Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction Suggestions on Overflow Exits for a One Acre Pond

I have recently dredged my two farm ponds of 0.3 Acre and 1.1 Acre. These ponds are about 30 years old and 8 weeks ago we have increased the depth about four feet some thirty feet from the north berms in these previously 8 to 10 foot deep ponds. We have now increased the pond berm height by about 2 feet as well. I am looking for ideas on how best to design an overflow tube for both ponds. A berm of about 25 feet separates the two ponds and I have a submersible pump feeding the small pond and have aleady raised the water 2 feet in the small pond to the original water level that was present prior to dredging.

Should I use a 4 inch PVC horizontal pipe buried 4 inches under the surface as an overflow tube? How do I design the entrance of the tube so that it will not clog with debris. Is there a funnel mechanism available at Menards? Can the height of the overflow opening be designed to be adjustable? I would need to place a screen in the pipe entance to prevent the minnows and bass and BG from exiting this overflow tube.

Originally we had a 6 foot vertical concrete 18 inch diameter cylinder which had a horizontal 4 inch tube down some five feet from the top. This permitted us to place a wire screen over the top of the vertical cylinder which was totally embedded in the bank from some 30 years ago. We then had excellent access to cleaning any debris that had collected on the horizontal 18 inch diamenter screen. We have now filled this original cylinder in with Clay Fill and must design a new overflow mechanism because the original one is now two feet too low and will no longer function.

Any Ideas. We also plan to have a 25 foot 4 inch PVC tube joining the two ponds so that the pump in the small pond can also be utilized to increase the water level in the larger pond as well. The pump does about 25 gallons a minute on a 220 volt submersible motor being run on a timer.

Any ideas how much the pump would cost to run per hour?

I would apprciate some drawings and ideas on how best to design an overflow mechanism for the big pond. This larger 1.1 acre pond also receives Spring snowmelt and rain water from some 30 acres of higher elevation cropland to the south and a one acre grass water way strains the water inflow.

I have just subcribed to PondBoss magazine after receiving a free copy in August.

Thanks for your assistance.

Lynn Brouwer
Holland, Mi.

Lynn:

Welcome to Pond Boss! To get an idea of what the cost would be running the pump, first you have to know the hp of the pump, and the cost of electricity in your area. Even then, it won't be a concrete figure.

As for the pipe, personally I think a 4" pipe is too small, but I'm not a piping expert.

Hi Lynn - welcome aboard!

Sounds like a cool project, congrats on breathing new life into your ponds. We'd love to know what your fishery looks like, and what your goals are for your Michigan fishery.

I'm far from an expert, but I agree with Scott it sounds as if your watershed is large enough to warrant a larger diameter pipe especially considering the amount of rain you get up there. Mike Otto is the man to consult here - maybe he will chime in or you may have to email him - you can't beat him as an expert source of information. mikeotto@ottosdirtservice.com

Let us know more about your pond management goals when you get time. We need more Michigan pond managers to share their experiences!

Lynn, Welcome aboard. I also think your 4 inch will be undersized for major rain/ melt events. I have a .4 acre pond that a decade ago I had deepened. It had a 12 inch galvinized pipe that I thought must be sufficient as the grassed emergency overflow showed little use. I had only owned this place for a year and was not familiar with it.The pipe was fairly rotted so I replaced it with a 12 inch smooth bore poly culvert tile. Upon a approx 3 inch duck drowner in 60 minutes this tile was under water and the emergency flow was running overflow also.The old tile was apparently so rotted on the bottom that water was flowing out below it also. I had my local Soil and Water visit and we calculated that I had 38 acres of hilly watershed feeding this small pond.It was advised to add an 18 inch to it if I did not want the pond to over flow even the grass spillway.The main problem I had was that the water would circulate clockwise in the pond eroding the banks while waiting to enter the pipe and the spillway could not prevent this either.I then added a "pair" of 18inch tile spaced on both sides of the 12 inch approx 30 ft and all 3 tiles dump into a common point into a creek.I set the 2 18 inch tiles 3 inches above the 12 inch so that the 12 inch does most of the pulling and also put a 45 degree on it and submerged it 5 ft under the water so the smaller fish are less likely to be pulled out.My 1.2 acre pond that sits some 18 ft higher than the .4 acre pond has no overflow pipe.That pond was designed to have very little watershed and is maintained with a well. When it does get too full I have a 4 inch deep 12 ft wide grass depression that allows the water to flow down a hill into the lower .4 acre pond.Long story "long" is to do your research and decide if your going to design it for that once a year event of just the avearge inflow.That once a year event happened 3 times last year and these outlets have only run 60-70% since installed.