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Bossone Offline OP
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Newbie here that is strongly considering building an 1/2 acre pond in Central Illinois. We have a natural spot to place a pond centered along an existing ditch that has some small springs leaking along the sides (approx 6ft below ground level). We dug a test hole and did find some gravel but that didn't seem to bother the gentleman that dug the test hole.

Add to this we have what I call yellow clay, so I'm concerned about all the comments about springs causing leaking issues. My pond builder sees no issues, but I am concerned.


Also is there any guidelines as to what it costs to build a pond of this size? He is offering to do it for under 10k.

I apologize if this is in the wrong area.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Last edited by Bossone; 07/12/10 12:07 AM.

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Hey Boss. Welcome. Not sure about the gravel or springs except that the lower the springs are the more chance of the water pressure from the pond stopping or even reversing them. My guy told me springs are great at water level but other than that you don't want to hit them.As far as cost I'm also in Illinois (south central) I had about a one acre pond built for around 8000 that was also taking out some trees before they started. It was 100 an hour and he had two pieces of machinery running the whole time. So it was 200 an hour. Not sure if that helps but I'm sure you'll get some better advice than what i can give.

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hey guys, good to see more Illinoisans joining up. Welcome to the forum, Bossone. I'm sure one of the pro's will be along shortly to get you answers to your questions.

Where are you guys at? I'm about 20 mins northeast of ST. Louis.

Thanks
-Skinny


Trying to help with 7.5 Acres in the Chain of Lakes Illinois
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The fish would stay out of trouble if it could just keep its fool mouth shut.
Turns out there is a lot I should be learning from the fish.
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Ramsey Illinois here.

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I live in the godfrey/grafton/alton area.
Mailing address is alton, water comes from alton, pay taxes to grafton, although survey says godfrey, godfrey trash & sewer service.

I am actually wondering if my home is really a part of the united states, cuz none of it makes sense. I'm half in jersey county, half in madison. I can't call 911 cuz nobody agrees whose jurisdiction it is, I have to call the madison county sheriff.

Maybe we can meet up sometime and get some fishing done. If you don't mind that apparently i am from krypton
-Skinny


Trying to help with 7.5 Acres in the Chain of Lakes Illinois
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The fish would stay out of trouble if it could just keep its fool mouth shut.
Turns out there is a lot I should be learning from the fish.
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Well I know where to pay my taxes but for some reason you can send my mail to Ramsey or Bingham and I still get it. Yeah fishing sounds good but not at my pond, I'm still trying to get it to fill. Gone up some so far this year but the big rains seem to either go north or south. Sorry Bossone, well let this thread go so you can get your questions answered smile

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Bossone Offline OP
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Bloomington area.....


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Good times. I'll probably be driving right up past you next week from stl to chicago.


Trying to help with 7.5 Acres in the Chain of Lakes Illinois
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The fish would stay out of trouble if it could just keep its fool mouth shut.
Turns out there is a lot I should be learning from the fish.
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in oklahoma i get $1.75 to $2.00 per cubic yard of dirt moved in most cases. most 1/2 acre ponds probably average $3,000 or less here. it all depends on whether or not i'd be nervous about the gravel. if i could dig thru it to a suitable material then no problem. the spring probably travels thru that gravel downhill but if you can dig thru it in the core to suitable soil then you can stop the flow at your core which would contain the spring to the pond on the downhill side. if this ditch you speak of goes uphill quickly from pond site you might be in luck. i'd also dig down in the upper part of the pond to see if the spring is flowing there. we call it spring chasing we are trying to establish were its coming from to make sure we can contain it in the pond. here they are like underground streams traveling thru sand or gravel i dont know about there. it may even be coming in from the sides but as long as the pond is lower than the source your fine. if i couldnt find the source its coming from i'd be very nervous. sometimes they seem to come straight up out of the ground if this is the case we move downhill to where the spring is at desired water level of pond or higher. good luck

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Thanks for the replies.

We started digging today, so we will see what happens.

I'm sure this will be the beginning of all the questions I will ask.


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Take photos and post them. We love these type of threads!


JHAP
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"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."
...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
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The adventure began on Tues (6/29) and they finished on Sat the 2nd. I talked about springs, well they are either that or it is ground water draining down to the area of the pond. They ended up going down 17ft (didn't have to go that deep)and found blue clay which they used in combination with the yellow clay. I certainly underestimated the amount of dirt coming out of that hole and we were lucky we had 2 acres that we raised 4-5 ft with all the dirt, saving the black dirt for the top. It actually looks fairly natural.

The water has already filled the bottom 8ft of the pond and continues to raise the water level. The thought is that the water is running downhill and exiting about 2 - 3ft below the projected water line. It would seem that it could fill the pond by itself given a few weeks.

Now the work begins on planting some sort of grass around the pond, so I will be looking for recommendations.

Again, I'll post pictures later. Also feel free to comment and offer advise.


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Picture taken after tress were removed from ditch area



Same area, but showing the water runoff



Construction starting with (ground/spring)water starting to show up in quantity.



Bottom of the pond - 17 ft deep to water level



Dam construction



24 hours after bottom was complete, already filling nicely!



Taken this evening, I can't believe how fast it is filling just by the ground water.



One of several areas draining water into the pond!



Little over a week since it built.

Last edited by Bossone; 07/13/10 09:39 PM.
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I'm curious if this needs to be moved somewhere else in the forums? I was hoping for some feedback and since there hasn't been any, I am afraid it is in the wrong section of the forums.


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I know that some express a concern about springs in a pond, but they are not always bad. It does not matter where the spring enters the pond, but rather the elivation of the top of the water that feeds the spring. Think of a spring as a tube that is connected to a bucket with the other und entering you pond. If the bucket sits higher than the top of the pond, it will likely not cause a leak unless the tube has more holes in it lower than your pond. If the water in the bucket always stays higher than your pond, it will also not cause a leak. If the water level in the bucket drops lower than your pond, then your pond will keep the bucket level at the same level as your pond and cause the pond level to drop. We hit quite a few springs when digging our acre+ pond and they have only provided benefits to us. A topography map of the greater area where you live can help you determine the odds for your pond, but either way, you'll find out soon. Good luck!

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Nope, you're not in the wrong place, bossone. It just looks like maybe your post slipped by the people who are in the know on your questions.

As for springs, they can be both a blessing and a curse. As long as the water table is up, the springs may well continue to feed your pond. But if the water table drops during dry periods, just remember that a spring can turn into a drain and you can lose a lot of water pretty quickly. Esshup on the forum has that issue in his pond and struggles with maintaining depth every year.

As for any other questions, just hang on and maybe some experts will be along and see that you were still awaiting input. Sorry you slipped through the cracks on this, but it's bound to happen once in awhile with all the posts that happen on a daily basis.


Todd La Neve

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Bossone Offline OP
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At this point they are a blessing and continue to raise the level of the pond and hopefully since they are draining downhill, the water won't drain uphill.

Now that it is filling, what are my next steps? What things should I address now versus later?

Thanks for the input!


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I may have misunderstood your situation, bossone. Are the springs IN the pond or outside and ABOVE the pond? If they're outside the pond and draining into it, that's a great situation and there shouldn't be any issue with the water running back out unless you have a way of altering the laws of physics at your place! grin

As for next steps, have you proposed a stocking plan for the group's input yet? If not, consider starting a new thread about your stocking ideas and get input on it. I know, and am sure you've seen, that there are some outstanding folks on here who have stocking down to an art form. Always a lot of great advice here. About the only thing I know is that you want to add your forage fish early and give them time to establish a population before you add predators.

What are you doing about structure/habitat in the pond? Are you done adding it, or do you plan to add more? If so, what are you adding? Remember that the type of structure should be fairly well matched to the fish you'll be adding, including your forage fish. Placement is not a haphazard affair, but rather something that should be thought out to ensure maximum benefit. There are a lot of great threads on habitat/structure, so do a search on those.

What other sorts of questions do you have in mind? What issues are you chewing on at this point?


Todd La Neve

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I second getting the cover in there ASAP while you can still walk around. Cover for deeper, colder water during the winter as well.


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PVC trees ASAP, palates, spawning bed substrate. what fish do you want? Aeration? Feeding? Pier while you can still put in concrete supports? seed the dirt to avoid runoff/washout? The list of things to do now is long, esp with pond filling fast.

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If you notice on the last picture I am getting a "film" on the surface of the water. I contributed it to the ground water running down over the clay, but that may not be the case. It is almost covering the entire water surface.

Is it something I should be worried about and how is the way to address it?


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Bossone, nothing to worry about yet. It is a combination of things, all natural. Your pond is fresh and the newly exposed nutrients are producing an algae bloom, plus there are natural oils in the fresh dirt. Combine the main ingredients with the recent high heat/low wind conditions, throw in a couple cloudy days, and you get the slime cocktail film you're seeing. In a 2-4 weeks, you will have a new beneficial bacteria colony munching on the stuff and eliminating it.



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Wow, that is some pretty blue and clear water! Like everyone else said "get your structure in before its to late"!

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Woohoo! I love construction pics. Keep em coming! That is some really cool water color you have there. Way to make this happen Boss. Not even a month ago you were "strongly considering" it and already you're at what looks like almost half full. Nicely done!

Wish my project moved that fast... frown

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Well I got lucky; the contractor was available immediately and there was enough ground water to fill it almost half way. However with all the heat and conveniently missing every storm since, the ground water has almost dried up.

So it's a nice break which will allow me to get the structures in before it's to late.


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