My family has been looking into putting a 1/2 - 1 acre pond in on our property. We are now looking into the idea of "building" pools into a streambed that has a spring that runs year-round (estimate 75-100 gpm at head of streambed).

The stream flows very shallow and wide. Does anyone have any experience digging out pools in a streambed for trout? We have heavy equipment and plenty of large rocks that we could use to get some depth. Ultimately, we would be looking at getting trout into the stream, at least in the cooler months.

In terms of water quality, we currently have a springbox at the head of the streambed that catches 99% of the water--we could easily divert the water flow around the areas we are working to maintain clean water downstream.

Lookikng for comments/suggestions--I can't find anything on this topic on the search.

Welcome Steve from Chesterfield, if your spring stream is counted as a stream you may not be able to build or divert the water. The best place to start would be your local farm office. Sounds like you have a neat setup.Where are you located? Good luck.

Sounds great, but I doubt you could legally do it. Lots of rules and regs regarding what you can do near a stream, much less diverting or modifying

I think it sounds like a neat project, but would likely be a futile effort without pretty intense construction and planning. If your floods, it would probably fill back in very quickly with sand and rocks. On top of that, if the water rises, I would bet your fish will leave. When I was a kid I would try building homemade swimming holes. It would only last until the next rain. I think you would have better luck going beaver style and damming the water downstream. Probably illegal, but I bet it would be pretty sweet for recreation.

Thanks for the prompt responses. I'm locating in SW VA, about 2 hours west of Roanoke.

I'm very well aware of the ambiguity pertaining to the legal definition of a "stream". This particular hollow does not show a blue streambed on USGS quadrangles.

I know that I've seen trout stream mitigation projects where boulders, railroad ties, logs, etc. have been used to create cascading structures and pools to hold trout. I'm figuring what we are doing is not much more significant, aside from the fact that the creekbed has never held fish in the past.

Our current spring setup is really neat. We were able to dam the head of the spring to create a concrete springbox. A 1" water line diverts the clean water to a cabin (gravity fed, 1" line = 10 GPM, 40 ft. drop). The water runs continuously to a 500 gallon holding tank, barried by the cabin. Our bladder system taps into this tank. Overflow from the 500 gallon tank is piped back to the streambed. The water tested very well and is drinking quality. We have noticed zero fluctuations in water flow over the past several years, and locals tell us they know it has been flowing for 50+ years. Beats the odds of drilling a well!

It sounds simple, but a lot of thinking went into it to make it fool proof and prevent vapor locks, as there's a gully that the water line crosses.

Does the line freeze in the winter? You may be able to build whatever you want. Did you get the heavy rains this week. That could tell you how much of a flooding problem you would have. It would be neat to have a year around trout pond and your spring may do it for you. Good luck.

Nope, the line did not freeze in the winter. It is wrapped in insulation after exiting the springbox, and immediately goes underground to a depth of 2-3'. It also helps that water flows constantly.

While water flow in the streambed does increase during major rainfalls, it is not very significant. The watershed for the streambed is rather small.

SK- have you come across this thread?

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=288695&page=1

Don't know if it will help...


...and another one.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.ph...true#Post275195

Not about pools in a stream, but they will help give you an idea of some do's and don'ts for trout.

Sounds like you may have a perfect spot to do what you want. Since you have the equipment to do the work you will get the most for the least. Good luck.

Steve -- first welcome to Pond Boss.

I wish you were a little closer to me so you walk my property and a friend's farm. I'm in the Winchester area.

I have done a lot of pools as settlement ponds, slowing water flow for erosion control, and to provide habitat for many kinds of amphibious critters and many furry, toothy, and hooved critters. I've added additional pipes and culverts to prevent fish from coming upstream to my ponds.

The next several days are crazy, but I'll try to get some photos and post them. Some pools are just dammed with rocks. Some I've dug out with my backhoe or an excavator. I usually clean out these pools with a landscape rake or the backhoe each season after the leaves fall.

Ken

Trout pools in a stream can be created "naturally" by placing a large log across the stream and fastening it in place so the water flowing over it digs out down stream. Rocks can create a more permanent structure (dam). The further down and faster the water runs over the dam, the deeper and bigger the pool will become. Most of the digging occurs during heavy rain events.

Check out the work this company does... http://anglerenvironmental.com/ They specialize in stream mitigation projects. They just finished a project about 5 miles north of my house. Only cost $2 million. HAHA Impressive looking now...

We have what I would call a wet weather creek. I believe we can dam an area up but it can only be 4 feet tall. The only think I am not sure about is how they determine where the 4 feet start. Depending on the location of the dam as some areas may end up being 3 feet deep to 8 feet deep.

Something I would love to do, but think the cost would be way too much to handle. Would be great for the deer and other wildlife to have the water source year round though.