Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Kansas Pond

Wing dikes on a river function much differently than one on a smaller course of water. In a river they force water into the main channel helping prevent sediment from accumulating. In a 15' wide creek a series of dikes can be make on opposite banks that extend 10' to middle of channel - the idea is the slow the water down so the particulate can sink and accumulate behind the wing dykes and not flow into the pond. Every few years one can excavate the accumulated silt on the front side of the dikes and restore the depth pretty simply. The main advantage of wing dikes is they are likely cheaper to build than a catch pond [pushing clay into a berm and installing riprap - don't need to worry about clay liner/leaks, no spilway installation] and are easier to excavate than a catch pond which would require draining and drying [the latter of which may never happen due to rains]. This is how it was explained to me by an engineer some years back. Every situation is different obviously but wing dikes upstream of a pond and wing dikes on a river seem to be designed for different purposes.