Here is an email response that I got from the seller:
My question:
On the pond, has it ever been completely full? I was doing some research and one person mentioned that a spring at the bottom of a pond could cause the pond to drain quicker than if there was not a spring. I was looking at rainfall totals for Snyder and a couple years ago they had a very wet year and I was wondering if the pond filled up that year and how fast it lowered back down.
I would be interested in anything else he could tell me about the land as well. What fish did he stock in the pond, where did he buy them, etc. Any other items of interest that he can think of would be great.
His response:
The pond filled up and overflowed about three times right after I built the dam, and the spillway was washing out. The pond was going dry quickly, and in Oct. 1998 we put down the sodium bentonite (sp?) and duq the basin deeper into the clay bed. That is when we hit the spring. It has not been dry since that time, however, during the dry weather I think the spring dried up, and it got very low last May before we got a good rain. There has been no runoff water since then. Yes, Snyder was getting flooded, but it wasn't happening in Fisher County. I don't know where he got the information about a spring contributing to drying up, but, I am sure the spring is the only reason it did not go completely dry.
When we lined the spillway with the boulders we also lowered it about 18" to prevent it backing up on my neighbor's field. It has only been to spillway level one time since then.
It was stocked in late 1998 or early 1999 with Channel Cat, Bass, Black Crappie and Blue Gill. We have caught 3-5 pound Bass and Catfish along with a few Crappie, but I don't know if any except the Catfish survived the low water and Coons.
When I get back to Plainview, which may now be about the middle of February, I will send him the name and address where I bought the fish. Also, I will mail him a picture of the "lake" when it was full. When we close I will let him have the abstract and some maps of the place if he wants them.
