Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam pond pics from el dorado

Since y’all love pics, I took the time to learn how to post them, however, since I am on dial up out here in the boondocks, I’m just gonna provide a link to photobucket. I had to upload compressed (lower resolution) pics cause I don’t have the time to upload 1mb per pic. Sorry they look really good at high res.

Theres a before (Sept 05) a few during (Nov. 05) and a bunch as of today (May 06). All in all I got over 500 pics before during and after so if there’s anything in particular you want to see more of, I probably got it. It was a challenge to get a “bedrock” pond to hold water again.

The pics are for all those who helped me on the aeration forum (thanks again), and general pondjunkies who just love pond pics. Thanks to Brettski for the directions, and Russ, here’s your rolling hills (especially the downstream ranch pond pic).

Cheers
Dave
OK, here’s the link:

http://s68.photobucket.com/albums/i9/jdsmith2/

If you need it the username is jdsmith2, and the password is pond101. It’d probably be good if you log me out when your done.

Dave,
Awesome scenery...another postcard pond! It was another God granted, Mother Nature delivered perfect pondsite. You did very well and should be proud. Clue me in a little on your spillway. It looks like pre-cast/poured concrete of some type...?
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(I still feel creepy for you about laying your Photobucket acct open for the cyber-world to see and have access to)

Its ok, aint got anything left to steal, but i got a great pond. Besides you pond guys are all right, look at all you want to.

I'll try and get you a close up pic of spillway. It was "engineered" ~45 years ago from the hip of an old rancher used to own the property. I know he didnt go out and make a bunch of watershed calcs, its an amazing piece of eyballing. It has successfully drained the pond and survived supposed 1,000 year storm flows "twice" in the last 10 years.

Its about 20 feet across, two compartments each ~4 feet high, all formed concrete, not precast, covered with seriously creosoted heavy duty bridge timbers. Few years ago fire dept. said they wouldnt cross it in big truck, so I put an additional 6-inches of re-barred concrete over bridge timbers. I connected surface concrete to hand dug 4 foot deep footings on each side, all one big piece overlapping the thing.

Had 3 feet of water going through it at one point this winter. In past, backside was seriously undercut, we packed in a bunch of rip rap and smaller rock and hammered it in with excavator bucket (CAT 320 is a bitchin machine). Lost some rock this winter but overall it held up great, much better than before. Will probably layer in concrete over remaining rip rap this fall if I can afford.

spillway pics are up

have fun, gotta get back to work.

Very, Very nice Dave!! Having never been to California, those images, much like NY, are not the typical images one sees. Anytime I've seen that type of california terrain, its been on fire or overrun with houses or both. Those pictures should of warned me to put my dribble bib on prior to viewing. The truck is packed, I'll be there in a few days. Thanks for getting the pond ready!!

Just curious, what's your plan of action for the algae. My small pond has got a good crop growing but due to its small size, I'm using manual labor to remove it.

Do those hills receive alot of snowcover in the winter??

Russ and Brettski, thanks for the kind words...dribble bib....lol.

Brettski is definitely on the right track, I'd like to take all the credit for the beauty of my trapped water, but we all know our efforts are just supplementing God and Ma Nature.

Yeah, the houses are coming. Urban sprawl is alive and well in just about every direction from just about every city, something to do with a few too many people I think. Fortunately we found a little valley bordering a big (~10,000 acre) cattle ranch that probably wont be developed in my lifetime. I'm about 15 miles as crow flies from where they discovered gold. It'l all dry out in the next month or two, hillsides will turn all gold (dead grass) and fire will be our biggest concern until November and wet season rains. We are at ~1600 ft, the ridge above us ~2000 ft elevation. We get a little snow every year, but average snowline is ~3500 feet. In fact, I got some really cool snow pics around pond, will try and post those this evening after work.

I have an aluminum lake rake w/ rope. When I need either excersice, meditation time, or to burn off some steam, or just a good old fashion sweat, I'll go down to pond and start draggin that crap to shore. Problem is too big to keep up with though, was hoping bottom aeration would help matters. Had pretty long thread on aeration forum asking that very question, but sounds like neither surface aeration or bottom aeration will really help much. Wish me luck as I do you.

Dave

Dave,

With snowcapped scenery like that, the only item left on the checklist is the cabin! Nice chunk of mother earth! Wish ya many years of enjoyment.