Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Texas pond sites

First off hello, I'm new here. I’ve been reading the site off and on for a few years. I just picked up my first Pond Boss magazine at a Bass Pro Shop here in Tennessee over the weekend. I endeavor to be a subscriber one day.
My wife and I are moving back to Texas sometime in the next few years. What I would like to know is, is there a specific part of the state that is more conducive to pond building with regards to soil and clay then other parts? Or is it that Texas is pretty pond friendly no matter where we go.

With regards to the size of a pond, is size determined by the amount of land that is available? I mean if I have 10 acres, is it reasonable to believe that I could have a 2-3 acre pond? What if I had 20 acres, could I go to 5? I have heard that watershed plays a part in this. How so, and how can I determine before buying a piece of land if the watershed will support a 2 3 4 or 5 acre pond? What other external factors play a part in the decision regarding pond size? We are looking at buying no more than 20 acres so your opinions on what I can expect to get for that will be appreciated
Are ponds generally expensive in Texas when all is said and done? I realize cost is relative to future enjoyment and that there is no substituting cost for quality, but given these economic times and the uncertainty of the future, I want to have a reasonable idea going into this what I will be spending, or what I can expect to spend to build a pond in the neighborhood of 2 to 5 acres.

Thanks

Greg

Welcome to PB. Glad you joined us. I have one suggestion first. Call the PB office and order a copy of Perfect Pond Want One. It will take you through the entire process.

http://www.pondboss.com/

PERFECT POND...WANT ONE?



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I would look for places east of Interstate 45. The average rainfall is going to be 40"+ and a lot more reliable than places west of there.

Howdy, Greg, and welcome to the Forum!

I shall expect to see a new member a lot like you in a few years, by the name of "Pale Rider".

Chris has some good advice on rainfall amounts. There a couple of other Texas members on here that are suffering from a lack of rainfall right now. I think I read somewhere that Texas is closing in on 1 million ponds.

Welcome High Plains,

I found my property nearly 2 years ago with an existing 10 acre lake in Van Zandt County, just West of Tyler, Texas. While much of Texas is experiencing a drought, I am still fighting with the beavers to keep my overflow cleared out in order to keep the lake level down to its designed level. There are many springs in this area, which may be as big, if not a bigger factor, than the watershed for surface run-off to supply our ponds and lakes.

The soil in my area is a sandy loam with a heavy clay base about a foot or two down.

As I found an existing pond, I did not have to throughly research the cost of building a pond, but I would guess that cost in our area would be as low as anywhere since we have a plentiful supply of clay and few rocks.

There's still room in East Texas for another Ponder.

A property with an existing pond like you are looking for is extremely expensive. More than likely, property that size with a pond will have a house. However, if the pond is in good shape, it eliminates a lot of future variables/cost on building a good one.

A lot also depends on your life style expectations. If you are older, you will want to get someplace with good hospitals within a short distance. If you want good shopping opportunities you are going to be close to a bigger city. Both of these things add to cost.

Like Chris said, rainfall amounts are all important.

If a pond is what your looking for I have one priced to sale. It is priced just slightly above the ag value for this area.

http://www.lakehouse.com/page-34841.html

I'm not necessarily looking for a place with a pond on it already. In fact, I just assumed that I would buy the land first, and then build. I figure that might be easier to build one from the ground up.

So is the general consensus that East Texas is the best place? M wife and I are both in our early 30's and I really want to settle down someplace where I can do some fishing on my own spread.

Honestly, my wife's job is probably going to necessitate that we live somewhere near one of the major cities such as Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin. However I plan on living well outside the metropolitan areas. If we live a county or two counties over, then I guess we will have to deal with it. See our deal is this, she was born in Texas and wants to get back. I agreed to move back there on the basis that I get a pond. Thus, here we are in the beginning stages.

Rockytopper..

Thats a great piece of land you got there, unfortunately were at least a year away from buying. Maybe if you have something availabe then...

Yes east of 45 has all clay in the ground. The best dirt to build a pond in. I live in ennis and there are lots of ponds out here. The Canton area would be a good spot. My mom owns 400 acres there and the land is sandy loam. The biggest trees and best grasses you can find. There is a doctor that lives down the road from her that owns 60 acres and has a 25 acre lake on it. Its beautifull!

High plains drifter, I've lived in Texas my whole life & if I had the option to buy anywhere near a metropolitan area, then I would buy property between Tyler - Athens north to between Sulphur Springs- Mt Pleasant! Here's why.. Rainfall is sufficient including those summer pop-up showers. You are far enough inland to avoid most hurricaine damage, but you get the rain when it's needed. Tornadoes are less common than other spots. The soil is loam to sandy with a somewhat acidic pH which is good for grasses and most trees. Liming may be necessary, but that's better than the blackland cause you really can't do much about high pH's. The temperature will feel hotter because of the higher humidity, but that's the price you pay for extra rainfall. There are lots of pines if thats what you like. The terrain is anywhere from flat,rolling to some elevations. Hardwood tree color in the fall can be pretty good. Land prices are still somewhat reasonable, but should rise as there is a limited amount of land north of D-FW for sale(unless to go to Oklahoma). I bought property north of D-FW because that's where my business & home is, so it was a driving time thing for me. There's my two cents.. good luck..du

I'm just north of Tyler, and think it would be hard to find an area much better. Land is still affordable, we get close to 4ft of rain per year, all spread out throughout the year. Rains can be like today, where it's just a drizzle, to massive downpours of five inches in one day. Soils range from sugar sand that is impossible to make a pond in, to some of the very best clay that you will ever find.

There are three major hospitals here, a University, a College and a JC. We have allot of industry with one of the best economies in the nation. That's not an accident, our local government isn't out trying to stop business or development. Houses are being built and they are selling.

My brother is here right now and looking at properties. We've been all over looking, and there are deals all over the place. He wants a pond, or two with open land and a fixer upper house. He's retired, so being close to work isn't an issue, but buying as much land as possible is his main goal. Currently, his favorite place is up North with 40 acres and a pond that is 90% open pasture with an older 3/2 house in need of work. Asking price is $139,000.

I don't know if a pond adds any value to a property or not. The main thing seems to be good pasture or timber value and the condition of the home. Access and utilites are always important too, but don't seem to really affect the price of the land from what we've seen.

As for the metropolotin areas, I can get to DFW Airport in an hour and 45 minutes, but usually plan on two hours. Shreveport is about the same amount of time, just the opposite direction. We rarely go to the big cities since there's nothing there that we're interested in or need. Tyler has everything and is on the verge of becoming a big city with 100,000 people, but still not quite there yet. The surrounding towns are all pretty small and actually where I live. Lindale, is just down the road from me and has a brand new Lowes and Super Walmart. What else could you need? LOL

Two hours north is Oklhahoma and the mountains. It's amazingly beautiful there and home of the highest peaks between the Rockies and Apalachians. The streams are crystal clear with some awesome trout fishing. We go for a weekend and rent a cabin. Arkansas is about 4 hours away and maybe even nicer. Nice getaways!!!!

Hunting is great here if you like to hunt hogs. If you are a deer hunter, it's just fair. While some 160 to 180 class deer exist, most are tiny and shot way too young. Turkey are in areas, with some places having them, and others not. I dont have any here.

The drawbacks to this area is the weather. Summer kicks in about July and it gets warm and HUMID. Temps rarely go over 100 degrees, but the humidity is what drains you. I like it, but most don't. The heat will break in September and then its beautiful here until the end of December/Earlly January when winter gets here. We get snow about once every four years, but mostly it's just cold out. Temps in the teens with highs in the 30's are not uncommon in winter. Spring starts in March, but allot of winter days are also very spring like. Today, with the drizzly, it was in the 60's. Last week, we had days in the 70's. and others that never got out of the 40's.

I'm from California and I spent years researching the best place for me to live. I think I found it.

Eddie

There is a lot to consider when looking for property to build a pond or lake on. Not just because I work there but you will definitely want to pick up a copy of Bob's book Perfect Pond. It will be an invaluable resource.

As far as a part of Texas to build in. This is a big state and there are a wide variety of terrain and ecological changes. Average rainfall is better in East Texas but don't rule out Central or Even West Texas. If conditions are right and you find the right property it might be possible to build a pond there. Not only is Avg rainfall important but also amount of runoff acreage that you have around and that feed into that pond. When you get closer to that day let me know I'd be happy to help out.

Welcome to the forum and the Pond Boss family.

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

How does one calculate runoff acreage?

That depends on several factors. Including how much annual rainfall an area gets, as well as how much avg evaporation an area gets. Those are just a few factors that determine how much runoff acreage is needed to keep a one acre pond full.

For example in our area of North Texas. (We are about 80 north of Dallas) we get an avg of 60 inches of rain a year and avg evaporation is around 70-80 inches a year. It takes around 8 acres of runoff to keep a one acre pond full. Go further in East Texas you need 4-6 acres of runoff per acre. Go to deep west Texas and it might take 15-18 acres of runoff to keep a 1 acre pond full. I'm sure there have been some former posts about it. It is also discussed in Bobs book and there is a NRCS document here in Texas that goes to great lengths discussing it. When time comes let me know I'd be happy to help you get that information.

I have a map that I got from Texas A&M that shows exactly what you are looking for. It showed average rainfall and how much watershed area was required for the different areas in Texas. It also had soil information which either added or reduced the watershed potential.

I will look for the book but it could be anywhere. I recommend searching for the books on-line and buying every pond book they have. I think it is actually offered through TEEX (which is part of A&M).

The data is actually pretty accurate when it comes to average rainfall but when you speak to them, tell them that they need to issue a revision to their maps because the drought we have had in the past 18 months has killed their averages!!!!