Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Filling from a well?

Dustin, If I had my druthers, I'd druther have a 100% clay lined pond that isn't attached to the water table. Now, that's tempered with the fact that the pond is roughly 300 feet from the well, and I can pump 25 gpm into the pond.

On reflection, I'd still want that even if I didn't have a well close by. BUT, I'd want more than 10' depth. Another friend has 12' depth in his pond that also is a water table pond, and last winter he only had 4' of water in it.....

Another friend has a pond that is clay lined. He does have a slight amount of surface run-off entering the pond most of the year, and he only drops 9" to 12" all year.

I have two small stock tanks near the house sunk into the ground to act as small ornamental ponds. One has a fountain and is 300 gallons, the other has no fountain and is 100 gallons. The 300 gallon tank will drop about 3/4" per day due to evaporation. The 100 gallon tank will drop about 3/8" per day due to evaporation. If I stop the well water going into my pond, in this weather I will lose (due to evaporation and seepage) roughly 2" per day because the pond is higher than the groundwater level.

If the springs that the contractor wants to open up will be near the top of the water column in the pond once it's filled, than I say open 'em up and make sure the rest of the pond basin is properly lined and compacted clay. If they will be near the bottom of the pond, I wouldn't. They will act as a drain when the water level gets low, or is lower than what you want the water level in the pond to be.

He dug down 10' and you had 3' of water in the hole. That means that from soil level, you'd have to walk down 7' to get to the water.......... At a 3:1 slope, that means that the pond circumference would have to be 42 feet bigger. That's a lot of dirt to be moving.

Another downside to the groundwater pond that fluctuates, is where to put cover. If it were properly placed, lots would be out of the water when the water level was low.

Weeds and greenery around the pond is another issue. Do you want plants growing around the edge of the water? That's very hard to do if the water level fluctuates more than 3'. Or are you willing to put up with mucky soil around the edge of the pond if the level drops?

If the contractor doesn't properly compact the soil, that'd be a good "out" for him. "You wanted the springs opened, and the water is going out them. That's why the water level in the pond is dropping so fast."