Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site What does a good pond site look like

I will be going to Smith Mountain Lake area in Virginia to look for some retirement property. I want it to have a pond or a pond site(hopefully at least 2 or 3 acres). What do I look for as far as the lay out of the land is concerned? Two ridges that come together to form a "V" so I can dam the wide part, how steep should it be? In other words what does a good pond site look like? It may be hard to tell what it looks like on foot because of trees, brush, or just being overgrown with weeds. I am concerned that real estate agents will say that there is a pond site even if there isn't, just to make a sale.

Avoid as many Rock out cropping as possible, they are TROUBLE, trust me been there done that. I like to look for some what flat bottom land, that dose not have standing water. Standing water usually means wet land. Also with flat land you can back up water easy with-out building to high a dam. 3 acre Lake? You want about 30 to 60 acres of water shed...Prefurable all on your property so you can control what goes into the lake...Look also for plenty of Clay close to where the dam is....

Thanks for the help, if there are any more things I should look for please let me know.
Also, does anybody know a company, agency, or person in the Smith Moutain Lake or Lynchberg Va. area that I can have check the soil composition and/or size of the water shed of a piece of property before I make an offer for it. I am looking to purchase about 20 acres for the 2 to 3 acre pond.

Check with your NRCS people....They will come out and help for free....there are alot of factors when it comes to this what is the price per acre in that area???What kind of money do you wan to spend?

The cost per acre is between $2000 and $3000. The closer you get to Smith Mountain Lake itself the more expensive the land is(about $10,000 or more per acre on the lake). As far as the cost of building the pond itself, I will spend what ever it takes to do it right. I am thinking that it should cost around $50,000 to $60,000. Is that about right?

$50,000 to $60,000 is about right.....Make sure you do two things...first dig your self a few test pits to make sure you have good dirt...also make sure you get the elevations shot so you will know where the water line is and will know what size the pond will be. I tell you elevations can really fool you. Even if you go by a Topo map...

I just got back from Virginia, unfortunatly we really did not see any property that met all of our criteria for a home site and a pond site. But thanks to the help that I have gotten from your comments and other things that I have read on this excellent site, I was able to determine that the sites were not good ones. The real estate agent really did not have any idea, I had to educate him. There was one site with a one acre pond, but it really could not be expanded(contrary to what the agent thought), plus it had trees growing out of the back side, top and pond side of the dam, which I have read is not a good thing. Thanks for all the help, I am still looking.

Martina:

Lakes are TOUGH!! Very tough!! It takes lots of time searching and looking for the right tract that fits that particulare need..I have found over the years of looking at land that it usually take a rather large tract of land to find a "good" lake or pond sight. From this tract you then carve out the part you want...This is how I bought my tract reasonably...With all the studying and survaying I have done there is a few things I still wish I had on this lake sight I have now..

Is there any we you can get ahold of any timber packeges up there? Call you county extension agent and ask for a list of foresters in the area. When you get the list start calling to ask if they know of any timber tracts for sale....that is REALLY your best bet.