Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site NRCS/SCS assistance in NC with pond design???

Depending on the type of soil, you usually can't make the slope steeper than 2:1, and for safety reasons I recommend making the slope no steeper than 3:1 or 4:1 out to 3'-4' water depth, then make it as steep as the soil will allow without sloughing off.

Rough rule of thumb is that a ponds water volume in ac/ft is half the max depth x the surface area. i.e. a 1/2 acre pond 10' max depth has roughly 5 ac/ft water in it.