Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations WATERSHED

How do I determine how much watershed will be feeding into my pond?

Everything that comes downhill toward it is the runoff area for it. Measure it and convert to acres or whatever you want it measured in.

Some ideas:

1) Get a topographic map of the area surrounding your pond site. The map will show the elevations of all the land around you and let you determine the drainage basin (watershed).

2) Visit you local Soil and Water Conservation/NRCS office. You will hopefully find a helpful employee there who loves doing ponds and doesn't get nearly enough pond work to suit him. He will know how to measure your watershed by topo map or inspection. (This is how I did it - both the Soil & Water guy and I were happy).

3) If the land is open and relatively small you may be able to visually identify the dividing line between your pond's watershed and the surrounding areas that drain away from your pond. You could measure the area's dimensions by stepping it off, using a long tape, a laser range finder, or a GPS. Calculating the acreage of simple and complex areas has been discussed here several times before. 1 acre equals 43,000 and some square feet (someone will be happy to chip in the exact number, I always just remember 209 ft X 209 ft = 1 acre, which is pretty close).

I recommend approach #2 - a helpful S&W guy can help you set up your pond in many, many ways.

43560 sq ft/acre.