This is a theoretical pond, I'm trying to understand watershed needs better:) (And getting some ideas for other spots on my property where a pond might fit)
I would think that rainfall equal to evaporation, and a pond that doesn't leak would eventually fill up if it had any watershed at all. (Although it might takes years to fill and the water level might fluctuate severely at times)
My new pond is .36 acre and it only has about an acre of watershed. If I followed the "rules" it should have at least 3 acres. There is alot of ground above it, but that ground slopes the wrong way for water to run into the pond. The pond was dug at the end of February and it is filling slowly. We will have a heavy rain or two and the water level will go up alot, then the water level will slowly drop as the water seeps into the banks before the next rain. The good thing is it seems to be "stabilizing" at higher water levels after every heavy rain, so I guess the banks are gradually getting saturated. It had the most water in it yet about 3 weeks ago, but is down about a foot from that level because there have not been any heavy rains since then.
I've seen two figures for our annual rainfall here ... 51 & 52 inches. The two figures I've seen for our evaporation rate are much different ... 50 & 37 inches. I tend to believe the former is more accurate. If it is 51" of annual rain and 37" of annual evaporation then theoretically a pond on top of a hill with no watershed would eventually fill, right? (Assuming seepage/saturation isn't too high)
