I just finished up a lifelong dream of cunstructing a pond on our farm in Waller county! The project started about 3 years ago when we decided to build a weekend house. We needed some dirt to level the yard and "off we went". The first effort created a small depression in the ground that could hold less water than the swimming pool- the pond was not going anywhere in a hurry.
I brought in the big dozer (D7) and pushed out a good sized hole on the ground and created the inlet and outlet culverts for the pond. About 8 feet down I cut a big sand under the hard clay. The budget ran dry and I left the project in this state for about 1 year. When it rained the lake would fill up but would lose water through this sandy area. I had a small corner that was clay that was holding about 3 feet of water. The first time the pond filled up I added perch, minnows, catfish and bass. All the fish live in a small area about the size of a basketball court and about 3 feet deep.
Last week I finished the excavation of the pond and had it lined with clay. I seeded the bottom and the sides of the lake last week. I hope to get the structure and gravel beds in this weekend. I have involved my kids in the project so that the lake will be a lasting memory long after I am gone. I have read quite a bit on pond construction and hope that I have learned enough to have a nice pond.
The lake is about 2 acres and has an average depth of 10 feet. The area in front of the pier is about 14 feet deep and has a deep channel and then a step up to the plateau that is where the water and fish are.
The pond captures it's water from a run-off ditch that I incorporated into the lake. The hole is huge so it needs to start flooding soon!
I will take some more pictures to share as I continue to add structure and make improvements. I just wanted to share this milestone in my life whith everyone- Thanks for reading!
That SUV would make some pretty fancy fish-structure.... My office is in Waller, and it is indeed very dry in these parts. Let me know when you want to arrange a group-raindance.
Congrats on the almost-completed pond. One tropical depression is all it needs.
The same thing happened to me last year. Once I built my pond the rain stopped and every major storm went around us. Now this spring my pond runneth over!
