Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Looking for advice, please.

Clayton, you might consider digging some test holes to see what’s under the surface. A neighbor near me did and found almost solid rocks and sand seams that would never hold water.

You can go a bit steeper with the banks to get more depth. I'd go 4:1 for the first 20-25 feet on the side of the pond that is closest to the house, then transition to 3:1 and do 3:1 starting from the waterline out on the 3 sides (or so) that are away from the house. You really need more depth than the 10' to help combat the pond from getting too shallow if rainfall isn't what you expect it to be.

Ponds can be kept full from a well, it just all depends on how much water is underground. I have enough here to pump over 1,000 GPM if I want to dig a big enough well and pay the energy cost to run that big of a motor. My well currently pumps 25 gpm and that is enough to help raise the pond level. For a pond I would want to have 50 gpm as a minimum. The other water in your area is at roughly 1125' elevation and at 1120' elevation so if your ground will hold water you should be OK.

If the ground won't hold water, depending on budget, you could always go with a liner. Bookmark this website and keep it for a resource "just in case". https://www.btlliners.com/

Keep us appraised of the progress!

Thank you, Dave. I definitely intent to have test holes dug first before proceeding with the project.

/c

Please pull up the 100-year flood map for your creek. I would build the pond embankments just outside of that range. (In many states, the rules for building in the floodplain are MUCH more stringent.)

In Kansas, the rules for pumping water from a creek into a pond are much less restrictive than pumping groundwater. It is also usually much cheaper and easier to pump from a creek. Does your creek have water available during July and August? If so, try to review the regulations in Texas yourself or ask the NRCS agent about supplemental water usage from the creek.

(In my experience, a NRCS agent needs to be an expert in about 100 different topics. If you get one that is an expert in 40, then you have a good agent. However, it is impossible for them to be an expert in every single topic under their purview. So you kind of need to gauge if the agent seems to be an expert on the questions you are asking.)

Good luck on your new pond project!

I appreciate the words of advice. I am hoping a liner won't be required, but I bookmarked the link. Well sizing if limited by my budget and the fact that this is going to be supplied by an off-grid solar microgrid due to the cost of pulling in power from the local municipality (and some fairly ridiculous clearing requirements they have for service truck access that must be maintained in perpituity).

Once I select a pond construction service and have the test holes done, I'll share photos and some data on what was found.

/c

In that case, definitely find out about the regulations regarding pumping from the creek! A little gasoline powered 2" or 3" trash pump pushing water UP from the creek bank can move a lot of volume at a very low cost.

Now that's an option I had not considered. That creek that forms the south boundary of my lot is not running all the time... just when we have rains... but there are large sections with year-round water (I'm assuming) because it has fish in it. Certainly something I can explore if I can make this pond a reality.

Just use a 50 micron filter on either the inlet or outlet to prevent pumping unwanted "things" into your pond from the creek.

Cody note: To eliminate fish eggs and fish fry a 500 micron filter (0.5millimeter) is very adequate while allowing phytoplankton and zooplankton to enter and help seed good plankton into the pond to enhance and kick start the food web / chain. Putting the filter on the discharge works best in my pumping applications. The filter on the inlet tends to become clogged to easily and restricts the water flow to the pump. Make sure the filter on the discharge is large enough to not become packed with debris and leaves so water freely flows out of the filter. Size of the filter depends on size of pump and amount of junk in the water being pumped. An inlet filter of 1/2" reduces the amount junk moving through the pump and collecting in the discharge hose filter.