I've got a 60 acre farm in upstate NY. There are already some natural ponds on the property (beaver-caused messes, mostly), but I want to put in some dug ponds to get control of things. There's an area I am really champing at the bit to get dug, as it is turning some of my best bottomland into a swamp.
My farm sits at the bottom of a bowl-shaped valley, and he old timers tell me there are seven springs, of which I am pretty sure my spot is one.
It's about 3/4 of an acre and approximately round. There is no standing water except after a big storm, but it is covered in cattail and Joe Pye weed. I dug a 4 x 4 x 4 test hole last year with the following results. Dig down about 1 foot and you hit dense gray clay - it's diggable, but not fun. The hole was filled to the brim in less than 2 hours. It stayed more than 3/4 full even after a month long dry spell in August.
I have access to a small backhoe and excavator. I don't have a dozer, but I do have a pretty good 3 inch trash pump. I figured I could dig down a foot, then suck it out, dig and suck, dig and suck until the whole thing is dug. A couple of people who know dirt, but not ponds, say this is nuts and a couple of others say it will probably work. I want to know what "pond guys" think, so here I am.
Also, assuming the cattail zone is 3/4 an acre, how big is that watershed likely to be? How much larger than the visible wet are is this thing likely to be?
