Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Pond Project in North Texas

Hey everyone, my name is Ryan. I'm a member on the TFF and figured I would sign up over here to get some input on a project I have in mind.

The piece of property is roughly 10 acres. There is a creek that runs through the property from the north end of the property to the south end, and under the road (not shown, but the road runs along the bottom of the picture.



Part of the creek is already dug out to about 20-25ft wide (indicated in the right hand picture) and 3-4ft deep. I would like to put a pond somewhere on the property that will be roughly 0.5-1.0 acres. There are three options as I see it.

1) Dig out the creek. I already checked on the legality of such a project and I'm allowed to dam no more than 200 acre feet. So basically, a one acre pond 200 ft deep or a 2 acre pond 100 ft deep etc, which is more than I need. My main concern would be the constant water flow through the pond. Would the high volume of water circulating be healthy for the pond, or would it be bad, in case water is contaminated further up stream and runs down into the pond?

2) Dig the pond on the south part of the property and to the left of the creek.

3) Dig the pond on the north part of the property and to the right of the creek.

Once I have a location picked out, I have a 2nd decision to make.
I have looked into renting the equipment and taking on the project myself. However, I would have to take off work and I don't have much experience with a project like this. Can anyone recommend someone in North Texas that would do a good job? And if anyone could give me an idea as to how much it will cost (roughly) that would be nice too. I'm not as concerned with the price as I am with doing the job correctly. Thanks in advance for any advice that is offered.

Answers to your questions...

1. Constant run through isn't a good thing. It bring in foreign species and takes nutrients out. If you could do it without the constant run through, it would be better. My site is at the juncture of 5 wet weather creek beds. The difference is that the water doesn't constantly run through my creeks.

2 and 3. Put the pond where the land will let you. Look at a topo map or post one here and there will be about 6 people telling you where it should go and how big a pond you could do in a day or two.

4. I am tempted to try and do mine myself. I could do it for about half the cost, but the big question is whether or not I could do it right the first time. Digging a pond is a true mixture of art and science. There are dozer operators who build roads all day long that I wouldn't trust with my pond. If you don't build the dam right, slope the sides right, seal the bottom and sides with enough clay, etc. it ends up being a $10,000 mud hole that breeds mosquitos and no fish. Being in North Texas, call Mike Otto at Otto's Dirt Service. He is tops in the business, and he is one of the main contributors to this site. If he is too busy, I am sure he can recommend somebody in the area. Here is his website:

http://ottosdirtservice.com/default.aspx

I was going to get him to do my place, but I couldn't afford the transportation costs and putting his crew in a hotel for a couple of weeks. If you can get him to do yours, I am very envious.

Thanks for the response. Can you link me to a site where I can get a good view of a topo map for my property?

This is what I used for mine:

http://www.acme.com/planimeter/

You can use this site to plot your spot for your pond, watershed acreage, etc. I am leaving school here in a sec (teacher not student), but I am on this site constantly. I will be able to answer more questions tomorrow if somebody else hasn't already.

Thanks. I'm going to look into Otto. He's only 15 minutes away.

Dang you are lucky. Even if you have to give him one of your kids, he's worth it from what I have heard, and it wasn't from him.

http://www.acme.com/planimeter/

if you point and click it will draw an area for you and give you the acreage of what you hgave traced out.


edit: he beat me too the punch

Ryno

Welcome to the site. We can walk you threw this project. You started in the correct place MAKING A PLAN AND GETTING INFORMATION

Our e;mail is out and my son is out of town ( he is the computer mechanic) but by Sat this time we will be back in business.

Ellman

Thanks for the kind words.

OTTO

Thanks for the response Otto. I tried to phone you the other day, but I guess your office closes at 12pm?

I am in no hurry to get this done. Like I said, I just want it done correctly. I'm in Valley View, so not too far from you.

Hi Ryno,

Mike Otto wanted me to let everyone on the forum know that he has had a major crash in his email system and webpage server and he can't use either at this time. He is working furiously to try and correct the problem. You can contact Mike at the office 1-940-665-2258 or 800-882-3478 from 8 am- 12 noon, Mon-Fri.

Kathy
Pond Boss Magazine
Office Manager

I have had a pond built on a creek, and can relate my experience on such a project. First, find someone that knows how to build a good dam. I've had a little experience with a track hoe and dozer, but would not attempt such a project myself. I'm not to far from your area, and can tell you that even with good clay, your dam needs to be cored and properly compacted with good emergency OV and relief pipe. I don't know what your contributing watershed acreage is, but heavy rain events can recycle all the water in a small pond on a creek. A good percentage of your fish population can definely be transient. Also, the topography is important. Escavation of a basin area can be very expensive. Contributing fish species from upstream flow can be a concern also. On the positive side, you pond will generally stay full. And, if your watershed is small, you may not have to face some of the concerns that I have mentioned.

Thanks for the wisdom Squeeky. I am about to start excavation on my pond which is also in a wet weather creek bed. Anything else you could recommend that you would do differently?

ezylman, squeeky has hit the nail on the head. I too have ponds on wet weather creeks or ditches. Watersheds are around 300 acres. To top that the watershed is cultivated fields. Watersheds of this size can and will produce large amounts of runoff and silt. If this is your case I highly recomend a silt pond be constructed above the primary pond. I hate to say this but I hope you get rained out a few times before your done because our ponds are dropping fast from lack of rain and hot weather. About 2 years ago I was having a 4 to 5 acre pond built. Half way thru we got a 6 inch down pour. The dam was still open in the middle. The project delayed for a few days. After completion it did not rain again for over a year. Nothing more depressing than waiting forever on your new baby to fill for the first time. Good luck with your project

If I had it to do over again, I would locate the dam on the creek location that would provide the largest impoundment of water with the least amount of dirt work. Larger containment areas can handle heavy rains better. Also, I'd have the dam constucted as straight as posible, minimizing curvatures if practical. Curving dams require more dirt work. And, give your dam enough freeboard (height above normal elevation) to allow for rapidly rising water. It can be a fun and interesting project. Good luck to you.

Rocky...

My watershed is only about 30 acres or so feeding into a 1-1.5 acre pond. The watershed is all virgin timber, so silting probably won't be much of an issue I am guessing.

As far as the rain goes, I always take rain whenever I can get it. As long as the pond gets finished in the next 6 months, I will be able to stock in the spring. I appreciate your responses and input. I will take all of the advice I can get.

All good info. Thank you.

I think I am leaning towards a pond away from the creek though. I'm going to get in touch with Otto at the beginning of next month

If a site on a creek is the best as far as the most cost efficient location to get the biggest bang for your buck but has to big a water shed for pond size then one might consider building on the creek with a diversion channel to let the large runoffs route around it. Install a pipe with valve or a control gate to feed the pond as needed. Of course that has cost too that would have to be considered. These are discussed in the pond building hand books.

One way or another you need to get water either build in the middle of the gully or diversion channel like ROCKYTOPPER said.
Lots of water in heavy rain needs a good spillway system also.

OTTO

Ezylman, Ryno is right on about Otto. He built my pond and I can assure you he is the best I have ever seen. I could not have been happier, he has also been very helpful answering some of my dumb questions since completing the pond. First Class all the way!