Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Building pond over a spring

I have a spring that has always run. The banks are about 35 feet deep and sandy with trees and vegetation on most of those banks. about 400 feet from the start of the spring there is an area that someone had tried to damn, but they used sand and it did not hold. Would it work to damn this up or would the banks just cave in. Some of the banks are very steep. I'm thinking of a 1 to 2 acre pond. It would put the spring under the water.

If you can find some soil other than sand, it might work for a dam, but sandy soil is no good for holding water unless you can line it with clay and compact the clay in 6" lifts. Remember water can go both ways in a spring, depending what side has more pressure.

Try giving the local NRCS agent a call and see if they'll do a site survey, even if it's just a verbal yes or no to find out if the soil will hold water and if a pond will work in that spot.

I have no idea what could happen if you put a bunch of water pressure on top of a spring. Anybody?

1. absolutely nothing and you have a great pond for thousands of years

2. during low flow periods the spring acts like a drain and you end up with a relatively empty mud pit

As far as I have read absolutely no reasonable way to tell when a spring can just stop flowing too.