I'm still searching for land to build my lake on. My uncle who's got the list of up coming properties for auction found me a property in west TN 63 acre. Looks to be most farmed land with a small creek on a corner. Average rain fall is 53".
Looking to make a 40 acre lake on site. Average 7ft depth. Property contains 3 large pole barns each 10,000sq+. Was thinking I could use gutter funnels to lake. Would also plan on adding in a well on site. What other ways could I get water to maintain lake with such a small amount of run off? Has anyone ever put some water proof fabric under the grass layer to increase run off?

Thanks

Talk to the counties NRCS agent before bidding to get an idea if the dirt will hold water.....

wow...that's a big pond!

Will do Esshup. I hope to go out today and see if I can access property for a soil sample. Two small ponds appear to be on the property as well.

40 acres on a 63 acre lot... wow!

Would you consider breaking this up into smaller more manageable sizes? 40 acres will be next to impossible to manage, feed, and if the worst comes to pass, to eliminate undesirable fish from. Many folks here would much prefer multiple ponds over one large one to allow different species mixes and some experimentation. Personally I think it would be a lot more fun as you would have a lot more shoreline to fish from, and not be forced to use a boat to hit much of the water.

To keep a 40 acre lake topped off with a well will require a LOT of water and a LOT of energy.

A bunch of smaller ponds may be more manageable with limited runoff.

I may consider breaking it up into two bodies of water. I'm really just looking for different ways to obtain a full water level with limited run off. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

I believe I would calculate the runoff before designing the pond. Additionally, can any neighbor divert the water that would come to you?

Dave. It looks like my run off would come mainly from the property only. Creek comes across the east to north and a paved road frontage across entire south property line .

Snake, what is your annual average rainfall? In deep east Texas, we get around 45 to 50 inches a year, and the minimum watershed per acre of pond is around 5 to 1. 10 to 1 is better.

I'd be concerned with a very large body of shallow water. You could have major evaporation issues, plus weed issues.

Not trying to discourage you, it would be awesome if you could pull it off. But you need to think it through carefully with expert advice, in my view. Best of luck!

Filling a 40 acre pond with runoff solely from 63 acres at an annual rate of 53 inches of rain and a well sounds like a very difficult task.

Where will all the spoils go?

40 acre lake on 63 acres ? I think that it would be difficult to find a 60ish acre plot anywhere with the essential necessities for building such a lake,ie, accommodating topography, surrounding watershed, soil type, and overflow constraints to name a few. I know of thousand acre plus ranches that can't impound 40 acres.

Spoils of digging for sure would be a concern, I don`t mind having grassy dunes along some of the property edges. Flood event I would need to rely on the nearby creek for help transporting excess water away from property. If I was to break down and not go for the 40 acre lake, instead a 20 acre lake, and four 5 acre ponds. How would this change my water runoff possibility`s ? or would it change at all? topo map show very little elevation changes 400-420ft through I would say 90% of the property.

SB,

You know I'm not a pond pro but....

Unless you can divert the creek to fill the pond/lake...

Doing the math my screwed up way...53 inches of rain per year will raise the pond 53 inches. 1 inch evaporation per week will lower the pond 52 inches per year (assumes 0 leakage from the pond). The 23 acres of watershed around the pond will contribute only when the soil is saturated and you have runoff, so let's say a 3 inch rain gives you 2 inches of runoff from the 23 acres. The pond/lake will rise 1 inch from the runoff. IMHO If things go perfect, to fill a 7 foot deep 40 acre (or however you chop it up into smaller ponds) will take a very very long time, if ever.

Depending on the terrain, the watershed would also include the runoff
from adjacent properties that might drain into the 63 acre plot. I assumed that the 40 acre lake would be a dam type reservoir, but apparently the intention is for a mammoth 40 acre excavated hole in the ground. If so, the excavation and trucking costs could be enormous.