Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site General Pond questions

Hey all, new to Pond Boss as a member. Love the site and all the info. Own a 22 acre farm and getting ready to pull the trigger on excavating a 1.5 acre pond if I can find someone to dig it!!! Little bit about the property: I live in Chesapeake Va which is coastal and flat. The land was used prior for agricultural and is 100% flat as can be. Talked with some folks who dig wells in the area and they all say you hit the water table at around 7 feet. Most of those same folks say you typically hit a white sand topsoil followed by blue clay. I do plan to dig some test holes to confirm that info. Looking to run a LMB pond along with the feeder fish. Some of my general questions below.

1. I’ve done a ton of research on proper depth but seem to get conflicting answers when googling. If I’m digging this thing out at 7 feet do i have to run half the pond down to the 10-12 foot depth or would say a 1/4 of the 1.5 acre pond at a depth of 10 foot suffice? Looking for general advice on minimum depth as depth is going to affect the overall price a bunch.

2. My concern with it being flat is there is no watershed to fill it and it will only be filled by rainwater. Do people typically run wells to fill these ponds?

3. If i dig below the water table will the water table fill the entire pond or just to the level of the table?

Thanks so much for any help…..I really appreciate it.

Welcome to the forum!

Water table ponds will only fill to the water table. I have a water table pond. I dug it to 22' depth when the water table some years could be 3' below the surface. Last year I was 9 feet low (vertically measured) So, I'd dig it as deep as the pocket book allows. Save the blue clay, dig out the sandy area 2' bigger, pack the blue clay in that sandy area in 6" lifts, compact with a sheepsfoot roller, add another 6" lift repeat until you have 24" clay knitted together. I couldn't do that, it was just sand down to 18' depth. I can fill with a well, but it leaks right back out. Think of filling a bathtub without the plug in place.......

Go to your local NRCS office and have them figure out the watershed for that area. It's a no cost deal.

Jbatt,

All of our advice is going to be a little "off base" until you have a better idea about your sub-soil conditions.

How far is your place from the Great Dismal Swamp? Low-lying ground is an understatement for some of the land in your area!

Do you have any type of excavating equipment on the farm? If so, I would dig a little slit trench with your narrowest bucket. Kind of make a flat bottom every few feet, and then dig a scoop out of the flat bottom (to get a pure sample) and make a record of what you encounter. Also note at what depth water starts to enter your trench.

I suspect in your area, your excavation will probably start to fill with water. If safe (for humans and animals), leave it open overnight and measure the depth to water the next morning.

If you are able to do a few tests at your pond location, that information will help any pond contractor give a much more accurate cost estimate.

If you are going to have a "groundwater" pond like esshup's main pond he describes above, the construction technique is going to be much different than a pond that is filled by gathering surface water. (Which is the more common type of pond discussed on Pond Boss.)

P.S. A surface pond that is only filled by rainwater falling directly on the pond will never be a reliable pond unless you live in an extremely high rainfall area. You must have some significant additional surface acres that also direct water to the pond. This is known as the watershed.

If you don't have that, then a "surface water" pond can be filled from a well or other secondary water source (such as a creek or marsh on your property - if legal). In addition to filling the pond from such a source, that source will also have to make up the day-to-day water losses in your pond due to evaporation and leakage.

Good luck on your new pond project! I hope the little background info I provided above will help with your planning.

If you come back with some more information about your specific conditions, then you can get some more directed advice on the forum.