Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Need advice on building a 8-9 acre pond in CLT, NC

Hello everyone, I am just looking for a little more information and suggestions on what it takes to build a 8-9 acre pond that is only about 6-7ft deep in the deepest part. The pond will actually be used for what is called a wake park. Essentially it is a cable system suspended overhead that pulls skiers and wake boarders around a lake.

Now that we are getting a little closer to selecting a piece of land I really need to get an idea of what it takes to make this kind of lake/ pond happen. Is it possible to sustain a lake of this size with just a well pump? Many of the wake parks I have been to generally have a well pumping a few hours a day to keep the levels up.

Thanks in advance for info and advice! Here is a general idea of what we are tying to achieve.

Welcome to the forum! Are you wanting the water to be multiple purposed, such as for swimming and fishing also? Do you know what the average well depth and charge capacities are for wells in the area? Will there also be any runoff entering the water? Do you have any other long term goals for the water?


A "lined" pond would be best if not wanting fish and using only well water to keep it full, but without fish, and if for public use, you would also want a sure way to keep the water sterilized and filtered, but that takes some big $$$ to achieve.

An earthen pond is the least expensive route and would only require a gradual sloped bottom grade to allow it to be drained if ever needed. Good quality clay on site and excellent compaction would minimize cost and leakage.

Thank you for the quick response, Rainman! Just from some quick research it seems the depths are typically 300-400 feet in the area I am looking. I'm not able to find anything on charge capacities.

The lake would be only be used for recreational purposes. For when wakeboarders or skiers fall they would need to swim the edge of the pond then also will provide a swimming area for "beach-goers" not participating in the sport.

At the properties we are considering there are no creeks or other run off sources. Is there any other way other than a digging a well that may be a better option?

Long-term plans are just to be able to sustain clean water for watersports/recreational purposes.

Generally, we look for runoff from rain to fill water holes. Other than that, you will need a really good well.

I would also look at some way to make sure the water stays contained without serious leaks.

Ditto what Rainman said. I don't know about NC, but here in Indiana, the DNR has a list of wells, and has a map of the aquifier under the whole state. They can tell us here in Indiana what the aquifier is capable of sustaining, and at what depth.

Also, here's some numbers for you.

One acre of water, one foot deep has 325,851 gallons of water in it. I think you can get evaporation rates from NOAA for your area, listed by month. So, if your area sees 1" of evaporation in 7 days, your well will need to pump 24 gpm 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week just to keep up with evaporation for a 9 acre lake.

Sounds interesting, I see some pros and cons to this project. But if I was going to pump water from a well to sustain pool level. Then the numbers given by essup are good numbers and I would also think on a busy day at the beach (so to speak) I would think a lot of water would be carried away on the bodies of the swimmers. increasing the pump output would be necessary to maintain pool.