Welcome to the forum!
What do you see to be the best options for starting over?

IS there a dam that can be breached? You can then let the water flow down, or be pumped down, and then let the muck dry sufficiently to allow machines to spread or remove it. And then do you have a place to go to with several thousand yards of muck?

Most of us would say that 'starting over' for a 50 year old pond would HAVE to include redigging down to the clay to remove sediment and bound up nutrients. Does it have adequate clay to hold water? Or is it also a ground water pond?

If there is a dam that is exposed after drawdown, that would be a time to assess the construction of the base of the dam, inspect or redo the keyway if there are any concerns about construction techniques at the time of the original dam build and also if there are any possible leaks through the base of the dam or behind the dam if it stays 'wet' you need to address those now.

During the 'no water' phase you can also plan for a bottom siphon if that sounds like it would suit your needs or can plan for your future needs for a spillway or over the dam siphon system.

4.5 acres is a lot of water to backup and safely manage.

I would say these are the things that a good pond builder would have you tackle first. After that is done there are lots of good links here about how to stock your forage first while the pond slowly fills and then plan for predators in year 2 or beyond depending on your goals.

Last edited by canyoncreek; 06/13/18 11:10 AM.