Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Natural water level ?

I am not really sure how to even ask this question.

Have a small .65 acre pond/wetland on a property we recently purchased. I have had the local agency out and they said if I apply for a permit, to clean it out to 2 meters it would be approved.

I would also like to make it larger, and make it deeper by raising the water level.

I have done soil water tests, and can get 6" of soil (just below the top soil) to hold water like a bucket.

My question is this, why does a pond naturally have a high water level, when the soil around it holds water and the area is naturally low. Is there an area of sand? Or will it most likely never get deeper?

I believe there is plenty of run off area.

I see pictures of you guys building these huge ponds in areas that currently do not have water. How do you know they will fill?

Thanks for any insight or maybe reassurances.

Hi Gambler. If your pond stays full from runoff, it will probably stay full after digging it deeper. Of course that depends on what you run into when you dig. If your pond has a dam, it will certainly deepen and continue to hold water if you raise the dam height.

Filling a pond is no problem for those of us in high rain areas. If annual rainfall is in excess of 50", even a "sky pond" (a pond with no runoff) will stay reasonably full. Of course having runoff is much more reliable and desirable.

Thanks for the reply, but just to clarify, I can not dig deeper then the 6 feet, because of permit. But I can raise the level. There is no dam it is a natural "bowl". Up another 12 feet or so, is the lowest side.

Maybe an image would help. Need some new ones without snow. LOL
http://mertz.netweavers.com/gallery/hobbies/ponds/site/SouthPond03.jpg.html

Is the water in the photos from runoff or ground water? You can get a topo view of the property using this tool.

http://www.acme.com/planimeter/

To to figure out the drainage area to the pond site, just point and click the high points on the topo and it will give you the acreage. Assuming the ground holds water and you have adequate room for a spillway the bowl in the picture looks like you could build a very nice size pond. Good luck keep us posted.

Thanks never thought of doing that. I ended up with about 28 acres. Current pond footprint is about 0.6 acres.

There is a 50 acre lake about 1200 feet from this area, but I would guess the water is from run off.

Thanks for that link rockytopper!

OK am I doing this right?

From the USDA Ponds, Planning Design & Construction.

It shows (Figure 11) I am on the line between 8 to 12 drainage acres required for each acre-foot of storage. So for fun lets say 10.

So 28 acres / 10 = 2.8 acre-foot

I will need 12 feet at least if I want to keep anything alive over winter and from "Pond Capacity" it says to use max depth X .4 X the surface area.

so 2.8 / (12 X.4) = 0.58 acres max surface area?

What I have right now... And I can not just dig deeper legally.

Am I missing something? Hope so.

My God, I've got 170 acres going into my .4 acre pond! No wonder it was like Niagra Falls one day when we had some REALLY heavy rain... This is in SE Alabama where we get about 50 inches a year. I hope my 12" pipe is big enough!

You meant 12', not 12", right?

Dang, new satelite photos, I can see my jon boat tied to the dock.