Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations My first pond

I'm planning to dam up a live stream bed here in sandy East Texas that will probably create a 1-2 acre pond. I will be meeting with a guy next week who has a small crew with dozers, backhoes, etc. I'm sure he will have suggestions but I wonder if an automatic siphon design is what you guys would recommend or is a spillway ok? The stream flows a constant 20" wide by 2" deep. I'm glad I found this forum because I know next to nothing about ponds.

My only advice is to make sure this is an experienced pond builder and not just a dirt guy. There is a huge difference. Ask for references of people with ponds he has built. Anybody can dig a hole and let a creek fill it up, but a pond builder will give you the right design for your situation.

Strongly consider buying the excellent pond builder book Just Add Water by renownded pond builder Mike Otto. Any one of the many pieces of information will save you lots of money and grief later if the pond is not built correctly to the point the next flood washes out the dam that will rapidly drain the pond.
https://www.pondboss.com/store?c=8

If the stream is a blue line stream on any map, you might not be allowed to dam it. Check with your counties NRCS office about the pond placement to see if it's OK, NOT the Army Core of Engineers.

You said sandy. That may be a concern. Sand leaks. You need sandy loam.

I have built 3 ponds over the last 5 years and have learned some lessons the hard way. To answer your question, I like siphon systems but it can be tricky to figure out the size you need for storm events. I imagine a reputable pond builder can help with sizing by looking at the drainage basin, soil types, etc.

I second the warning about damming a flowing stream. There used to be US Fish & Wildlife map online that showed federally recognized wetlands and "waters of the u.s.". It would be risky to disturb those areas without approval.

Best of luck to you!

I am leery of a guy building a pond dam with just dozers and backhoes. Definitely worried about dam compaction.

Trampas Rodell of Rodell Construction in Centerville met me at my pond site a few days ago. We saw red clay along the edge of the stream at the bottom of the deep gulley where the dam will be. He said the constant stream flow (50GPM ?) should keep the pond full all the time. He recommended two 24" plastic ribbed pipes thru the dam with an emergency spillway and that he would bill me weekly at $140 hr for a track hoe and $100 hr for a dozer. He will start work in 2-3 weeks and it would probably be a 2-3 week job. I'm getting excited.

I'm excited for you, TEC! Brings back good memories of 2015.

Like you, I saw plenty of red clay on the property before buying. In fact, a whole hill! Unfortunately, the red clay turned out to be iron oxide: Red, yes, but not clay. Would not hold water.

Fortunately, we dug around creek bottom and found good gray clay about 4 to 6 feet down, so it all worked out in the end. But be wary of identifying clay by the color.

At those rates are you expecting that pond to cost you 20-30Thousand dollars for a 2 acre pond?

The time to build this pond was his WAG after we met at the pond site. It is covered in huge trees with steep banks. Years ago the local NRCS office calculated that 7200 cu yds of dirt would have to be moved. I did the same calculations as Flame and think $20-30K is about what it will cost.
Does that not seem reasonable? I've had Trampas send out a dozer for clearing and road building in my woods before and was very pleased with what I got for the cost.

Good luck on your build! It is a lot of fun and excitement on the build through the fish habitat planning and implementation all the way to stocking. Then hurry up and wait till they grow!

If your builder does not use professional special compaction equipment to build the dam and side walls correctly expect the pond to have leakage somewhere. Construction of the dam and keyway are critically important. Pushing dirt around is similar to digging a hole. However proper soil compaction techniques are mandatory for creating a well built and well sealed pond. Just because you have inflowing water does not mean poor soil compaction is acceptable. Old tree roots will decay over time in the side walls and form pathways for outward water movement. Seepages and leaks continually enlarge over time due to constant movement of water out of the pond.

A leaky pond is a very common problem question on our forum. If your contractor does not use the proper compaction methods we expect you to return with how to best deal with pond leakage especially when the stream dries up during drought. Know how to determine a pond leak. I highly suggest that you get from the contractor a written definition of what he defines as a pond leak so you know when to call him to return to fix to a leaky pond. Being proactive now is a lot better than being reactive when dealing with a leaky pond problem long term and the costly expenses involved.

The amount of your planning and preparation now determines your pond's future.

To add to Bills post above, fixing a leaky pond typically costs the same as building it in the first place or more..........

Do it once, do it right.