Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Iron bacteria

We just had our pond dug last fall - it is about a 1/8 to 1/4 acre and steep sides with a max depth of 15-18 ft. It is heavy heavy clay soil and there is run off from a large area (about an acre) that is much higher than the pond itself , this run off is ditched into the pond, but there is what I believe to be a lot of iron bacteria in this run off and it is running into the pond. Question, is there anything we can put at that inlet to capture that before it goes into the pond or do we need to re-divert that runoff to not go into the pond. It is a very low flow and I would expect it to dry up in later in the summer - maybe. The area above is all the clay that was dug out to make the pond.

I have not herd of iron bacteria, but I am no expert with all that. The expert here I would think might be Bill Cody and he might join in. So, is it causing any problem with the pond water? Muddy clay looking? Orange looking maybe from iron ore? And Welcome to the PB Forum

Thank you! I am excited to have my own pond finally! Yes the water is very muddy which is probably due to the clay solids , but the iron is causing an oily sheen and reddish blotches all over the surface. the problem is coming from a ditch that the runoff is funneled into and then goes into the pond. I planted some cattails in the ditch - (which is out of the pond) , the soil is like clay soup in the ditch - bc I heard that cattails keep iron levels down hoping that might help. Re routing the ditch would be a herculean effort. Im think about lining the ditch with lime stones as well.

Welcome to the forum, SueL. Planting cattails was a great idea. Cattails are an excellent wetland species and will help "clean" the runoff to your pond.

The first thing you want to ensure is the iron in the runoff is not from rubbish. Walk the watershed and clean it of any debris, including ferrous metals.

Second, you need to slow that water down before it enters your pond and as far away as possible. Metals and most things detrimental to water quality are heavier than the water. Slowing the water will help precipitate the minerals away from your pond.

Last, and one of the most difficult is a natural filtration barrier. I use a combination of rip rap (large rocks), river rock and sand. This also requires a sand stop if you don't want the sand entering your pond.

There are a thousand things you can do and hopefully others on this forum will pop in with more ideas.

Hi, hoping i can resurrect this thread.....

@Joey Quarry, can you tell more about the natural-filtration-barrier strategy?

I'm fairly certain this massive undertaking is required to prevent iron from seeping into my pond....

Thanks!