Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction dam blowout/convert to spillway

Hey everyone!



This is a .3 acre pond. stream fed, man-made 30 years ago. The previous owner said the dam blew out 5 years ago. So it was left as a natural spillway. However, there has been NO erosion control. The pond is now down about 3-4 ft from where it should be. At its deepest point now, its probably 2 ft (although there is alot of muck)

I am in the process of planning for a repair.

1. install drain pipe through center of current spillway to divert water while repair is done. Cap it off and use for emergencies (could be opened with gate valve if needed. or to drain)
2. rebuild part of the dam.
3. add riprap stone
4. project done!

so many questions though. lol
is this a good plan?
what size pipe?
what kind of valve? front of pipe? or back?
what kind of soil? the local dirt/mulch place has "topsoil". I suppose I need to find something that is labeled "clay soil"?
should I take this opportunity to demuck? long term, I really wanted to demuck with aeration and adding beneficial bacteria
there is a rusty overflow pipe. I dont intend to rebuild the dam to that level. So its not functional. OK to leave it? Fill it in? Leave it for additional emergency overflow

Thank you all for your expertise!

From the picture, it almost looks like you'd be able to do an expansion and put in a new dam "downstream" instead of trying to repair the old one.

Didn’t think of doing that.

I’d rather not rely on the old overflow pipe. Or go through the expense of installing a new one. A spillway is preferable

pic here