Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Max Slope of Island Bank in Clay Dugout

The steeper the banks are the harder it will be to get vegetation established, and once it is established, how will you mow or trim it? Set up a piece of 4x8 plywood at a 2:1 slope and try to walk on it. Think about if the water drops or does not stay at the same level that you think it will. Set it at 3:1 and check it again. You want the bank above the water line a gentle slope and I'd also make that slope continue down 3-4 foot water depth. Another reason for that is if the banks are too steep below the water line the fish will have no place to spawn. Think about habitat and cover for the fish too, how will you keep it in place if the banks are really steep?

A client has 3:1 slopes and they can't be mowed. The guy that dug the pond didn't know what he was doing and there is about 20-25 feet of 2:1 to 3:1 slope around the whole pond. Where the water level was, the water cut the bank and it's even steeper because it slid into the pond. The weeds are 4' high around the pond and it is unfishable unless you are in a boat, and you can't even see the water because the weeds are so high. Even in a 1/2 acre pond, you will have some wave action and the banks will get eroded.