I've been lurking here for sometime. I appreciate the information you all have gathered here. I'm joining because I'm hoping to get some guidance on my specific situation and increase my odds of success. If it looks feasible, I plan to document my project from planning to completion.

I have 30 acres of low lying property in illinois that used to have a river snaking through it. The river was straightened out and a levy built many years ago. The old river bed remains and I'd like to see if i can establish a 1-2 acre pond in it's place. Pond would be managed for recreational fishing of native species.

I anticipate challenges with the available watershed and came here to get educated.

I look forward to it!

Welcome to the forum. I think you might want to consider a different area. I could be wrong but I think I read that old creek and river beds can be a problem because of layers of sand and gravel. I'm sure someone that knows more will chime in and be more help.

I had 2 shallow ponds (wetlands) constructed in such a situation but where a smaller stream had snaked through. The key to my success was having cored dams built that cut through the gravel and sand deposited by the snaking stream. As an FYI, our Fish and Wildlife folks said it would not hold water. They were wrong based on over a decade of nice duck ponds. I must credit the pond builder for his knowledge. They were dug a bit deep for the intended wetland habitat, but that was apparently unnecessary based on the water they hold. A properly cored dam was the key to success. Good luck! BTW - They are almost exclusively fed by springs with very little watershed.

Thanks for the tips and thoughts. I'm going to start a thread for this build and see where it goes. Cheers.

The green river's old oxbows?

Where is Genesco?

East Central IL - just outside of the Iowa/Il quad cities