RAH,
When you say the 4th pond leaks (probably through the sand stringers), did it stay at the same level as the adjacent wetland?
You said the pond is connected to the wetland, but the connection was severed during the drought. Was that a "surface connection" that was severed? If the pond and wetland drew down during your summer drought and stayed at approximately the same level throughout, then a subsurface connection remained intact.
That should be sufficient for your long-term goals, especially if your warmouth can tolerate the fluctuating pond levels.
Are the warmouth intended to be the top predator in this pond? If so, what is your planned food chain for them? If we knew that, then maybe some of the good "fish" people on PB could give you some speculative ideas for other fish.
