My 3/4 acre pond is totally reliant on runoff. The watershed is too small for the size pond and there are great (3 ft.) flucuations in water level during the year. I want to capture more of the precipitation that falls in the small watershed.

A well is out of the question due to high initial cost and water quality. The property is a former surface coal mine and there are areas where highly acidic water leaches out of the old workings (lower in elevation than the pond bottom).

Anyway, I am thinking of installing a shallow network of plastic drain tile in the non-cultivated field up slope from the pond. That area has a terrace that was built when the land was reclaimed. There are no cattle running there now nor any in the future. I believe tiling the field (about four acres in size) will deliver more ground water to the pond than is getting there now. The advantage to tiling is I can add to the network as I have time and funds.

Please let me know what you think about this idea. Thanks!