Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Removing silt

I am looking for information on removing silt from our pond. The silt is pretty deep about a foot or so. Would using a trash pump work for that? I know that would be a long tedious process since the pond is between 1 1/2 to 2 acres. Any thoughts on this?

Can you raise the dam? Lusk says that it makes a lot more sense. Using a trash pump would indeed be a long, tedious process.

Is it silt from run-off?

If its muck from leaves & such, then aeration should help to reduce it, right?

I looked into the dredging process at one time, and was told silt would ruin a trash pump in pretty short order.I did use a diaphram pump, but it was very slow. The best option is a "homeowners dredge",from Piranha pumps. Only 5-7 k!! If your property allows, a long reach backhoe would be an option.

good luck.

Well the pond is 30 years old. I assume some of the silt is muck from runoff, I have walked through quite a bit of the pond and the silt or muck is about 1 to 1 1/2 feet deep. The pond itself is not very deep, anywhere from 8 inches to 5 feet, plus then add 1 to 1 1/2 feet of muck. I am considering a backhoe to do this task but getting to most of the pond is nearly impossible.

Once drained and allowed to dry or freeze over the winter, can a dozer get in there and move the silt and muck allowing it to be hauled off?

I don't think that muck ever really dries out. Of course, I don't have a clue about it freezing.

Lusk says it WILL NOT dry deeper than 18".

I dried my pond out for 2 or 3 months. It had 3 ft of muck. The dozer guy simply started on the edge with about 1/4 to 1/2 a blade full while keeping the other track on hard packed soil. A wheel loader is also good equipment for removing muck even a back hoe if the job isn't to big. The trick is to keep the muck in front of you and tires on solid ground. I cleaned 1/3 of my 1 acre pond during the recent draughts of about 8 to 12 inches of muck with my small kubota in about 2 full days on the tractor. Good luck.

Once drained and allowed to dry or freeze over the winter, can a dozer get in there and move the silt and muck allowing it to be hauled off? [/quote]

I think a dozer can get in there but how would I go about draining it? I would really hate to do that then I could posibly lose all the fish. I hasve also heard about possibly going too deep and then the pond won't hold water, but how is that when the pond held water all this time?
I have 3 sections that are approx a 1/2 acre each. I have figured out where I could dam it up and then drain it one section at a time. I would think to let it sit for several months so the silt can dry up some. But what type of dam could I build that would keep the water out of the drained area?

You have many options. you could hire a track hoe to dig a deep pit in one area of the pond. Pump the entire pond down and fish will end up in the last hole of water. Then dry out the rest and clean it out. If it was me I would cut the dam drain the pond and have a big fish fry. Restocking a 2 acre pond isn't that expensive and you might even want to add fish structure when you have it dug out. As far as holding water you just need to make sure if you dig it deeper that you don't dig thru the clay layer. Good luck