Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,901
Posts557,098
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,415
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,110
Who's Online Now
11 members (H20fwler, nvcdl, esshup, Bing, Fishingadventure, Dylanfrely, Angler8689, Sunil, jpsdad, azteca, BillyE), 679 guests, and 233 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
P
Phez88 Offline OP
OP Offline
P
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
Dredging out my 2.5 acre pond. I plan to spread out some of the silt on my property so it can dry and hopefully be pushed into somewhat of a berm. Some silt on the back side of pond will need to be moved by trucks. Any idea if someone would pay for the silt or do I need to pay dump trucks to remove the material?

Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,344
Likes: 101
Offline
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,344
Likes: 101
I have used my silt/muck from my pond renovation to lay over areas of the yard that had exposed clay that did not grow grass weel or at all . These areas grow grass better than the good areas from before.

With that said...it all depends on the nutrient content of the silt and if you can find someone who needs better top soils like I did. Too much nutrients and the silt will burn plants just like too much fetrtilizer. Too little nutrients as might happen if your pond rapidly silted in with sand or clay and all you have is good fill dirt. You'll know pretty quick if weeds and grassses take ahold this spring and propser. My muck remnants compares to good top soil that is on the finer side and could use some sand to help it drain. This is really only an issue when I use it for potting tree saplings and the like and then only important when planting trees/plants that perfer well drained soils. Tulip poplars, elms, catalpas, river birch, persimon, coffee bean, mullberry, and chokeberry have all loved the muck, but the harder woods like oak, hickory, and walnut all wanted better drainage. Southern Magnolias really wanted more sand in the mix.

As for a paying customer, they would not want it in the wet form, but seasoned for a time to help it be handled easier.


Fish on!,
Noel
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
P
Phez88 Offline OP
OP Offline
P
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
Thanks. Yes my plan is to spread it out and let dry as best as possible then form into a large berm on my property. Good point in checking silt quality ahead of time. Pond sure grows a bunch of weeds right now... so maybe that is a good sign.

Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 996
Likes: 57
T
Offline
T
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 996
Likes: 57
I had mine spread on the back side of the dam and below the dam.

Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
P
Phez88 Offline OP
OP Offline
P
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
Was it easy to pile up or was more like soup? The damn is in a floodway so can't pile it there but want to berm it up as high as possible. I've heard it can take a very long time to firm-up.

Last edited by Phez88; 04/30/20 09:21 AM.
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 212
Likes: 3
S
Offline
S
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 212
Likes: 3
Our valley was essentially an 80yr old stilted in pond. Topsoil is more than 5ft deep in some areas. The dozer company's yard is 6mi away. During the renovation they made a huge pile and hauled it away over the course of a year. Last year they needed 3000+ yds so we got a "free" expansion.


How are you going to know unless you try!

NW TX 2ac main pond fed from 1100ac watershed going through 2 2+ac sediment ponds. 1st filled 10/2018
900BG, 200RES, 200HBG, 100CC and 23# FHM...."Free" BH, GSF GSH, LMB & ??? 75LMB 3/2020
I subscribe!
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 1,106
Likes: 76
B
Offline
B
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 1,106
Likes: 76
If you don't have a big enough area to spread it,I've always wondered if you could make a holding pen of sorts using bales of straw to build the walls, and staking them down so the don't move. I would think the straw would let the water drain off, and let it breath some.


Bob


I Subscribe To Pond Boss
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
P
Phez88 Offline OP
OP Offline
P
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
That’s an interesting idea. I wonder how well a silt fence would work for that same solution.

Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
P
Phez88 Offline OP
OP Offline
P
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
That would be ideal. Nice! Sounds like people will take it if it’s firm.

Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,344
Likes: 101
Offline
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,344
Likes: 101
Originally Posted by Phez88
Was it easy to pile up or was more like soup? The damn is in a floodway so can't pile it there but want to berm it up as high as possible. I've heard it can take a very long time to firm-up.

My muck did not dry out but for 6 months, but was not hard to scoop and drop. One day the excavators had left at quiting time...all looked good piled up on the back side of the dam until the next morning...the muck "lava" had slowly flowed and spread out 6 feet further than they wanted and filled in a catch basin that had to be dug back out. At one point, I tried walking out on the freshly piled muck and would have sunk into the stuff until my eyes were the only thing showing had I taken one more step. It can be decieving and therefore dangerous.


Fish on!,
Noel
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
P
Phez88 Offline OP
OP Offline
P
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
That’s what I’ve read, very hard to dry out. I was going to drain my pond out a few months before we started digging in hopes that would help. Seems like you almost need to build a retaining wall.

Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 996
Likes: 57
T
Offline
T
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 996
Likes: 57
Originally Posted by Phez88
Was it easy to pile up or was more like soup? The damn is in a floodway so can't pile it there but want to berm it up as high as possible. I've heard it can take a very long time to firm-up.

It was sloppy muck. The contractor wanted to leave it piled up and come back in a few months to spread it out after it dried. I knew it would be near impossible to get them back out as it took 6 months of waiting to get to me. I convinced him that while the dozer was already dirty a little muck wouldn't hurt it. He really did not want to do it but finally relented. Considering how difficult the job was the kid running it did a real nice job and I paid for the extra hours worked and them some.

Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 8
P
Offline
P
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 8
Originally Posted by Bobbss
If you don't have a big enough area to spread it,I've always wondered if you could make a holding pen of sorts using bales of straw to build the walls, and staking them down so the don't move. I would think the straw would let the water drain off, and let it breath some.

Interesting idea on using the straw. I am looking to remove some silt from my pond, but am struggling with where to place it. My fear is that if its too close to the pond it'll just flow right back in since I have a pretty gradual grade leading to the pond. Maybe not on its own, but after a rain storm.

Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
P
Phez88 Offline OP
OP Offline
P
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
Sounds like the geo-textile bags and hydrolic dredge may be the best bet in my case to condense the sediment... Will see what kind of pricing I get back.

Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 884
Likes: 201
G
Offline
G
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 884
Likes: 201
Have had the best luck cleaning out the muck in a pond after cutting the dam and letting it dry for a summer, then it will pile up a little better but still take another hot summer or two to make it be desirable as spreading for topsoil, but thereafter it will make some super great growing dirt, for anything from a garden to yard landscaping.


All the really good ideas I've ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 18
G
Fingerling
Offline
Fingerling
G
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 18
If you have the equipment, turn it over after 2-3 months and after 2-3 more turn it and add organic matter such as saw dust or small wood chips....maybe spray it with Round-Up a few times during cure. After a year total, you should have good topsoil? ~$300/load here...$100 more if you sift it....cousin just cleaned out an old 1.1 acre pond and has probably 200+ loads.

Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424
Likes: 19
J
Offline
J
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424
Likes: 19
We spread my silt as much as possible during dredging in Aug 2015. That 1/4 acre pond made a row of silt about 30-40 feet wide and well over a hundred feet long, about 2-3 feet deep. It took almost a year to dry enough to spread. I had a very small dozer come in midsummer of 2016 and spread and contour it. It now hosts some of the best grass in the field.

That muck looked like low slump wet concrete when it first came out, and smelled a lot like sewage. When it first crusts over after about a month of hot weather, it will crack and look to be dry, but if you punch at it with a spud bar, it will suddenly break through and go all the way to the bottom.

Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
P
Phez88 Offline OP
OP Offline
P
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 14
Was the silt pulled out of the pond when it was drained or was there still water in the pond when the silt was pulled out? I have a few acers to spread it out... just trying to figure out how much space it will take up.

Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424
Likes: 19
J
Offline
J
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424
Likes: 19
It was mostly drained when we started pulling out the silt. I don't think it would be a sellable product until thoroughly dried, after about a year in most places.


Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
Bob Lusk, GaryK, GrizzFan, PhotographerDave
Recent Posts
Fungus infection on fish
by nvcdl - 03/28/24 06:07 PM
Can anyone ID these minnows?
by Dylanfrely - 03/28/24 05:43 PM
Working on a .5acre disaster, I mean pond.
by Sunil - 03/28/24 05:33 PM
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by jpsdad - 03/28/24 04:51 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 04:48 PM
Yellow Perch Spawn 2024
by H20fwler - 03/28/24 04:29 PM
Alum vs Bentonite/Lathanum for Phosphorus Removal?
by FishinRod - 03/28/24 04:23 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by LANGSTER - 03/28/24 03:49 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by ewest - 03/28/24 03:37 PM
Paper-shell crayfish and Japanese snails
by esshup - 03/28/24 10:39 AM
Brooder Shiners and Fry, What to do??
by Freg - 03/28/24 09:42 AM
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by Justin W - 03/28/24 08:19 AM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5