Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations what do you think of THIS pond site?

Hey all. I wanted to get opinions on another piece of property I'm considering purchasing in SC. I got some great advice on the last one. I've gotten a little more sophisticated with my research(good or bad thing I don't know) and believe this property lends itself really well to putting in a pond. I'm looking for a pond for fishing bluegill/sunfish and LMB with my family in the 2-3 acre range. Something big enough that you can spend a few hours in a canoe and not be casting to the same spots over and over.

I've attached a topo map and an aerial with the potential pond laid out at an elevation of 270ft. As seen in the topo there's sort of a "V" shaped depression that has been cut through the property from water but there isn't a creek that we can tell. Where we believe the water is coming from(other than watershed) is from a spring. I've circled a spot in blue on the map where we followed the wet ground up until it stopped. The blue line on the topo seems to support this because it stops near there and the property owner early on said there was a spring on the property. When we looked at the property this past weekend there was actually flowing water(a trickle) through the center of the "pond." The water was very clear also. The deepest areas in the pond site currently are about 6-8 feet below the 270ft elevation mark.

What I envision here is removing the trees from the pond site and excavating to make it deeper. Then lining with clay and building a dam which looks like it would be about 100yards long. I'm considering using the excavated dirt to build up the house site another few feet. This gives additional safety factor in the event of a massive deluge as well as eliminating most, if not all, of the transporting of dirt off site.

At this point I believe the pond is very doable but I have my concerns about the house site. The house site will be southeast of the pond in the area where you can see the pines(green) and the elevation shows about 272-273ft. I could push the house a little farther back to get it on even higher ground if necessary but trying to cut back costs of running utilities that far. My concern is the spring seems to originate at an elevation of about 277ft and it seems like I ought to be building a house at or above that elevation. On the other hand that spring appears to have been in that location for a very long time to have cut that ravine so I doubt a new one would pop up right under my house. I guess a perk test will give us a little more info as well.

I've talked to two pond builders and they're willing to come out and look at the place once it's under contract. One of them told me that as long as there isn't a creek flowing through the property we wouldn't need permits. I want to cover my behind though and double check that.

Is there anything I'm missing here? Any things I need to look into or questions I need to ask before pulling the trigger on this place? Thanks in advance.

The spring could be an issue. I would seek professional advise on this property. If you hit a spring the water can go DOWN into the spring if there is more pressure from pond water. Those springs can be good or bad.

The pond won't be sitting on the spring. If you look where I circled it in the map it's a good ways away from where I'm thinking of building the pond. With the way the land lays I'd expect some of the pond's water to come from the spring but a lot more would most likely come from the surrounding watershed.

Good point though. That would be a bad thing.

Check your soils to see what you are dealing with. You want to make sure you have plenty of clay in the pond basin. The pond downstream is a good indicator that the soils are ok but you want to double check.

Look up web soil survey to find out your soil types.

I just thought of another concern I was talking to my wife about yesterday. Am I looking for trouble putting a dam that close to a road? It's a small paved back road; about one car every ten minutes kind of road. There's a small pipe running under the road, maybe 12" diameter that feeds to the small pond on the other side of the road. I see people do it all the time but I want to be safe about it. There shouldn't be any issues unless I had a dam failure I wouldn't think.

If you put a dam close to the road I would make it extra wide and make sure you have a well designed emergency overflow and spillway. You do not want the dam to fail during a 100 year flood event. You could be liable for damages down stream. Neighbors will sue over any minor incident.

Be aware the tree litter from the surrounding area will prematurely age the pond where in 30 yrs it will likely need to be renovated of its undecompossed leaf and mud accumulations. With lots of annual leaf accumulations expect water quality problems before 30 yrs. Minimize the amount of shallow water less than 6-7ft deep. Ponds with lots of leaf input are usually pretty clear water which allow sunlight to penetrate deep and stimulate weed growth. Decomposing leaves provide nutrients for plant growth. Consider down sizing the pond so the renovation cost will not be as high.

By wide do you mean thick? When I think wide I think width of the pond at that point. I don't think you're trying to tell me that I need to make it wider than the pond.

Thanks for the tip. There should be plenty of dirt from the pond excavation to put behind the dam.

I mean by wide the width of the top berm where you will be able to drive across the dam. A decent engineer or very experienced pond builder should be able to provide guidance. IMO it would be very informative for you to read Mike Otto's book. It covers many pond building topics and includes excellent info on overflows and spillways.
http://www.pondboss.com/item.asp?id=163&r=store%2Easp%3Fc%3D8

Thanks Bill.