Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? 60 y.o. pond repair, question re: drain

I was excited to discover this site, as I have not been very successful in reaching a decision on the type of drain system that will be convenient and reliable. I am planning to drain and repair a levee on a one acre pond which is about 60 years old. I will be digging out the old tile drain pipe.

I would appreciate guidance on this question...

Is the conventional overflow system generally preferred over the siphon overflow system? Seems that the siphoning system could be less reliable simply due to more parts, air leaks, etc. but might be better than conventional because presumably there would be less trash entering/clogging the pipe due to the water intake being under water. This site illustrates both......http://www.ponddampiping.com/conv1.html

Responses are most appreciated. I've been going in circles and need to move forward with the work...

Tanner101 welcome to PB. Glad you joined in.

There is a lot here on both type systems. Both systems work well. A siphon has the advantage of being able to draw down the pond. There are lots of options with both systems.

Got it. Thanks, I'll continue to review the other posts on this subject.

A siphon can also take water from the bottom of the pond, which is better if the pond doesn't have a bottom diffuser aeration system.

On my 17 acre pond, I used a siphon for two reasons. The contractor was strongly opposed to running anything through the dam and I was a little scared about it at that point too. Still might be on one that size. On a 70 year old 2 - 3 acre pond that I drained about 6 years ago and hope to rehab this year, I'll just have a drain in the bottom. On a 3 - 4 acre pond that hope to build this year, I will have a bottom drain and a siphon with a backup pipe drain (no real emergency overflow as shouldn't really need) and dam would also serve as driveway. The bottom drain (keyway already done with pipe put in place) will provide the option to keep it completely drained (we were looking at remodeling a house / building a new hours there and wife concerned about pond proximity if have young kids). It could also work if needed to get rid of water in a hurry too. The siphon would maintain the pond level while taking water off the bottom. The spillway pipe would just handle excess. More expensive using all those options; but specific situation... I already have the pipe, valves, and all the materials... Just...

Rangersedge (others also),

I have been thinking about the bottom drain + siphon idea you mentioned but can't visualize quite how that would work. My plan is to drain (done), repair/rebuild the levee with a new drain system, and then spend the summer grading the banks and removing muck with smaller equipment. Of course, I need to keep the pond drained the entire time. Do you have an illustration of a design that will allow for bottom drain to remain open, and converting to siphon system when I am ready to fill the pond? From my limited knowledge on this subject, seems that there would not be a way to keep the water at minimal levels with a siphoning system which would require water to be at a higher level before it "triggers" the siphon and drains. I've seen the PondDampPiping illustrations of conventional and siphon drains, but it seems you have described something in-between.

Perhaps I am doing things in reverse. Should I simply cut a slot in the levee, removing the old pipe and leaving the levee open would allow me to use the summer to clean and work the sides, then later this fall, fix the levee. Maybe I am getting ahead of myself by trying to repair the levee, install pipe, etc before the other repairs. Feedback appreciated!

Tanner101: Sorry about the slow response. If it were me, I'd leave the levee open until have all the other work done.

Rangersedge, I left the levee open. Definitely the right decision, considering all the work we are having to do in and around the pond, and a very rainy season. It has also given me more time to study different drain designs. Thanks for the reply.