Hello All! I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

We bought a property in Aledo, TX (30 min west of Fort Worth) a year ago. It has a small 2/10th acre pond in the backyard that does not hold water for long at all (can see rock shelf at base of dam). When we originally purchased the property the pond was pretty low on our priority list, but now our attention has turned to the weed infested frog pit that is an eye sore. (attempted to attach pictures)

Our goals for the pond are:

• Make it hold water or at least to the point where we can supplement with well water to keep full (standard water hose will only keep it half full currently)
• Deepen the pond (currently 5' deep at deepest point)
• Reduce the grade of very steep banks (currently very difficult to walk near pond or maintain)
• Reduce amount of pond / dam vegetation
• Stock and maintain populations of HSB, CNBG, RES, FHM, and TFS with minimal feed - similar to george1
• Use the pond for a swimming hole
• Introduce my kids to fishing - ages 1 and 3

In the future I may look to add a small waterfall feature for aesthetics and some aeration.

Ideally, I will have some fun HSB for me to catch and release mostly, occasionally eating. The CNBG and RES would act as good eating as well and fun for the kids to catch and learn. I like the idea of getting as many species as possible to create some sort of ecosystem instead of just pellet feeding. Something about that interests me.

So, first things first, I need a pond that will hold water. Should i post in the "Renovating a Pond or Lake" section to discuss how to fix my leak?

Thanks for all the knowledge i've already gained from reading past threads!

Howdy, Drew, and welcome.

I say let your leak question ride here for a day or two - we've got low traffic right now due to the holiday.

Folks will post more once they get back to work.

Sounds like it has a sandy(porous) bottom or spot. That would have to be packed with clay. More than likely, the whole thing needs to be cleaned by a dozer and then repaired.

Does anyone have experience with hiring a landscape architect or similar to design their pond?

I am hesitant to allow a dirt work contractor to go freestyle with grading. Additionally, since the site is so close to our back porch we will be staring at it every day for as long as we live here.

From what I've read online, it seems this is in a landscape architect's wheelhouse, i just don't know if this is going to add 10%, 20% or 50% cost onto the job.

Any advice or insights?

Welcome Drew....

Since you are west of Cowtown, if I were you....my first call or e-mail would be to Steve Bardin.
Steve is a great resource for everything pond...from pond mgt, fish, and pond rehab.
Plus you are in his territory.
At the very least you should follow his Facebook page.
Steve has been a speaker at Pond Boss Conventions and does a lot of charity work.

Steve Bardin "TexasProLake" website

Steve Bardin Facebook