Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site 2009 Project of the Year Award!!!

Eric, I get the pic with no problem.

Exciting times here. The sixth annual family reunion at Camp Krehbiel starts tomorrow evening and runs for the holiday weekend. We will have 32 this year. Got the place looking better than ever. Can't wait.

Have fun and take plenty of pics.

The Reunion last weekend was great and everyone had a ball. Will be posting some photos soon.

There was one small problem however!!!

Went flying today and got some aerial shots.

Quite a shot Lyle.

We have just completed the driest April, May, June in 101 years. The lake is down around 10 inches. Hope the rest of the summer is not so dry.

Lyle, I have enjoyed your posts/pics from day one! I am curious about the water source for your pond. It always looks good and full in the pics that you post. Do you have a well, good water shed, or just lucky enough to have a pond that doesn't leak much? Just curious........

Thanks again,
Eddie

Good questions re the water source. Normally the pond stays completely full with a small stream over the spillway. Once the pond filled up (about two months after building the dam) in 2006 it has mostly stayed within a few inches of full. Last year however we had no run off July-November and it got 23 inches low. Then we had good November rains and it filled back up. Now this year we have had no run off since the end of March and we are now about a foot low. I sure hope we get some rain soon.

We have four different draws leading into the pond. In wet times three of them are springs and all of them have a good run off flow. Before building the dam I did calculations on normal run off and calculated around 100 acre/ft per year. And I figured only around two acre foot would be needed to keep the pond full. The dam does leak a little bit.

Lots of catching up to do so I will make a start now. May and June and especially June are the months of heavy usage of the farm/lake/cabin not leaving me much time for anything else. During those two months KS has it's best weather of the year and we have a number of large get-togethers as well as other events.

The weather was perfect for the family reunion over memorial day weekend. We started on Friday evening, some more came on Saturday, and most left on Monday. Everyone had a bast and below are a few photos from the weekend.

And a few more photos from the Family Reunion

Lyle, it looks like you have come up with the best reason to have a pond and "cabin".

Dave, family and friends enjoying the property is our goal. I do know that all the family members do really look forward to and enjoy the reunion. And it's great to keep us connected - for many of the family it's the only time all year that we see one another. Most of us live in Kansas but we've had members from OR, CA, and SC attending.

This entire thread is a gold mine from start to finish.

About that leaky dam, you know they're a lot easier to fix when they leak a little instead of waiting for them to leak a lot LOL.

Have you ever thought about pumping water into the pond?

A buddy of mine down in virginia keeps his pond full year round pumping water in with a wind turbine set up. Its just a thought since you guys seem pretty savvy with the green technology.

Groundwater is much harder to find in Oklahoma and Kansas at a level that would produce a good gpm water well.

We only have solar power so couldn't pump enough to keep lake full. Our leak is a small one and I think nearly all our water loss is evaporation. There has been no runoff since March. Sure hope we get some rains soon.

Same as us. Our ponds have dropped quite a bit in the last few months.

Can't leave our smallest pond,Crawdad, alone.

Crawdad started out as a spring fed depression that was usually wet. When we built the lake in 2006 we dug it out and put up a small dam. Then in 2009 we rebuilt the dam and also enlarged the pond quite a bit. Then this spring we raised the spillway about eight inches making the full level nearly to the top of the dam.

Last week we decided to take advantage of the drouth and make "Crawdad" pond a little deeper. We have had NO run-off since March, are 10 inches below normal in rainfall, and Crawdad is dry. When filled it will look no different but will be quite a bit deeper, up to six or more feet at the deepest.

Last week:


Last week after completing the project:


Last Spring after raising the spillway:


Rebuilding Dam in 2009:

Looks like a great place to grow some craws.

Where's the 2010, 2011, 2012 winners? Just curious

Brettski.........

I just finished reading this thread from start to finish. All I can say is Wow. The place is great, and I love seeing all the family and friends getting together to enjoy the place. This is what I want for my place. My Aunt and Uncle have built a house on the family farm, looking out over the pond. We do enjoy spending time there fishing, boating, swimming, and just sitting on the dock enjoying the day. Thanks so much for sharing.
David

Thanks for your nice comments David. We really do get tremendous enjoyment from time with family and friends at our place.

The biggest event of the year at the farm, the Krehbiel Family Reunion, probably would not be held if not for the farm. We never had one in the past and only all got together for funerals. Now we have a once a year extended time together where we can have a lot of fun. And we have so much room and so many possible activities that everyone can spread out and do what they like.

Just finished Thanksgiving at the cabin. Was there Tuesday morning though Friday morning. Had a great time. We did the family Thanksgiving last weekend so this week was Terry and myself. And Scott and the boys spent Tuesday afternoon and night.

What could be better that a warm afternoon and a nice pile of gravel.


It's nice to have a breakfast cook.

Rocks , boat , food , warm weather in Nov. - What more could you ask for. Got any more pics ? What were the rocks for ?