Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Some questions regarding digging a small pond.

I recently purchased a little over 3 acres behind my residence that I could not pass up on given the price. After looking at this area and thinking now what do I do with this land, being a nature guy I starting imagining a small pond. The area I am thinking about is a low corner from a large corn/soy bean field and always seems to be wet/saturated. I have contacted my local NCRS office and hopefully they will be able to guide me as to if it going to be possible to put one there. The idea I have in mind is a small pond, possibly around 100X75 or 80X80. I'd like to get down about 6-7 feet if possible and put an airation system in. I also would like to only have hybrid bluegill and what ever other fish to keep control of bluegill ect. In in NW Indiana and am having a hard time finding anyone who has excavated ponds in this area. Can anyone tell me if this size pond is doable for bluegill only type fishing, if they are familiar with anyone in my area doing ponds and about how much just the digging, and dirt removal would be? Thanks

I would suggest that it be just a little deeper to accommodate the winter temps (8-10'). Ponds often must be more than just holes in the ground, so it pays to do your homework. Most ponds need to be sealed, unless they are ground-water ponds (which often have fluctuating water levels). You will need to know your watershed area, and then have a plan to seal the pond to drainage which will depend on your soil structure. The overflow must also be planned to avoid damage to your property and those downstream. Our first pond was the best investment we ever made! We have many memories with family and friends that were made around that pond. We look forward to many more.

Welcome to PBF EW,

Your NCRS office should be able to give you a list of contractors in your area.

Your post says you are looking for someone to dig the pond and remove the dirt. Trucking the dirt away from the site can add a lot of expense. Is it possible you could use the dirt somewhere on site? One of the first things I would do is have a test hole dug to see what the soil is like where you want to put the pond.

Hopefully, some of the Hoosier members and other pros will chime in with some advice.

Again, Welcome to PBF,

Bill D.

From the research Ive done I learned that dirt removal can add a lot of expense. I can probably use some of the dirt for grading however some will have to be trucked out Im thinking. I was thinking with the pond being smaller it would not add too much to move out. There are a few places around me that are looking for fill so at least there may be places to send it. Also I plan on digging a few test holes down to about 8 or 10 feet and monitoring them for the year 2016 to see the ground water fluctuation. Is this a good way to know what a pond would behave like once dug out?

Read through this thread for lots of good information about building a pond.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92487#Post92487

Remember you dig a hole, however you build a pond. Dug holes leak, well built ponds are well sealed with a constructed clay liner and if built correctly those ponds have very few if any leaks. Emphasize your pond building reading education on proper soil compaction. A leaky pond can cost more to fix than the it cost originally to dig the pond. There are a large number of threads on this forum of members who have leaky problematic ponds. Choose your pond builder who has a good reputation and interview his references of previously built ponds. Don't be shy, check out his previous work. All pond owners enjoy talking about their pond/s.

Try for at least 0.2 ac. A roundish pond has the least amount of shore line and is the easiest to maintain due to weeds grow in shallower water along shorelines. I would not truck any dirt off site. Use the dirt to sculpt some higher ground that gently slopes into the pond to create a water shed that is well grassed/vegetated to deliver good 'clear' water quality. Make sure the contractor saves the topsoil to replace it as a thin layer on the final project so you have good overlying soil to plant and grow grass.

Good luck and we are here to provide 2nd opinions for your building and pond management.

In addition to what Bill C said...there is a type of pond called a water table pond (I have one). In my pond the "soil" is mostly gravel, sand and everything else that won't seal. My pond works because the water table is very high, maybe 2 feet below the surface most of the year. There are times when the water table drops lower though. If your test holes show poor soil, don't give up immediately until you have watched the test holes for a year. If your soil is not a good clay that will seal, yet the water table stays within 5 feet or so of the surface, a pond might still be possible but you will need to dig it much deeper.

Please keep in mind, I am not a pro, just giving my personal experience

A good pond builder will know this, but scrape off the top soil, and save it for use after the pond is finished. The topsoil becomes invaluable on the dam and around the pond edges to grow erosion control plants, like grasses.

Ken

The pond, if doable, will be water table/watershed combo I believe. The low area Im thinking of putting it holds a small amount of water all year pretty much. A decent rain will add water to this area quickly and Im hoping will keep a small pond full. Its kind of a unique area in that is butts up against a grass berm that is part of a detention pond (designed to hold water only temporarily). This berm has blocked the water from the fields from reaching a water shed ditch so it now collects in a depression/pocket. Im thinking test holes with soil samples may be the route next year to monitor the site.

A water-table pond will typically return to the level of the water table very quickly after a rain event with the effect of the runoff mostly being unwanted debris and nutrients, as well as a rapid water level change (up then down).

There may be enough clay deeper in the subsoil to create a clay liner. Make sure the berm of the detention pond is high enough to prevent flooding from the ditch and detention pond. Unwanted migrating trash fish from flood waters can quickly ruin a high quality fishery.

Just my 2 cents on a water table pond from my limited experience so far with mine....I'll take the pro side of the discussion although I know there is a strong con side to it as well. So from a positive perspective...

As RAH said, a water table pond, with sufficient water shed, will rise quickly during a decent rain event and, once the surrounding land is no longer saturated, start quickly dropping in level. IMO it will actually drop to a level slightly below the water table in the area until the pressure difference in the water table and the pond reaches the point where water will flow from the water table to the pond. The good news is that when that water level is dropping it is flushing your pond to the water table, getting rid of a lot of dissolved stuff that has accumulated in the pond. When evaporation causes the pond to drop further, fresh water flows from the water table into the pond. Water shed ponds that are lined only flush when their level is sufficient to go over the spillway. That can be a very long time between water changes for the pond. While a water table pond level is at the mercy of the water table, during a dry spell, the water table will drop much more slowly than the level does in a lined water shed pond thru evaporation. My advice is if you HAVE to go water table pond, dig it deep!

Just offering food for thought, I am not a pro

Bill D. points out there are pros and cons to all aspects of pond management. The "trick" is to realize or learn about all the pros and cons, contemplate them for your goals, then chose wisely.

Thanks for all the responses and input, its greatly appreciated. Im hoping the test holes next year will help out greatly. Am I correct in thinking that monitoring these holes will in essence tell me how a pond at this location would fluctuate, granted no severe weather changes? This area is wet (frogs/tadpoles) almost all year even in the summer. Is this a good indication that I would not have to dig down incredibly far to maintainable depth? Im hoping that a spill way could be designed to drain right into the detention area since it's been designed to slowly release water into an adjacent irrigation ditch.

The test holes if adequately dug to meet your goals should provide good information about the water retention ability of the area of the planned pond. Based on results plan for wetter and drier weather conditions. Digging a pond in a perpetually wet zone may require a dirt specialist with experiences of constructing this type of pond. Good homework on your part will prove valuable.

Few pictures of how our builder did it. Just like stated above they scrapped all the top soil back then sculpted the clay and put the top soil back.

When at full pool we are at 1 acre.

Cheers Don.