Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions New Pond Questions

In the final stages of constructing a new 5 acre pond. We are debating about removing all the topsoil. We have plenty of clay to finish dam construction. The pond is filling quickly with abundant( 8-10) springs so far. The more topsoil we remove the more water we run into. Had to plug 2 springs so far while trying to finish dam. The pond will have natural banks on the sides due to great locations. Natural slopes tend to sway me to leave topsoil as the pond should drain daily with the amount of water that would be coming into the pond.Any help would be nice.

Charlie,
First, remove the topsoil if it's in the pond basin. Store it somewhere & use it to replenish topsoil where needed such as on the dam.
Second, it's your call about the springs. If I read you correctly they are in the pond basin. If this is true they can either help or hurt, add water or take water. Most people here would play it safe & plug them.
Lastly, leaving the topsoil covering the springs will not prevent them from hurting you. If you have free flowing springs above the projected water line of the pond then it is possible you may be ok leaving them unplugged. Again, It's your call.

Thanks, my pond builder says the springs should not hurt me as I have plenty of springs that will be above the water line. I talked to another buider and he says the same thing.

C43:

1) I second what Ric said.

2) Link to another current discussion on springs with MANY links to spring info: Spring??? Yes or no.

3) If you are going to have a property for a while, you can NEVER have too much topsoil sitting around. What you don't use for your own projects is invaluable just as a trade good.

Charlie,

You have an interesting situation. On one hand, I agree with Theo's point #3....you can never have enough topsoil. The interesting point, is your comment that the more topsoil you remove, the more water you hit.
Here is one thought I had. Without knowing the goals of your pond and given your geographic location, I'm going under the premise that it will be a traditional bass/bg/catfish impoundment. This assumption may be a big mistake so please correct me if I'm wrong.
It seems that a good portion of southern pond owners incorporate a fertilization program in their pond managment regime. For ponds that have high flow through, fertilization becomes more difficult. If your plan is to include a fertilization program, perhaps it would be prudent to limit the amount of water flowing into your pond by leaving the topsoil in place, thus reducing the amount of water/number of springs.