I have a 12 year old pond that we built by damming up a small spring fed creek on our farm in rural Northeast Georgia. The creek is spring fed and emerges from the hill sides a short distance up the mountain. The creek has always run clear and strong...even through a several year drought. The pond we built is about 3 acres and WAS a beautiful gem with deep green water and a thriving fish population.
About a year ago I began noticing that the pond would become stained (about the color of chocolate milk) with a very heavy rain. Gradually it would clear, but it seemed to take a less significant rain to bring on the staining. With the frequent and heavy rain that we've had all summer, the pond is pretty much staying this awful color.
Yesterday, after I learned of (an upstream) neighbor's timber clear cutting, my wife and I decided to follow the siltation to its source and we found a real mess. The neighbor has clear cut a large tract upstream from me and the erosion into my water source is staggering. We have ZERO doubt as to where our pond's siltation problem is coming from.
The neighbor's clear cut tract is completely exposed to the ravages of wind and water...no silt fence whatsoever. You can easily see where the runoff is carrying huge quantities of red dirt down the ravines and into the creek that supplies my pond. The creek is now clogged with dirt from his clear cutting and it appears that this could go on until my pond has completely filled in.
As I think back on it, I recall hearing heavy equipment running for months in that direction...just never realized what it was. I would say that the timing of hearing the equipment running and then first noticing the staining are coincident.
IMHO, my neighbor has been negligent in not taking steps to prevent his bare, freshly cut soil from being washed down the hillside and into the creeks.
So, my question is this: What do I do about it?
Thanks in advance for your help.
