Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Pond in sandy soil, please help

Bill H:

Building a pond is a bit more complicated than just digging a hole in the ground and letting it fill with water.

In your area, being that it is a groundwater high area, the water level in the pond will ebb and flow height wise with the level of the water in the ground.

Sandy soil will tend to slough off and migrate to the deepest part of the pond if the slope is greater than 3:1 (at least around here). Even at that slope, you might have some migration. I'd prefer to have a 4:1 - 6:1 or less slope so that it's easy to walk on. Not saying that you can't make it steeper, you can have it 3:1 but it isn't the easiest thing to walk on. You can have a gentle slope for the sides of the pond that will see the most use, down to maybe 5' water depth then increase it to 3:1 to get the depth needed without having a huge footprint.

The other problem that you will have is digging in the water. If you don't keep the water pumped out of the pond as it's being constructed, getting the bottom contour/slope will be difficult, plus the water will increase the time it takes to build the pond. Every scoop will have water running out of it, which will also wash out sand with it.

Having the creek nearby and having sandy soil might work to your advantage. You might not have the water level fluctuations that the rest of us with groundwater ponds see.