"Well, not much to go on but the builder says the pond is a "natural" pond and has been there for 20 years."
-The live trees that seem to be 'in' the pond don't seem to back that up, however, as F/Rod suggested, maybe it's at high pool due to rain.
"My agent said one thing that's done to control the size (outward expansion) of ponds is to burm around it. I kind of like that idea aesthetically as well as from the control of size. Is that good/bad?"
- A burm can keep water out too, and if the pond is filled by run-off, then the burm/berm would stop that from happening.
With the water that muddy, the only way to know the depth is to go out on the water and test depth with a rope/string and a weight.
You may be able to call up some historical satellite maps and see what the pond was like over the years. Might give you some peace of mind.
