Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations those dam trees

I have a 4.5 acre pond in Georgia that was about 20 years old when we bought it. It had some small trees growing on the back side of the dam. We didn't think about the effect they could have on the dam until they had grown to considerable size. Mostly oak, pine and sweet gum. some of them are 20" in diameter with their branches reaching over the dam road almost to the waters edge. Do we cut them and risk pond leakage when the roots decay or do we leave them and risk the roots growing to the water and springing leaks in the dam? I would appreciate everyones comments that has experiance with this topic.-Wildbill

I'm sure someone with more knowledge than I will respond but the recommeendations I have read here suggest leaving any tree over 6" in diameter. I have the same problem in an older pond & am glad I found this site before I cut down those trees!

In June 2001, I bought an old farm with a ~30 yr old 4.5 acre pond which had a substantial dam wall and a galvanized conduit overflow. During the contract closing period, a 14 inch rain came and the rusted out conduit failed and the dam was expected to fail if another big rain came. The dam was covered with big trees, many over 24". Obviously, no mowing or herbicides had ever been used for vegetation control. I was worried that leaks would occur, even if the conduit hadn't failed.

Ultimately, I got a reduction in the price and started replacing the conduit one week after purchase. During all of this, the water was drained and the trees were removed by the dirt contractor to gain access to the conduit. A substantial amount of the main and finger roots of these trees were removed. The dozer operator bladed/plowed through the top 2 to 3 feet of the dam to remove alot of the roots.

All I ever read said that trees on the dam were bad and that leaks could occur. But, I figured that no trees with some old roots in the dam are better than live trees with growing roots.

To date, no leaks have been present and my dam wall appears competent. From the top of my dam to the water level is ~13 to 15' and the dam has proper slopes constructed of a compacted red clay similar to that good ole Georgia clay.

Please take my experience for information only. I'm no expert on this subject and my dam may just spring a leak someday because of some old decaying roots.

Wildbill,

dont forget about the tap root on the trees as well. the tap root on these trees goes straight down through the dam. I would recommend that you leave those trees where they are. A storm or lightning may take one down so be prepared. I work on ponds all over Georgia and see a lot of trees on dams, strange but I dont see very many that die and destroy the dam. It can and does happen but I dont see it very much. another problem you may have is development behind your dam. If houses are built beind you then the dam becomes a risk to insurance companies. If this occurs you will be getting a visit from the Georgia Safe Dams people. They will make you rebuild the dam to meet their specs. You will need an engineer to draw up plans for approval, then Safe Dams will over see the construction. Believe me, a dam approved by Safe Dams is a very expensive pile of dirt.

Dont know if this applies to you but it may to someone here.

Is it nice to hear the same recommendations. I would also not cut down at this point. As mentioned if possible human loss can occur from dam failure it can be classified as a Category 1 Dam. Also Category 1 if dam is higher than 25 ft. or storage is 100 acre feet of water. If not a Cat 1 or Cat 2 it is not regulated by DNR -safe dam folks and I would just leave alone and corect as trees die.