Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction New member seeking input on pond construction

Lets see if I can make a Cliff Notes version or you will be reading for a long time.

I would contact the NRCS office in Fort Wayne. Natural Resources Conservation Service (260) 484-5848 2720 Dupont Commerce Ct, Ste 101 Fort Wayne, IN 46825. They should be able to provide a watershed calculation for you and also be able to size an overflow pipe for you. You have to have one as a primary overflow, and a secondary overflow in case of a 500 or 1,000 year rain event. On the NRCS website, there is a 90ish page booklet about building a pond. It's a good reference to download and save. If memory serves me correctly it's called AH-590.

Note via Cody: If the "dug" pond is built with good clay and is built well with very good clay compaction and has minimal leakage, the pond needs very little water shed surface drainage to keep it full. A well sealed all clay lined dug pond will lose only about 12" to 14" of water each year due to evaporation. The average annual precipitation for central Indiana is 33" - 50" per year. This is more than enough annual added water to keep this type of pond well full.

I'll try to hit the points in the order that you made them.

I'd try to go further than 15". Any equipment movement can compact soil on tree roots and they are a minimum of the drip edge out from the trunk. A customer lost over 200 trees on his property, some 150 yrs old or older due to soil compaction. He lost trees up to around 8 years post construction.

3:1 is perfect.

next 3 points - all is great. Look into White Cap 3333 Independence Dr, Fort Wayne, IN 46808 for your geotextile fabric (weed block_ They should have it in rolls up to 15' wide.

I would consider making that 1' deep area for the kids to play 18" deep. If it's a dry year and you lose 6" water, 12" depth doesn't give you any buffer. Also making it 18" - 24" out of pea gravel with geotextile underlayment it can also be used for a spawning area.

In my pond, the fish seem to prefer the North side for spawning (warms up earlier) then the South side as the spawning season progresses.

Make it average 12' with it continuing to taper to 18'. "pockets" tend to fill in within a few years of construction and you will be amazed at how little room you have to get the depth. Remember 1' depth for every 3' horizontal, but you also have to come back up. So, a pond that is 120' wide might hit 18' depth for only 12' width before it has to start to get shallower. (3:1) A customer had a 6' wide x about 4' width trench dug in the bottom of his pond during construction. 2 years later that trench was no longer there, it all fell in and tapered out.

Stone/riprap is good, providing habitat/cover for small fish. To keep it above the dirt, it's best to use Geotex fabric under it, and don't have it go much above the waterline - too hard to walk on if you want to fish around the edges of the pond.

Floating dock is good if the water levels fluctuate. If they don't, maybe think about a fixed "T" shaped or "L" shaped dock with a floating raft that is tied up next to it. How would you maneuver that raft around in the pond? If making a floating dock, it has to be "T" or "L" shaped to prevent sway. DON'T consider using 55 gallon barrels. Been there, done that and regretted it. If using wood, use wood that is rated at least UC4B/UC4C with UC5/H6 being best. The "new" wood treatments don't last anywhere near as long as the older treatments. Don't think about using anything other than stainless deck screws. Use hot dipped galvanized bolts for attaching joists together. Dockbuilders Supply is what I tell my customers to use for floats and joist/support attachment hardware for floating docks. Dockkbuilders Supply.

Electric will be pricey. We have pushed air roughly 1/2 mile to a customers pond where electric wasn't available near the pond without any issues. BUT, if you want a fountain, then electric at the pond is a must. Run at least 1 size bigger wire than what you think you need. If running the bare minimum wire size, then anything else added later could let the magic smoke out of an aeration compressor or a fountain pump motor.........Bottom diffusion aeration could be done with 1/4 hp, maybe 1/3 hp at the most.

We will talk about habitat for the fish. Keep it away from swimming areas, but the rest of the pond should have roughly 1/4 acre of cover in it for the fish. You can put some under the dock.

Bottom diffusion aeration in the deepest part of the pond, 1, maybe 2 diffusers. One for the winter *somewhere* at 1/4 to maybe 1/3 total pond depth, within 20 feet of shoreline.

Fountain for aesthetics (maybe with a light kit for night time viewing?)

Yes to the well for the pond. A garden hose won't be enough volume. Think 2" or 3" PVC. I still haven't been able to figure out a way to let it run into the pond and still keep water pressure in the house. May thru October 1956-1970 shows a total average of 35" water evaporating for those months. That is from a quick search, maybe you can find more recent data. Look for recent May-Oct rainfall numbers.for Allen County. Maybe the NRCS there can help. FYI, 1" water over 1 acre equals 27,154 gallons of water. A 4" well can't really pump more than 100 gpm. Remember well water has 0 oxygen in it.

As for the driveway, I would say yes. Again, use Geotex fabric under the stones to keep them from disappearing into the dirt and you having to add gravel every 2 years. Geotex will allow 4-5 years before needing more. Compact the driveway with a vibratory roller before adding the 57's and compact those when added.. Start with #2's and let all the construction equipment drive over them to pack everything down. Don't put the fine 57's down until the house is built and the landscaping is done or close to done. Every year hit it with a land plane to re-distribute the loose gravel, that will prolong it's life.

As for constructing the pond.. Excavators/dozers/maybe off road dump trucks are needed, NOT a dragline. The clay should also be compacted with a sheepsfoot roller. Tracks on equipment are there to keep the equipment from sinking into the dirt, NOT for compacting the dirt - that's what the sheepsfoot roller is for. A flat drum roller won't work. Think of paper pages of a book. Water can move between the pages. That's what happens with a smooth drum roller. A sheepsfoot roller disrupts the pages. Also, plan on having the contractor pump out any water that seeps in during construction. If the contractor says it won't be a problem, just nod your head and when he leaves draw a line through his name. The contractor needs to control soil moisture to get proper compaction, and if they are digging in water, how can they know how deep they are digging? I can tell you about a customer that listened to the contractor tell him that he could dig in water. After spending into the 6 figure range to have the pond dug, the customer called me to verify water depth. Many areas were 3', with the deepest being 7', not the 20' that he wanted. Contractor didn't pump out water, and the water washed out dirt/silt/muck/peat from the bucket and it floated all over the pond, filling in areas that they just dug. Yes the long stick was going down 20 feet, but it was getting filled in as fast as they scooped it out.

The contractor should be responsible for all permits needed, and you have to verify that permits were pulled. DO NOT talk to the Army Core of Engineers unless you don't have any other choice.

I have plenty of horror stories and good stories.

That should get your brain working for a little bit!