Anyone building a new pond or even adding to an old pond, I highly recommend adding some sort of sediment or settling pond ahead of the main pond if you have a watershed that tends to have sediment erosion or high nutrient loads.
Below are pictures that are actually showing that the sediment pond is being over loaded. In other words some sediment and muddy water is flowing through the sediment pond and making it to the main pond. But imagine how much more sediment and mud would be getting into the main pond without first flowing through the sediment pond and a much small pre-sediment pond I have ahead of the sediment pond. At least the larger particles are being dropped in the sediment pond before it reaches the main pond.
I believe my sediment pond will make my main pond last numerous more years and keep the water in better shape each year by first having the portion of runoff that comes off agricultural land first flow through the pre-sediment and sediment ponds.
First two pictures are from a couple days ago right after a fairly large rain. Last two pictures are from today where enough water flowed the overflow pipe could not handle all of it so some was going over the emergency overflow. Most average rains the overflow pipe will handle the water.
Both ponds in last two pictures several inches over full pool.
