Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Spillway vrs Drainpipe

Both would be great on a good budget, but if the budget is a concern...FishinRod asks a good question. With no watershed and a relatively consistent spring flow...a drainpipe alone would do fine. It's never a bad idea to design in an emergency overflow, but concrete might be overkill. My small pond utilized the emergency overflow this year after a 6" rain in 2 hours. It flowed over the dam at the designated grassy section for about 4 hours (I have too much watershed - 25 acres when it should be closer to 2-3 acres). Minor amounts of washout occurred well below the dam, but all was good. My 15" pipe was not enough to allow the 3 foot of water rise to escape fast enough...mostly due to the 1/2" mesh I have on it to keep the fish in during normal heavy rains. It clogged with debris pretty quick and over she went.