It's the rainy season here and every spring I see my pond get a good flushing or two (or three depending). I always wonder what my excessive watershed is doing to the water quality. I know it will silt in faster and the seasonal rapid water input certainly muddies it up.
I did a quick estimate on the current water outflow and surmised that the amount of water in the 1/4 acre pond (approx 1/2 million gallons) can come out the drain pipe in about 6 hours. I know that it is not a one-to-one exchange, but I would bet that over the coarse of a few toad strangling days that the small BOW is left with very little of the original water.
I have never witnessed a fish kill from this and have tested the incoming rain water, pond water, and outflow for DO during these heavy rain events to find it all to be around 6 ppm. 6 ppm is better than the DO levels are during normal times.
At times,I am very grateful for the throughput because my pond's surface can get rather scummy and a good rain with some outflow can bring the surface back to a shimmer.
I don't expect to be able to do anything about the watershed, but am curious to learn the cons of such events and if there are any pros?
At times,I am very grateful for the throughput because my pond's surface can get rather scummy and a good rain with some outflow can bring the surface back to a shimmer.
I'm open for discussions...
