Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions low water - puttin' in well

My very first post - bear with me! Our current pond has been enlarged by raising the dam and should be 2 surface acres with maximum depth at dam of 14'. However, due to lack of any runoff rain in our part of Illinois, we are drilling a well to supplement pond. Our well guy has suggested a 1 1/2 hp submersible pump the will give us 20 GPM. The well will be 270' into an aquafer that is used for irrigation. But I know I've read some posts that mention pumps that give 50+ GPM. Is that something that we should be looking into instead? Any insight is really appreciated.

My pond is 1.25 acres with a maximum depth of 14'. My total well capacity is about 75 gpm. I have to run at least 18 gpm to raise my pond level even slightly. A pond with 14' max. depth should have an average depth of about 5 1/2 feet. This would give you about 12 acre-feet of water. This is about 4 million gallons. If you add 25 gpm that gives you around 36K gallons per day. This will gradually raise your water level in times of no rain. I'd seriously consider going with a larger pump so that you can deal with droughts more effectively.

Welcome to the forum.

Bruce

Thanks so much for the quick response. I might add that this well will eventually serve as the well for our home also. Would a larger pump (50+ gpm) have any negative impact when being used for household use? Maybe that is why he suggested the smaller pump? He knew we would be supplementing the pond only for the next few years but then build and use the same well for the house.

I think domestic well pumps typically deliver in the range of 10-20 GPM tops; mine will do 11 GPM on a good day. I think a 50 GPM pump used for domestic water should probably be equipped with a larger than normal Pressure Tank(s), so that the pump does not cycle in 30-60 second spurts. This would cut down on the number of pump cycles and startup surges. A number of "regular" sized P-tanks to be hooked up together to serve this purpose, although that would have greater expense (and chance of failure/leak) than one tank used with a normal sized domestic pump.

Makes sense - thanks. At least now when I talk to him again, I'll be able to ask the right questions!! We had hoped the pond would have filled a little more by now, but rain has been spotty here in Illinois. I've been reading all the posts for about 6 months (and subscribed to the magazine), and everyday I tell my husband something new that I've learned. We stocked the pond through the DNR last year and just a couple of weeks ago we put in the Bass, but the lack of rain has us worried.

I've been reading and enjoying the photos that Brettski posts and would be curious as to what part of Illinois he's in. He's got a beautiful place in the works!! Thanks for responding and I'll keep reading and learning.

Hi Paintedpony.

Your well guy may be recommending a 20 gpm pump because that is all your aquifer can sustain. Pumps, wells, and groundwater aquifers can be a complex subject.......to simplify things for this discussion, you will only be able to use a 50 gpm pump if your well can produce enough water to keep up with that demand.

If in your area, your aquifer can produce a large quantity of water, and you can run a 50 gpm pump...awesome for you......and Good luck.

I use a deep well for my 1 acre pond and have 1" black poly running to pond. The poly is hooked directly to pump outlet and does not go thru tank or pressure switch. I am told that this allows the pump to just "idle" while pumping and does not hurt the pump. It raises the water level about an inch a day.

Hey Guys - Thanks so much for your input. I don't think the recommendation for the smaller pump is because of water availability but more because it will be used for home use in the future. But we've yet to ask why - on my list of "to dos". Also need to ask if it will be going thru the pressure tank - thanks Bruce S. for your info -I'll be passing that along to him as maybe a possibility. Bruce S. - how many gpm raises it an inch a day?

Still no rain here, so really need to get working on this. The pond is going down everyday, the FA is taking over and I don't even want to guess what the water temp is.

You want to raise 2 acres an inch per day?

Two acre-inches is .17 acre-feet.

.17 acre-feet is about 60,000 gallons.

There are 1,440 minutes in a day.

60,000 divided by 1,440 is about 42 gpm.

This is what you'd need in addition to what you lose to evaporation and seepage.


Bruce S.

Thanks again to all for responding to my first post.

Fortunately, we found out our aquifer can pump large quantities of water and we are putting in a 65 gpm pump that will not be using a pressure tank until we build the house (thanks for info Bruce S.) The well guy was initially just trying to give us a middle of road system that could function with everything.

Now I have a couple more questions/concerns that I know someone will have knowledge about.

First, after we enlarged the pond, we had the area hydroseeded down to about 2' past the proposed water line. And one side of the bank wasn't disturbed much at all so the grass was already established. However, the water will eventually be over this entire area and the vegetation is very thick and tall. (natural grasses, clover, some thistles, etc). Should we try to keep this mowed down and/or cleared out until the pond fills? If not, after the water covers this area and the vegetation starts dying, is this harmful? I know it is helpful now because we are getting no soil erosion around the pond when it rains.

Secondly, after the pump is in and we start pumping water into the pond, will it matter where the water is pumped to? The most direct line from the well will be to an area that is dry at the moment (the far East end of the pond - where the majority of the watershed will come in). We were going to put the pipe right at the future water line and pump it over rock to the bottom. We're assuming it will find its way to the existing filled part of the pond and the water will eventually back up and fill the entire pond. Then the pipe will be right at the water line and we can make adjustments to increase oxygen levels.

Is my post clear as mud? Sorry if it is. Questions?/Comments? Thanks!!

Painted Pony

WRT the first question - when the ponds fills, that existing grass, clover, etc. will provide a beneficial habitat for the new pond life to live in and on. This will be a good thing, so I wouldn't worry about trying to keep it mowed or clearing it out. It will also help control erosion from precipitation while the pond is filling, an additional benefit.