Travis
1 . The water level cab be the same elevation as the bank (shoreline) . The water level MUST be lower than the top of the dam. It will be determined by the amount of water that comes in the pond, and how much it rains. Some small ponds with very little drainage will have only a foot of dam above the water level.
2. The pipe lower than the runaround or emergency spillway can stop the water that will flow out of the spillway, again it depends on the size of the drainage area.
3. Packed dirt is always a must, on the top of the dam, a good turf may be just as valuable.
Otto