the dirt work guy) has years of experience doing this type of work - I am confident in our 'best laid plans'.

One plan is - after the new area is dug but before it is connected to the existing pond - take the excavator to the center/deepest area of the new dig - then dig straight down as deep as it will go. If we dig the new area to 12 - 15 ft, then dig straight down the machines reach is 21ft. Together it could be 33 - 37 ft or more. The idea is to hopefully hit a spring in the area. If we can luck into that - get some large tube - drill it full of holes and drop it in the dug-out hole and fill it full of gravel. If we hit nothing then we fill the hole back in with the same dirt and just wait till spring/fall for the rain.

What do you think about the search of a spring idea?

I WILL post pics of the pond now and construction. Sorry long post. Thanks yall!

BTW- I have been testing the pond with "pool test strips" for the last sevrl months - thanks to this forum.
The PH might be high. The strip only goes up to 8.5 and the tester shows the pond to be "off the chart", but I am dubious about the testers performance.
When I find my notebook I will post the alkalinity test results, but they were within the pool testers limits. After consultation
with my neighbor we are not gong to lime. The soil survey for the pond area is "wilson clay loam" - I assume that is surface soils as the survey pertains to building structures. My trusty neighbor and visual evidence tells me that most any hole arroundhere will hold water - kinda rare from what I read on the PB forums. Sorry long/ramble again.


Current Pond


Pond from front


From end of channel looking to the front, expansion area is to the left


Image from right (high) side of channel. Digging out other side.



Expansion plans.

Welcome to the forum! Great looking current pond and I like the addition ideas... I'll defer to the experts on what/how you should do.

Searching for a spring is a lousy idea. Unless it is artesian, it will not push water but stay at that level. If the water table drops, it will draw pond water into that aquifer.

I like the idea of water from a spring, and it seems to be a real possibility in this area according to my neighbors whom have lots of property here - but I am not counting on it. If we waste a couple hours time in a fruitless effort, that will not bother me. Thanks for the feedback Dave.

New Question: Is it a good idea to have an island in the pond?
Maybe something 10' - 15' across?

And/Or would it be good/better to build more channels in the pond instead of expanding the existing channel into a larger area? Maybe make the pond in a "W" or three finger shape?

Is it not better to have more shoreline if my ultimate goal is to have a better habitat for fish?

Thanks.

Islands cause the pond the be shallower... You need a lot of area to built up an island. Something to consider... In a large pond, that may not be an issue. In a smaller one, it can really affect the maximum and mean depths of the pond. Some members have built some VERY cool floating islands though. Shoreline is definitely good... If not an island, I small peninsula may be a better option?

Dogpond, hitting a deep spring can actually be disastrous. Springs at the bottom take water take but don't give. The water never rises in the pond due to the spring unless it is under pressure. When a dozer guy hits a spring, they attempt to cover and pack it until it is permanently sealed off. Sometimes that doesn't work very well.

Like my land in Montague County, Gonzales County is not real well known for dependable rainfall to replenish the water table. Or maybe I'm wrong about that.

I've done what you are talking about on a small forage pond that I was deepening and expanding. By about the end of June it starts going dry as the spring takes the water that is above it's level. I've never been able to repack it using either bentonite or clay.

Think of it this way. Generally a spring is an aquifer or sand seam underground that holds water above rocks or clay or ..... Somewhere, aquifers have to be replenished by rain that seeps down. Your pond would be the water source that recharges the spring.

You might consider having a well driller do a test hole to determine the water depth, GPM, and free height.

If you are the luckiest man in the world, he'll drill into an artesian aquifer!

WELCOME TO THE FORUM GLAD YOU FOUND US.
There is nothing better than a good spring to keep a pond full.
But like Dave said it can also be your worst nightmare.
Trust your dirt guy and look to the neighbors..
Good luck keep us posted.

I am reevaluating the dig for a spring idea. The first day of my week long expansion project and I am beat. Got a good start. A massive hole at the end of the pond and tomorrow we are going to break the seam of the pond and drain into the new hole to allow easier removal of material at the edge of the existing pond. Once it is all done we can get in and connect the new overflow hole with the pond so it all becomes one body of water. When the pond partially drains it will separate into two area, I expect to lose some of the mudcats and GSF. Hopefully it will leave some areas dry enough for the pier to be built.

Like everyone has said, digging is easy - it is the moving dirt that slows you down. Fortunately we have no timeline for moving the dirt off site, only off the project area. But as with moving anything it is just about as hard to move it 1 foot as it is to move it 50 feet. Another thing that is kind of a pain is fuel. As I am out in the sticks the only guy that would come out wanted $75/hr just for the delivery (about $200). So I spent an hour today just hauling and loading 5x 5GAL fuel cans - not too bad.

I will have to post some video of my neighbor in his bobcat. Drove that thing down a near vertical wall of the dig into the 16ft hole - scared the S out of me just watching. Just a few pics today. The Mrs. took them in the evening. Thank you all for the shared wisdom and helpful advice, it is much appreciated.












Got an aerial of the pond as it is now:

dogpond, thanks for posting progress photos and an update. These types of projects are fun for the rest of us to follow along!

Day 4 of the expansion project, this thing is killing my back.
I would guess the enlargement is about 50% of the original pond so far, maybe more. Once the existing area of the new pond was connected the "round end" of the pond lost most all of it's water except for some small pools. The existing fish were pushed around the pond quite a bit as we broke open the connector walls (I will post video soon). It was like watching salmon swim up stream in a river for just a few min.

The amount of material is simply amazing. Constantly moving it makes you feel like your swimming in dirt all the time. It probably would have been more efficient to rent a dozer at the same time. Instead I will probably get that in a week or two to spread the dirt out. We have a bit more expansion to do then we will probably spend the remaining time with the excavator pulling dirt away from the sides of the pond (expecting rain, we'll see) and dredging out some existing areas of the now drained end of the pond.

I don't know that I would call the project "fun". When I look at all that dirt it's actually kinda depressing thinking of the work remaining BUT I can also see the future now. Feeding the fish, casting a line, watching the pups swim, drinking a few beers and laughing at all the work it took to get the pond where we wanted it.

I have had fun operating the excavator. I am not very good, and watching my neighbor the pro is amazing - driving that thing up and down the dirt piles and into the dug out pit to clean it up was a wild sight. I also tried my hand at the bobcat - not fun at all. It might be more stable than the excavator, but it constantly felt like you were going to flip over on every lil' hill - not to mention the claustrophobic conditions and all the noises in that compartment that sound like impending doom. Just a short while on that equipment brings a quick appreciation to the talents of a skilled operator. I will be paying my pro with a smile on my face.

Ok- off to haul more fuel. I wondered why none of the rental places knew how much fuel the excavator used in an hour - TONS!! I think none of them wanted to say.