Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations A few pics,... maybe

Been meaning to post some pics of what I'm doing for some time, but just getting around to it. I just created a photobucket actt and will try to post a few pics. The size may not be right. We'll see. This first is my dozer and truck sitting on the old pond dam before I got started.

The next one is a better shot of the old dozer. It's not pretty, but it gets it done.


This is after I started cutting away the dam to keep things dry while I cleared the basin. Also the old dam was perforated with roots from large trees which grew up nearby.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j267/nstone_2007/dozer2.jpg

Almost there..



This is after the dam was removed and the clearing began. This pic is probably 5-6 weeks old. I've pretty well finished clearing and will begin installing a drain this weekend. I've decided to put in a small dia. thru drain to keep things dry now and for irrigation later, and a siphon for the primary overflow.



Hillbilly

Ok keep'em coming as I am trying to picture what it will look like?

Great Photos! I love to watch a pond being built. That is one of my favorite things on PB. Please keep the photos coming as you make progress.

In Pic #3, are you coring?

salth2ocowboy ,

The pond will only be between 7/8 - 1 acre best I can figure from the surveying I've done to this point. I had intended to make it a little larger but when I started shooting the water level I realized I was backing up over a wet weather spring. I don't want the water to be any deeper than 2 ft over the spring. It may not hold that. The shape will be long and narrow, typical valley impoundment.

PondsForFun,

I will keep them coming! I had put it off because I didn't have a photobucket acct.

Dave,

No, in pic 3 I'm still cutting away the old dam, that was a couple months ago. I was slot dozing, because I can push about 25-30% more dirt that way, since the slot walls help keep dirt from spilling off the sides of the blade. You can see the water in the basin to the left. As of about a month and a half ago the entire dam site was stripped away to bare clay in the original hillside. The pond is around 60-70 yrs old and didn't hold any more than a couple feet of water due to large sycamore trees which had infiltrated the dam and basin. When I was a kid though, in the 70's it was full and was a great spot, though it was originally just a stock tank. The new dam will be 8' taller than before. I removed the old dam to keep the basin dry while I'm building and because I wan't an entirely new dam I have faith in. The entire basin was covered in hardwoods and scrub with a lot of big sycamores down near the old waterline. I've cleared all of that save a few trees and am going to pack the entire basin with a sheepsfoot. I have some other pics of the dam gone, piled up on the hillside. And man, do I have a pile of structure.

I hope you will show a picture of it when it is cored. There have been many questions regarding coring. I've never found the words to adequately explain it. In this case, a picture really would be worth 1,000 words.

Although the man in the dozer can respond most accurately, I believe the core for this project remains an unknown until he gets down to the subsoil at the base of the dam. TnHB has participated in other threads with myself and the PB community, exchanging engineering input to this regard. I recall his posture as "core only when the subsoil requires it. If the foundation is suitable clay, scarify the surface and go up from there, compacting as required". Lusk agrees as do I (took me awhile, but I'm on board). No doubt an existing dam would not require coring IF it shows no signs of breach...BUT...the tree roots he is extracting from the top dam mass may have compromised the soil below grade.
So, TnHB...what's the prognosis? Are ya gonna open 'er up?

Nice pictures Hillbilly. Thanks for taking the time to post.

It may be true that a core is not required if there is enough clay, however, many contracters fail to compact the soil every 6 inches as they build the dam. (Thats what's required according to a pond engineering book I have).

I actually had one contracter compact the dam on one of my ponds AFTER he had piled it 8 feet high. Not much compaction going on when you've piled it that deep even with a sheepsfoot roller and a heavy piece of equipment. I have enough clay in my soil to make pottery, but the dam does seep underneath a little to this day.

Dave promotes a common, but true notion:
Cecil uses 10 words, proving a camera or canvas aren't always required:
'nuf said...

Pretty country. You've got the makings of a great place. The only time a dozer should be a looker is when it's new otherwise it isn't being used.

Ahhh..nothing like the smell of new dirt being pushed out by the dozer...it means a great pond is being born and with it countless hours of enjoyment to current and future generations.

I agree with Texas715, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and a dozer at work is a beautiful sight indeed.

I like your dozer! Your gunna have a fine pond!

FH

I'm certainly not a dirt expert but I'll never build another dam without coring. I consider it as cheap and effective leak insurance. Once you impound water, finding and fixing a leak is like trying to unbake a cake.

It looks like you have an old D5. If you can keep it together, it will be a real jewel.

Absolutely! The famous last words are, "Oh you don't need to do that. You have lots of clay."

Better safe than sorry!

...but, oh Chef of the Future, will it core a apple?
I came to this forum with a "must core, regardless" attitude. My project will be cored. I still lean heavily to this, my original pond core-credo, but the experts have spoken and documented the wisdom of "no core required". And, particularly since this is TnHB's thread and he is a proponent of the latter, I wanted to support his engineering posture, knowing that he may very well pass on a core. I am curious wrt his plans at the dam, as well as the balance of his project.