I have a pond that is about 1/5 acre on a 7.5 acre site. It was /is surrounded by thick vegetation such that I didnt come across it until 3 months of moving unto the property( Don't ask I'm a impulse buyer). I think it used to be a watering hole for the farm cattle. It is drying up in the summer we are down to 2 ft at the moment but it did have 4ft in the spring. Its not visibly fed by a stream but I noticed during the winter that the ice was noticebly thinner in the center which may suggest an underground spring. I would like to clean out the silt and leaves etc. Looking on the websites it says you dont need a permit for dredging up to 400 cubic meters for a navigatible waer way. would that hold for a pond. To be honest a little nervous as to how to proceed.

I'm not sure about New York but "navigatible waterway" probably doesn't apply to your situation. Others may have more input but your best bet would probably to call your county soil and water department

welcome to PB osymandius.

ryan's comment to call the county is a good one. find out if yer legal.

then the usual advice is first check out some of the pond boss books available. do some homework on pond construction.

a few follow on suggestions:

based on some up front planning (lay of land, extent and depth of desired pond) i would get a backhoe, make a nice access, and dig test pits in pond area to determine what the pond site is composed of. determine the soil profile, evaluate those soils w/ regard to holding water, are they sand, silt, or clay soils? is bedrock present, shallow or deep? what kind of bedrock? is groundwater present, shallow or deep? the test pits would answer if a spring or natural water table is present.....these critical factors will determine how and if you can construct a good fish worthy pond (assuming you want fish).

come on back here after the test pits are dug and lets discuss the results.

my 2c