Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam New Land Owner - Pond Considerations

Hello Board,

I'm a new land owner, bought 57 acres in Orange County, VA. The site is 27 acres of hardwood and 27 acres of cleared land (mostly grass/hay). There is a 1/2 acre pond currently on site, it appears filled with silt. The dam is old, but in good shape. There is no overflow pipes or any other structure to help with draining, there is an escape ditch that was dug for overflow. Essentially, if the pond fills then the water runs over a small portion of the pond and down the ditch. Seems to have worked well over the years.

The pond is full of silt. I would like a pond on my property to fish/swim/enjoy.

I had a pond consultant come to my property yesterday and he provided me with a lot of good information but I do have some questions. Here is what I learned.

- The 1/2 acre pond can't be expanded much from the area opposite the dam given the contour of the land. I could drain the pond, dredge it, dig it out, and maybe get a 3/4 acre pond. The dam should have a proper drain put into it.

- I could remove the dam, cut a bunch of Oak/etc that is currently behind the dam, and then dam up some of the forest area for a 2 acre pond. Sounds great, but was told it could cost $100k-$150K.

- On the other end of my property there is a second pond site. Could create a 2-3 acre pond. It's in a cleared portion of my land, so not as much work would need to be done and thus the job would be cheaper.

My questions:

- I'm told that I need to get permits? Is this hard to do in VA? Told that I have to get approval from Corp of Engineers.

- If I choose to put a 2 acre pond in, on the cleared side of my land, is $100K a reasonable estimate? I believe I have most/if not all the material needed on site. My property has easy access. There would be minimal clearing of trees/etc. Thoughts??

- If I start with improving the small pond. Drain, correct dam, enlarge. Would it be worth stocking some LG bass in it? Or would it be more efficient as a blue gill/catfish hole??

Any thoughts/suggestions/or contacts in Orange County would be appreciated.

MGL