Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site water source and location of pond

would like some input on this . am looking at pond site at base of hill at transition area between creek bottom and hill. trying to come up with ideas so as to not have to dam the creek and also keep as many hardwoods in the bottom as i can. am trying to make a 2 1/2 to 4 acre pond that would dug out of the low lying transition area creating a irregular shaped pond with
contours determined by hill shape and tree line on creek side--i guess we should create the dam site by picking or creating a "lowest" area and creating our "dam" at that point--i have about 50 acres watershed that would supply water and my area in georgia says 48" rainfall with 35" evaporation----i possibly can add another 15acre or so of watershed by creating a water diversion ditch. does this sound reasonable and has anyone built a pond in a similar type situation as this?

also my thoughts are i may be able to create a "pump station" hole by the creek and pump some water out of the hole to help fill the pond this fall that way i can block trash fish, etc and still benefit from the creek water being there if only to help initial fill. thanks for any info and suggestions

anyone with a pond built on a site like this i would appreciate input from----it would seem that if you saved bunches of really large hardwoods that it would be cheaper just to move dirt in
and already "tree" clear but bushy area---i want to save those trees as a backdrop on the pond as i think it would be beautiful. again input from people who have built in similar locations feel free to respond to this entry. thanks.

sorry ga pond rookie, but i'm finding it really difficult to visualize from yer description, perhaps you could try a field sketch or some (compressed) pictures of area and post them.

it sounds like you want to build on the flood plain of creek? i have a dammed creek style pond and wish i had the situation to only divert creek water and control the water budget of my pond. if you have the opportunity to construct a pond with controlled input and output, i would think that the best of all possible situations.

There's an 8 acre pond ("Lake Peewee") at the local Boy Scout Camp which is similar to what I think you are describing. It's long and fairly thin with a hill on one side and a very long dam placed 50 to 200 yds from a creek on the other. It's a very pretty setting, but it sure makes for a long (and hence expen$ive) dam. Having a dam close to a creek would make me kind of nervous - worrying about meandering taking out the dam - but Lake Peewee is far enough away from this small creek that it's not a big concern.

The GA contingent would have a better feel for watershed size, but the easy 50 acres should probably be enough. I don't think I'd worry about adding the other 15 acres unless it proved necessary.

2 years ago we constructed a 1/4 acre pond in our flood plain, very much like the area you described. The pond is approximately 7 feet deep and fed from the creek. We trenched in 500' of electrical lines from the house to the creek and layed 300' of water lines from the creek to the pond. Due to the flood plains proximity to the creek we hit rock at 7' when digging and was unable to dig deeper. We have some pond bottom leakage which requires adding water on a daily basis, this task is not a burden due to the pump being on a timer. Controlling algae is my greatest challenge. The creek water is nutrient rich with farm fertilizer and release water from a sewage treatment plant approximately 15 miles up creek. The creek seems to be healthy we have an abundance of animal and aquatic life in and along the creek. (Beaver,fish,mussels,herons). To help control the algae we installed a water fountain and are treating with a monthly slow release natural bacteria. The bacteria is costly, but necessary. If anyone else can suggest a more cost effective bacteria, I'm interested.

thanks for the comments thus far--i am a good distance from the creek and from what i've read i would not need to make the whole bottom side of pond a dam just the deepest part where i plan on a drainpipe -- the area appears to be on the edge of the flood plain of the creek which if i control the beavers should not be a problem--this
pond would be app. 250yds to 300yds long x ave. 75yds wide (more wide in some places than others)--area is usually good clay at shallow depths (contractors think we'll hit it 2 ft to 4ft or so down in this area---the plan right now is to dig the bottom side out down to good clay then push the clay from upper side to seal the part of lower side that is not clay--do not really need to dig the entire low side as a dam on excavated pond i don't think--also don't think i'll have a problem with rock as i'm in "the capitol of clay country" but i guess you never know until you dig. am having the area cleared next week to shoot some elevations and and will see what's at the 4ft level in several places. i have plenty of land and places that we can use excess dirt--also places to burn or pile debris
--anyone with any experience with this type pond please "jump in" lake pewee sounds a lot like this---is it a pretty place and would you want it for a "backyard"? thanks ya'll

Lake Peewee is gorgeous - I would love to duplicate it if I ever have a place with sizable hills. The only drawback is all the Boy Scouts, who get pretty whiff towards the end of a week at camp.

One of the numerous properties that we researched during our quest for pond-ability had a very similar option available. It sounded exactly as Ga Pond Rook has described his plan. It was located in western Illinois. I really went after the research on this one and spent some quality time conversing with the local NRCS office for that county. The creek that ran thru just below the long thin pondsite had a reputation for being a runner during heavy rain. It was also populated with medium density timber. Furthermore, because of the pondsite's close proximity to this "wet" area, it was determined that the soil hydrological makeup would technically qualify it as wetland, even though it was nowhere near being underwater at any time. Next stop, ACoE. They were helpful and cordial, but were VERY careful to make no promises and told me to expect a number of hoops. I was also warned to prepare other property to dedicate to re-forestation to mitigate the loss of the existing timber in the pond-site zone.
We passed on this one, too.

thanks but have talked to two nrcs offices and understand i should not have a problem with that.
have you built one similar?

brettski--as further explanation---one of the reasons for choosing this site was to reduce the need to remove large quantities of hardwoods from the creekbottom--it should only require removal of 5 to 10 trees (not in creek floodplain) that is provided it works out like i have it outlined. now we are clearing the perimeter of underbrush to get a good luck at the site. then the contractors will look and bid and tell me what to expect. actually it should improve the whole area as opposed to destroying it. -i know nrcs in different areas provide different services---unfortunately in my area they will only help with crop irrigation ponds at present time. you can get literature from them however. if you know someone who has built in an area like this i'd like to know how it worked and turned out. thanks

I just might ask the NRCS what kind of "crop" might benefit from irrigation. It seems to me that you have plenty of hardwoods that might be considered to have a future market value. Drought could slow down the growth of your investment. Or maybe a cleared area for a winter wheat plot to feed the deer that you are non-selectively breeding for future market hunting.

dave thanks for suggestion---i am interested in that from an aspect also for the benefit of getting the tax write-offs that come with a farm/crop---if you have any specific suggestions you can email me [email protected] ---the two people i talked with in different nrcs offices (one was an old friend of mine in another county) both gave the same song and dance so i'm not sure talking with them further would help a lot but i'll give it a shot. i take it nrcs has different rules for different states? thanks again

Nothing real specific but I would think that it would depend on your area, the soil and what is normally grown there. Also, just what does the NRCS consider a crop? How about baby Xmas trees? I would think that you would have to label yourself as a farmer of some kind. Especially one that would benefit from irrigation.

i think i will just leave the nrcs out of it--i am sure if i push them and make them mad they will only cause trouble for me so i don't need the headaches. shame all states don't get equal treatment from them though. still like the farm aspect so as to be able to write off tractor/etc.
thanks

ga pond rookie has E-Mailed me some questions that a mere dumb yankee can't properly answer, compared to local Southern experts.
(I don't know nuthin' but "HOW 'BOUT THEM DAWGS?").

I think coring the entire bottom from hillsides at one end to the other is the way to go. A 25:1 watershed:pond ratio would be plenty in Ohio, especially if grassland made up a decent part of the 75 acres. How about in GA? Depth extremes and average sound good to me.

I think the probable situation is if the dam holds water, level drop from evaporation in the Summer will not be too bad. Again, local info will be better.

Beware Real Estate Agents bearing gifts.

IIRC liming is pretty SOP around you.

I'd talk stump removal ahead of time with whatever excavator you end up using. I had a walk-through with my excavator of the site of my next pond (2007 project if all goes well). This site is about 1/2 wooded. Based on the size of the trees and his equipment, he told me to leave the trees intact (rather than cutting them down ahead of time as I had been thinking) because he could bulldoze them out of the way easier if they were left whole.

sorry --my bad on "stump" removal---we are taking out whole trees not leaving stumps. much easier to push up whole trees than stumps. just wonders simpliest, longest lasting, most bang for the buck fish attractors to put in pond--so much to think about at one time. i guess i'd best be thinking about a dock of some sort if i build the pond on that site---easier to do that before it fills i imagine. thanks