Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Pond No More

I post today with sad news that we are flooded here in Northeastern Oklahoma. Specifically in the county that I live in we have not had this much rain since 1960. It started on Sunday and has not stopped yet. The overflow pipe handled everything pretty well up until Sunday night, then water began to flow over the first spillway. We knew we would be ok as long it didn't go over the 2nd spillway. The 2nd spillway is tall and had some previous damage from a couple of years ago that we couldn't fix because of finances. Long story short- Tuesday evening the 2nd spillway broke and our pond is now drained. I am absolutely sick about this. All the money we lost went flowing down the creek...but more than that I am sick to my stomach knowing that all those fish died. You wouldn't believe what we were finding along the edge after the storms were over. Is there any advice on here about getting some type of assistance? We have been declared a natural disaster. Thanks for any help

Jules

Sorry to hear this, Jules.

I don't know where to guide you, but let's hear what others have to say.

Ugh. I feel just sick along with you Jules. Terrible.

Terrible news Jules. We will stand by your side as you rebuild. Now you can do all of those cool enhancements while it is drained. You will be back, bigger & better.

I'm so sorry to hear this.

What county are you in? I live in NE Oklahoma too and the amount of rain we're getting has been crazy. Our new 1-acre, 15 foot deep pond went from next to nothing to almost full pretty much overnight. If it had been full when this started I'm not sure whether the dam would still be there or not.

Thank you for your kind words...we are all broken hearted...especially my husband. It's hard to think about building back because of all we lost but I am VERY thankful that my family is fine and our home was not damaged in any way. Many people have lost their homes or have severe damage and are now displaced. When we fixed the dam that was broken a couple of years ago we had no idea what to expect...we get 750 acres of watershed for our 4 acre pond and we had planned to have an area for swimming and put some structure in but after we fixed the dam we got alot of rain and the pond filled up overnight. We learned alot through all of this and my husband thinks when we rebuild that we can make it more structurally sound but I have lived in Oklahoma all my life and you just cannot prepare for anything her as far as mother nature...we had record snowfalls this past Winter...the dryest March ever and now record rainfall with flooding...everyone is predicting the hottest and dryest Summer...I'm also concerned that it is just way too much watershed to fathom...the pond had been there for 35 years before the dam broke the first time...

Ack- we live in Adair County in Stilwell- we have got more than 15 inches of rain in the past 6 days- the Illinois River elevation is 28.6 feet...schools are closed and there is a shelter set up at my daughter's school for displaced families...roads are closed...it's a mess

jules:

I'm sorry to hear about the loss, but glad that everyone is O.K. I think that when ponds are built, they are built to withstand a "100 year" rain event. If proper planning isn't done when it's built then you see that severe problems can happen. I'd give Mike Otto a call. He's listed in the resources guide and I'm sure he can give you some advice over the phone.

I don't know about any assistance, but if it's considered a disaster zone, then maybe some $$ would be available for a rebuild. Ask Mike and see if Bob Lusk might know as well.

Wow. I'd heard that Adair county got the worst of it. I'm in Muskogee county. We got around 8-10" I'd guess.

750 acres is a ton of watershed to deal with. If I were you I'd do some careful planning and consulting with experts before spending money to rebuild it. I second the recommendation for Mike Otto. He came and consulted for us on our new pond a while back. He's great to work with and very knowledgeable.

You might also want to contact your local NRCS agent. They can help with pond and watershed planning and might also know about any government programs to help pay for repairs.

Good luck!

Thanks- we did consult NRCS and they gave us some suggestions but was unsure about it working because of the amount of watershed. I'm not convinced either- and I'm not sure how it held for so long before? I would love to have Mike come out- not sure where he is from but hopefully I can connect. Next time we need to really get some better expert advice. Hopefully we can start saving for our "next time"

Wow, Jules, so sorry to hear about your situation. I appreciate what you must be dealing with right now, but it also sounds like you have plenty to be thankful for as well. Good job focusing on the positive.

I would have to think that since the area has been declared a disaster zone, funding will be available for those who can demonstrate a loss. Ponds do not get built or stocked for free, so you may very well be able to present a claim for the expense of rebuilding and restocking. I would definitely check in with the FEMA office that serves your region and inquire about submission of a claim. No guarantees that something like a pond would be covered, but the worst they can do is say no. I'd definitely try it.

Best of luck and please keep us posted.

Thanks Todd...I wasn't sure where to begin with trying to file a claim...I was thinking start with NRCS but thus far they haven't been too much help- I will call FEMA and hopefully they can give me some direction. I also work for Cherokee Nation and I am hoping they can send me in the right direction...thanks so much

Don't know if it's accurate information, but it's my pleasure to at least think out loud with you on this.

I was stationed at Ft. Sill, OK in 1954-55 when there was terrible flooding all the way up to Oklahoma City. People were trapped on the high ground of their farms and helicopters were flying rescue missions from Ft. Sill. All roads were closed in and out of Oklahoma City so we drove up to take a look and bulldozers were scooping mud off the roads to open them.

We are getting all kinds of rain here in Indiana and it just keeps coming. Very sorry about your pond.

Three and a half more feet and the water will go over the lake tenkiller dam!

Very sorry to hear about your loss.

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So sorry ! You need a much bigger second spillway - deeper and much wider. Call Mike - very good advice so far.

Here's Otto's Website

http://ottosdirtservice.com/default.aspx

I side with Todd, I think FEMA is the place to start. If you have any questions on how much value to place on the pond, I'd call the Pond Boss Office and see if you can get some information from Bob Lusk. He was going to do something like that for catmandoo a while back.