Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Getting started

Hello again to all. I have ten acres of land near the east coast of NC and I'm about to start digging my pond in a couple of weeks. I'm getting some conflicting suggestions on what to do. The land here is extremely flat with clay down to roughly 4-4.5 feet where it becomes sand. My plan was to dig as deep as I could using a backhoe with a 14' reach then shallow up to around 3 feet. Then I was going to try and spread the clay on top of that.

A local excavator operator said not to put the clay back in so the water perking throught the sand will be cleaner than water sitting plus the pond will always stay more full.

Does this sound right or what? I'm open to any suggestions and tips.

Thanks for your help,
Fishguy58

If I was digging in that area, I'd stockpile all that clay off to the side, dig the pond 2' deeper than what I want it to be, and pack 24" of the clay back into the pond in 6" lifts, knitting each lift together and compacting it with a sheepsfoot roller.

Ask that pond builder if he has any concerns of the water level changing in the pond with the water table level changing. If he says not to worry about it, run away fast. Once the pond is dug, he's gone. Ask to see any other ponds that he's dug in the area, in the same soil conditions. Go and take a look at them. Try to look at ponds that vary in age, from 1 to 5 years old. Talk to the owners and ask them what they wish that they'd done differntly, (if anything).

I have a pond dug in sandy soil, into the water table. It could vary as much as 5'-6' in depth (or more) due to the varying water level in the soil. The organisms in the pond will act as filters. If I had clay available, I would have packed it and lined the pond. My pond was dug down to 22' depth, and because of Hurricane Ike, I had a few feet of sand wash down into the pond within a month after it was completed. Now the deepest part of the pond is only 18'-19' deep.

Make sure you have a plan for stabilizing the soil around the pond after the pond construction is complete. Get some grass growing asap to help with erosion. I didn't, and it took me 2 years to get the erosion problem under control. That's how long it took to get a good thick mat of grass growing in the erosion prone areas. I was lucky that I have a tractor with a FEL and box blade to repair the eroded areas. If I didn't, I can't tell you how much it would have cost to fix.

I have to run my well into the pond during the summer to keep the level near full pool. I'm running roughly 25 gpm into the pond 24/7. If I don't, and the farmers fire up their irrigation equipment, the water level will drop 1" per day.

Thanks esshup, I was really wondering about the backfilling with the clay. My future plan is to have an old style windmill pump water into the pond as you do with your well. It may not pump as much as your's does but anything will help.

Thanks again,
Fishguy58

What esshup said. The clay put back as he describes is your friend unless you happen to have a water table that is always where you want your full pool. Rare except in low or wetland areas.
I dug my pond down into the first water bearing sand layer and have been fighting for wter ever since. Have had to add clay and maybe a liner.

Only clay seals a pond. Sand is the stuff of aquifers.

I would find a new pond builder.