Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Need Help For a Bass Lake...!!

Great site.. I need some help regarding selecting a site for a proposed bass lake/small pond. I realize from reading a lot about creating a lake, the dangers of a lake drying up if it is not properly fed by some type of incoming water. The Camp that I looked at today, is located in the Tug Hill Region of Upstate New York. Tons of Snowfall. The property has roughly 134 Acres. In the back area there is already a small pond with fish already it it. The area looks like a low-lying valley perfect for creating a Dam and then raising the height of the water. The pond area is very low relative to the land near the cabin. I believe the current pond is the result of a very small water creek (maybe 1 foot wide.) There is another creek that comes in from the side of the area that has much more water flowing through it. Currently this water does not look like it flows to the pond, but it must continue and runs off of the property.

My question is; does this sound like a solid area to build a pond on? (I realize it's difficult to estimate, but any comments would be really helpful.) How big should the incoming creek be, ideally?

Keep up the great work on pond poss...!!

Ideally the incoming creek should be dry unless it's raining - well, that's one view.

NY should get enough rainfall for 5 or 10 acres of runoff (depending on what the vegetation is) to provide sufficient water for each surface acre of the pond. An actual running stream feeding the pond of course provides more water, but also may provide a different set of problems to deal with such as existing fish populations in the stream and possible increased government licensing/permitting/restrictions.

Analysis of the topo map of the land, or posting it here if you want some help reading it, may be the best way to analyze the lay of the land for a pond site. Then possible pond sites should have test holes dug to determine the soil types present to judge suitability - to greatly simplify things, clay is good (to use for the cored dam), sand and gravel are bad (leaks).

Theo...Thanks for your quick reply..

It's a very small stream which flows into the valley..
I was thinking a damn would be built to enclose the area and allow the area to fill up, and create the lake. I'm assuming we would not use excavation to deepen the bowl of the pond..I'll work on the top maps and a possible picture..

Theo...Actually the inflow into the valley (the proposed pond area.) is mainly an overflow of water from a slightly higher elevation.

For example, there is an area with free standing water and this water drains under a road through a pipe, and then looks like a really small stream that winds towards the proposed area. I would guess that there are not tons of fish in that type of drain water...We're just getting out of winter here so I'm sure with all of the snowfall they get that water is still draining.

Pond Warrior,

Will you have any problems with the DEM even though this is on private land? Some states are really a pain in the you know where when it comes to putting in a pond which involves daming up even an intermitant stream. My state of Indiana which is actually quite leniant forbids the blocking of a stream.

Cecil Baird1

Good question. The water that comes out of the pipe under the road drains from a bunch of free-standing water. The good news is that on the left side of the property, the higher elevation area, we would own 52 acres of property. I don't think it is necessarily a stream that can be tracked to a neighbor, and I hardly doubt there is fish or anything the DEC would be concerened about. (It is mainly just overflow.) I definately plan on doing my research and will develp a solid strategy to make sure this all goes smoothly. Does it cost money to have the NRCS come out and give you their recommendation?

Am I correct in thinking that the main way a pond dries up is because of the following:

Insufficient Rainfall/Drought, Poor Sandy Soil conditions which lead to loss of water through leakage.

There are basically two ways to create the pond, right?

Dam the area to create a bowl.

or

Excavate to create a bowl.

And if I do both it will be much deeper.

Thanks for your help...this site Rocks!!
Pond Warrior

Also, is there anything wrong with Damming the area, and just building an overflow valve, once the pond was full (maybe a couple overflow valves to let the water flow through the damn at a certain height). I imagine in the summertime the water tends to slow down as the winter snow is still melting up there...

YES...your taxes.
Hey Pond Warrior (almost used P-Warrior...too awkward ) You have 2 tried and true experts in your corner. Theo's prompt for exam of a topo map is fundamentally critical. Cecil's post about concern from interrupting a waterway is too. Finally, your note to reach out to the NRCS may help cover the whole Magilla. Your results would be interesting; each NRCS office across the nation reads a differing "attitude" handbook. This forum reports all ranges of competance and cooperation.
It took me 4 years to find the "right one". Regardless of the outcome of this property, be relentless...the ultimate score only documents the beginning of another rewarding journey.