Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water Help!

Where do I begin. Well, I've purchased 40 acres that have 2 ponds. One will dry up soon if we don't get any rain. The other is a deep, 1.6 acre pond that was built by an oil company after they pulled off the site. When I say deep, I'm not kidding! The previous owner told me that it was around 35 foot deep when full! The banks are quite steep. Another drilling company just purchased 125,000 gallons of water from that pond for drilling operations. The level dropped roughly 3 ft. There is red clay and red rock around the pond. I'm told the pond is stocked with channel cats, largemouth bass, and bluegill. There is apparently no structure for the fish and I believe that the pond may be too deep for its size. The water looks like tomato soup. I've been reading up on the muddy water remedies, so I'll try that. I'm also considering some rock around the dam and possibly some bigger rock in the pond. There is nothing as far as plant life in or around the pond. I just retired and I want to fix this pond up for my kids and grandkids. I just had dozer work done on the dam so you can drive a car or truck across it. I'm considering placing about 25,000 foot of bermuda sod on the dam and sides to help with erosion...... I'm thinking that since the level is down and there is a lot of bank showing, I should take advantage of the opportunity and get busy on it, but where do I start? Do I have the right ideas in mind? Thanks in advance.....

Welcome. I see you posted this question twice in two sections - so you might need to keep tabs on both threads, or delete the other one.
Here are a few thoughts and suggestions that I'd consider if it was my place, based on my opinion and not first-hand experience. Others are certainly welcome to correct or expand as appropriate.....
1) First, focus on the larger/deeper pond that is unlikely to ever go dry. View the smaller pond as a potential forage-fish nursery at some point.
2) Inspect the watershed that feeds the larger pond and correct any erosion issues that might otherwise contribute to water-turbidity during rainfall events.
3) Stabilize the freshly dozed dam and shoreline zone asap (sod should work), to ensure that erosion from these areas don't compound the pond's turbidity problem.
4) Pull pond water-samples and set them aside in a stationary manner to see if they clear up on their own over several days or weeks. If they do, then correcting any watershed/dam/shoreline erosion-issues might do the trick - over time. If not, then alum or gypsum might help improve or correct the pond's turbidity issue. See this link for details: ALUM
5) Investigate aeration systems that are suitable for such a deep pond. Stratification (thermocline) development in such a pond is highly probable (due to its depth relative to surface-area). Once stratification sets in, dissolved oxygen below the thermocline is unlikely to support fish very well - if at all. Plus, a weather-induced pond "turn-over" could spell disaster for any existing fish.
6) Aquatic plants won't do well until they're able to access sunlight - which will require improved water-clarity. Get the turbidity issues corrected before attempting any plant-stocking.

Okie Bob, if your pond measurements are correct, they took way more water than they purchased. One acre foot of water (one surface acre in size, 12" deep) consists of 325,851 gallons. So, if your pond is a true 1.6 ac, then they sucked out somewhere in the range of one and a half million gallons of water, about 11 times more than what you got paid for.......

Ok, I did all the experiments. Gypsum, vinegar, and alum all cleared the water. I've ruled out the gypsum since the pond is too deep. I am now checking on prices for rock and sod. This must be done before any chemicals are applied. The water level is down considerably due to drought conditions and the water taken by drilling operations. I'll take some pics and post them of before and after. After the pond has cleared, I'll be looking into an aeration system. Hell, even my wife is excited about this project so that's a good thing. On the East side of the pond is where the spring feeds the pond. I don't think more than a few gallons a day enter the pond, but I plan on digging out the low area and this will add roughly 1,700 sq. ft. more to the pond. I also plan on building a boat dock/fishing pier combination.

Well we finally got some rain. In the mean time, I planted bermuda sod on the dam instead of having it sodded. I also box-bladed around the pond since the level had dropped 3+ feet. I also took all the dry-wall scrap from our house(under construction)and dropped it in the pond. Since gypsum cleared the water in my jar of pond water I figured, "What the hell".....It surely can't hurt. I started clearing the east side where I plan on adding to the pond. I also pushed some sand down on the east side to help with runoff issues that could cause a continuous muddy condition. As soon as I can figure out how to post pics, I'll show you folks what I'm up to and the pond in question.