Hi,

I am new to pond building (although I have seen quite a few being built) and am going to build a series of ponds (around 10) on our farm.

I have read "Just add Water" and have done a lot of research. My primary purposes are for retriever training (like John and Martha Russell in Mike's book), fishing and livestock.

My first build is a small sacrificial pond for learning purposes.

It has a bottom draw with an up pipe on the back side of the dike even with the water line. It also has a drain valve.

My concern on this pond is water doesn't seem to flow out of the overflow very well. It is overflowing at the emergency spillway and the overflow pipe. The pipe is small (3") but it doesn't come out of the top fast enough. If I open the drain valve, it rolls out great. Any suggestions?