Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Is Silt a bad thing?

I am constructing a 1 1/2 pond and I have an area that has many springs. That area has a lot of silt build-up from the many rains. I have taken a lot of the silt and placed it over exposed rock formations. Is silt bad for a pond? The pond is still 12 ft deep over the silted areas

wes,why would you put the silt over the rock formations?i would think that the formations would make excellent cover.as for being bad,in may case yes.where the average depth in the past was 8 to 10 feet the lake has silted in to a point that the average depth on one end is now 3 to 4 feet.thru time if you allow the silt to continue,you will lose that 12 foot depth.

Silt and covering rock formations near a spring are separate issues.

Silt -- It's almost never good for a pond. Silt build-up reduces the storage capacity of your reservoir and, if it contains organic material, the resulting layers can be a mucky, stinky mess in the pond bottom. When construction budget and space allow, many pond designers create a small catch basin upstream from their main project, just to collect silt. In some states, you get all sorts of attaboys from the government for creating . . . ta-da . . . wetlands.

Springs -- They're God's gift to us pond owners (read challenge), and must be treated with respect. Most contractors I have worked with choose a site carefully. They build a pond so that, when full, the pond's water level does not reach the elevation of where the spring emerges. That way, you're working WITH nature, not against her.

As for placing a layer of so-called "silt" over a rock layer below the surface of the water, don't expect your handiwork to last. The loose sediment will slough off and seek its own level, usually filling any low spots in the main lake basin.

Hope this helps.

Editor, Mark McDonald

I put the silt over the rocks because I don't want the lake to leak. The rocks are limestone, which I heard are the worst for leaking. The silt won't run off because I have ridges around it with packed clay. Here in Georgia we have blazing summers, so hopefully the silt will dry out and I can pack it.

Before I covered the areas with silt, it was around 20ft deep. Which I heard is a no-no in the south because of stratification. With the silt unpacked, it still has 12-14 ft of water over it ( or it will when contruction is finished).

The silt is not from run-off. I have all the banks covered with grass, so I don't think silt will be a problem in the future. I don't have any where to put the existing silt, so I put it over the rocks.