Hello everyone! I’ve been learning so much from the forum over the past year, and messaging some of you, I really appreciate all the guidance thus far! Time for my first post: Myself and 3 others purchased property in central Michigan (LP) that has an existing 1.3 acre cleared area, basically a basin that had sand removed by previous owners down to an average depth of 4 ft. (Red outline in attached image). There are a few pockets in the basin that are 1-3 ft deep that remain full of water throughout the summer. In the picture these are bigger because it was more in the wet fall/winter. We are hoping to be able to create a 1.0 acre pond in the blue outlined area. And use some of the spoils to fill in the green area up to grade to make more high and dry area near the pond. Every one of my neighbors within a mile or two has a pond. I know there is clay underneath the sand, but I’m not sure at what depth the clay starts yet. The local well data says sand for 10-15 ft, then solid clay for another 80 ft. I’ve been trying to convince the other property owners that we need to rent a mini ex or similar and get some samples taken. I tried getting a deep sample hole with a backhoe, we got down about 4 ft from grade and water started seeping in pretty quickly so we stopped. I’ve read a few books and searched the forum, but could I please get some help answering a few of the following questions I haven’t found answers to yet? 1. It’s a relatively low, flat area for hundreds of acres around us. It’s very wet in the spring to the point where the 4ft basin is full and the surrounding grade has some sitting water puddles. How do I know if I should line the dug pong with clay like a watershed pond and try to hold onto that early season water and summer rain, or leave it as sand and let the ground water seep in and have a ground water pond? I do still need to talk to NRCS office to determine how big if any the watershed is around the site. 2. Currently we are on the waiting list for someone with a dragline to dredge the pond basin to 14 ft depth next summer (water depth, not 14’ below grade). However, he says if he hits hard clay at any point before full depth he has to stop. As mentioned, I’m trying to get down to the clay beforehand with sampling to see if it’s something he can dig though before he gets here with his equipment. If we sample the soil and find the dragline will not be suitable, is it possible for us to dig a few deep holes and pump the water out consistently enough that we would be able to hire a dozer operator to dig the pond? Or would we never get it pumped dry enough for a tracked vehicle to be down in every area of the pond bottom? I don’t really understand yet what happens to a wet area once you start digging down. If anything higher than the deepest point will dry out, or if water will continue to seep in everywhere and stay muddy. 3. Let's say the dragline guy starts but can't get past heavy clay at 10 ft depth, is finishing the pond to full depth with an excavator or dozer going to be any more daunting now that the pond is a lot deeper, versus if we chose to forgo the dragline and go right to pumping the small amount of water we currently have and using an excavator and/or dozer right from the start? (Aside from having to pump more water out). Thank you to everyone I have already bugged with my questions. I’ve loved doing all the research and seeing what everyone else is doing with their ponds!
Scott, digging a hole without de watering sounds like a losing effort to me.
If it were me, and it’s not, I would start over and dig the hole upstream (uphill) or depending on terrain, downhill. Then pump from that pond into the new one. Use the spoils to fill the old hole.
Just thought I'd provide an update - the pond is dug! We dug it between Christmas and New Years. See attached pictures.
Our dragline guy stopped digging ponds so that option was out. So we ended up renting a CAT 335 excavator and an off road dump truck and dug it ourselves. Ended up the only clay we found was in our test hole (of course)...the rest was entirely sand all the way down, with a gravel vein going through the center.
Our only big challenge was the amount of groundwater continuously coming in....we had three 3" pumps running and it still wasn't enough to keep up. While I hope this will be a good thing for the pond long term, it limited the depth we could dig. I kayaked around a few weeks ago and the average depth is 9-10'. I'm guessing this is about how deep it will be come summer. Our neighbor says his pond doesn't go down more than 1-2' in summer, so hoping we're ok. We do currently have a 12-13' hole in the corner.
On to stocking this spring. Thanks for all the advice so far!.
