Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Planning 3/4ac TN pond for a Fall build...

My BIL and I (I'm paying. Lol.) are having a 3/4ac pond built at their 62ac property in Bradford, TN. As more details emerge, I'll share them.
Any top 2 or 3 things I need to watch/look out for? I'm an utter newbie here.

Look out for anything that isn’t sandy loam. Also, rocky areas can be leaky.

Hire a pond builder, not a dirt mover. Go look at ponds that he's built. Talk to the owners without him within earshot and ask them if they are happy and if they'd do anything different. Make sure that there is enough (and not too much) watershed to keep the pond full, or as a last resort, dig a well to fill it and keep it full.

Make a plan. Make a plan, Make a plan. Go over the plan and try to make the pond according to the fish that you want in the pond and how you want to use the pond. Want a beach to have people swim? That takes a different slope than if a pond won't be used to swim. That small of a pond, don't even think of having an island in it, it will chew up too much of the area needed for water.

Get all the cover that will go into the pond BEFORE the pond is completed, get it assembled, and place in the pond prior to water filling the pond.

If it was my pond or property there, I'd see if https://www.grayconstruction.net/ was close enough and had time in their schedule to build it...........

You say your BIL does home construction. Does he ever have a backhoe or mini-excavator available after finishing up a job?

If so, then make your state dig locator call now, and then excavate a couple of "test pits", when the equipment becomes available.

Are there multiple possible locations for the new pond, or only one?

If there is only one location, then do a couple of tests across the proposed pond basin.

First, measure the top soil depth at each location. The pond contractor will need to scrape and stockpile the good topsoil. Spreading the good top soil on the back of the dam and across all of the disturbed ground around the perimeter of the pond will make it MUCH easier for you to quickly establish good groundcover plantings after the pond is finished.

Next, look at the layers as they come out of the ground. (Do NOT go into the trench!) Whenever I want to sample a layer, I do not reach the bucket to the far wall, instead I just do a scrape of the current layer at depth. Dump it on the ground and then get out of the cab and examine the contents of that bucket.

You need to watch out for sand layers because they will steal your pond water. You need to watch out for rocky debris and cobbles because you cannot compact that material to make a seal. You need to watch out for bedrock, because it will limit your pond depth.

You do need to find some good loam or clay-loam material to create the water seals for your pond. When this material is slightly moist, you should be able to roll it in your palms and make a "snowball". Don't worry if you feel some sand in your palms, if you can make a cohesive snowball, then that material should be just fine for a good pond builder. If you can roll it into "worms" then it has an even higher clay content.

Good pond builders have to build a sizeable "cushion" into their bids, because they never know what they will find once they scratch the surface of the earth. IMO, if you can mostly inform the builder what to expect, then he will be able to give you a better plan and bid.

For example, if you want to build the pond a certain way, and the builder identifies a few problems from your test pits, he can then tell you why your initial plan won't work, but here is the plan he can execute successfully that will be closest to your initial design.

ALL design changes that occur BEFORE heavy equipment is on the property are much cheaper than changes made during the middle of the project!

Have fun on your new pond project!

62 acres? Buld a bigger pond

It's not my property. My SIL wants one she can look at from their house. Her main focus is horses. I'm just glad she's the one who 1st mentioned she'd like a larger pond. I was thinking that, but did I mention it's not my property. Anyway, I got buy in so pond building we'll try.

A question about needing to lime or not. I tried searching the archives with no success, granted I'm an electronic idiot. What soil testing do I need to do prior to pond construction to determine if I need to add lime?

Alkalinity lower than 40 means you need it. FWIW, my alkalinity naturally is in the 150 range.

I just heard from my pond guy. He says they should get around to us in early November. Yeehah. My wife and I are going there for Thanksgiving so we'll have time to build and install the habitat while it's empty. I'm initially planning on several PVC Porcupines along with the Pond King's 1 acre package.

https://pondking.com/products/honey-hole-value-packs?variant=42149649645657

Brian, I have found that cedar tree, about 6 to 8 ft tall make great, and cheap, cover. Tie a cinder block to the base to keep them where you want them. They last for years.

They just started the pond yesterday and will finish Monday. Yee hah! Tomorrow I'll order the 1/2 Acre Package of habitat (along with a few extras) from Pond King. Then later in the week I'll roadtrip there. And my Energizer Bunny engineer wife will fly there for Thanksgiving. So there'll be no problem getting those things put together. She loves that kind of stuff. I'll also put more forage in the two existing ponds.

Pro tip: Be sure to add pond features/amenities that appeal to your Energizer Bunny wife. Having her as an enthusiastic voter on the "pond improvement committee" will certainly benefit your pond! I think it was Mark Twain that said, "Happy wife, happy fish."

Enjoy the build this week and the next round of fun activities at your pond.

Good and bad news on the pond build. The good news is that the dirt is good and they're isn't any sand to worry about. Bad. The ground is just too wet right now. He's going to finish it in the summer. Darn. I'll just keep on messing with the two small ponds.

Sorry to hear your ground is too wet for construction.

I have advocated for many years on Pond Boss for the creation of a program where land owners fighting too much water can send it to the pond owners suffering during a drought. As of right now, I just have one tiny engineering hurdle that needs to be overcome!

Unfortunately for many, building a pond outside of late summer/early fall happens to hit a wet time of the year.

When I re-furbished my personal pond, it was in July/August. Due to it being a ground water pond (sand) I had to run a dewatering pump 24/7 to keep the pond basin dry enough so we could see what we were doing.

On another pond project that we consulted on, the dirt contractor proposed digging a french drain all around the pond excavation area, and hooked dewatering pumps to that to keep any ground water from seeping into the construction area. That would allow him to get the pond bottom properly compacted and sealed.

Dang. The pond builders were ready and then Tennessee got a bunch of rain!

Well if we EVER get that hole dug, there shouldn't be much problem filling it up.

Sorry!

Rain clouds have an uncanny ability to read construction contracts and go visit the site with a vengeance either right before, or DURING construction.

All right! We have a pond!

The builder took advantage of a small window of dry days, it has been raining a lot there; and built the pond. It will be about 3/4ac with a max depth of 8ft. That will work.

My SIL says it already has a couple of feet of water in it.

Yee hah!

Congratulations.

Let the fun begin!