I am new to pond boss (never posted but have been reading forum for months) and am looking to build a pond about 3-4 acres fed by a creek that runs on my land (I own 23 acres with a creek and no pond). I subscribe to pond boss magazine and own and have read “Perfect pond want one? The Creek is fed by over 9000 acres according to the NRC office. The creek itself basically is 6 inches deep but never runs dry. It can flood with rain but recedes quickly.
I have very little runoff that can feed my pond because of where I want my pond to be located. The creek is the only option for me to have the pond the size I want.
I understand with the creek I will need to run a screen as well as rocks to filter any silt and possibly a silt pond before it enters the main pond. The issue is where I want my pond site to be feed by the creek is 7 foot higher than the creek itself. I am asking permission to dam it up (must ask DOT (bridge close to damming area) and my neighbor up stream).
If either of them tells me no then I can still "Y" off from the creek and excavate a seperate channel to the pond site and make it 15 foot deep pond that is only 8 feet full of water as worst case scenario. If they say yes should be able to have 15 foot deep pond full year round.
I plan on doing the project myself with the help of family and friends. I own my own excavator, bulldozer, tractor, and dump truck. I understand it will take some time but look forward to doing it myself.
The question of what I plan on doing with the pond? Fishing (plan on stocking catfish, bluegill and largemouth bass) and swimming hole for kids as well as increase the value of the property.
My first question is any ideas to make this water go up hill short of damming it up without using electricity. I will send pics soon. Thanks ahead of time for any advice.
So your first option is to dam off the creek, and your backup plan is to dig a channel off the creek and create an excavated pond area to the side?
I think you would be safe in doing the backup plan by yourself, as you must have some expertise in earth moving, otherwise you wouldn't have the equipment you describe.
If you plan on the first option, you need to get professional engineering advice on the design of the dam, and most importantly the size and placement of principle and emergency spillways. Contact your local NRCS office and see if their engineers will come out. They are typically free.
If your creek is fed by 9,000 acres (14 square miles) of drainage, you need to plan to handle a tremendous flow of water during storm events. You indicate the creek floods, but receeds quickly. The latter point is not as critical as what the maximum flow is during storm events. This peak flow is what will blow out your dam.
Think in terms of passing all the water you see flowing through the creek during a storm, though a tube placed in your dam. I've got a 6 ft diameter drop structure and 4 ft diameter outflow tube in one of our ponds that only drains a couple square miles. I would guess that you will need a much larger capacity system in your pond.
I would be very surprised if you won't need to get permits to construct a dam across this creek. Plus make sure you consider the potential for damaging downstream structures if the dam should fail.
There are several contractors who know what they are doing, and often post on this site. Perhaps they will comment also. Hiring someone like that will be well worth the investment.
The other thing to consider is that this stream likely has a resident population of fish, and those will end up in your pond.
