Putting in a pond

[daffodil]

(Hope I got this under the right category)
I want to put a pond in, just a small one. How do I go about doing that. Someone mentioned water levels or something like that and drainage. I'm thinking of it being like maybe 10 feet across (round). What is involved in doing this?

[Catalpa]

What is the site like? The best place to make a pond is where it is already low and wet, where drainage ponds up in the Spring, etc. Ten foot across isn't much...you'll want it to be large enough and deep enough to sustain itself, either by underground spring, or surface water collection. If you make it too small, for most of the year you'll just have an ugly muddy hole in the ground.

A water feature that's only ten feet across can be made, but it would have to have an artificial liner and you'd have to fill it with a hose, like those large koi ponds that some folk are fond of.

Do you have a backhoe that you're planning to do the digging yourself?

You might want to start by calling local excavator companies, and see what they would charge, and based on their experience in your area, and the condition of your land, if they believe a sustainable pond is possible.

Do your neighbors have ponds? Is your ground sand or clay? Do you have willow thickets or upland grasses?

[daffodil]

I'll be digging with a shovel :o! No money for a hired backhoe at this point. No one in the area has a pond. It's just grass and sand/soil mix that I had brought in years ago because it was low and I had alot of watering laying, like about 30x30 foot of water after rain and snow melt. I live by Lake Erie, not sure if that means there would be any water in the area in my yard though. How deep and big would it have to be sustain itself? Do I need a permit or anything to put one in?

[daffodil]

Another thought I just had...the guy across the street has a tractor, he might be able to dig it.

[Catalpa]

As for a permit, that depends on your local zoning type folks. *Here a permit isn't needed unless the pond will be over an acre in size, though that may change depending on what the Feds do with the new bill.

How close to the lake are you? *There's some regulations that affect any earth moving activity within 500 ft. of a lake or stream. *At the very least, you may have to get a land use permit or a soil erosion permit. *Being close to the lake may mean just the opposite for groundwater; it's a fact that there isn't any water for wells along some areas of the Lake Huron shoreline for both Michigan and Canada.

I doubt you'd be able to actually dig a pond with a shovel; at least my mind boggles and my shoulders hurt at the thought of the work invovled. *You'll have to overdig the size you want, since there will always be some silting in and sloughing off of the banks. *The low spot in your yard would be the logical place to start; was there clay below where you had the sand brought in?

To be self-sustaining the pond would have to be spring-fed, or low enough to intesect the water table and it would also depend on rainfall, runoff, etc. *It's hard to say how deep; that's always dependent on local conditions. *If none of your neighbors have ponds, it may mean it's not a good area for them.

If you're in sandy soil, there's no way to keep the water in place unless there is a spring, or the water table is high enough. *With clay soil, you may be able to retain the water, though without a spring it may run dry in the summer. *Some folks around here actually drill wells and hook them to windmills to pump water and keep the pond full.

Your neighbor might be able to help, if he has a backhoe on the tractor.

[cinok]

Based aopun the size you are talking about it would be a water feature. Are you looking to put fish in it or whats the purpose

[daffodil]

Based aopun the size you are talking about it would be a water feature. Are you looking to put fish in it or whats the purpose
I'd use it if I needed a water source. No fish. I'm thinking if I had to I could scoop it out by the bucket full for inhouse use and I could also use it to water the garden.

[daffodil]

catalpa
I'm way farther than 500 ft. from the lake. I think no one has a pond here because they don't think of not having water supplied by the village. If they want to see water they go down to the lake. And most of them don't have room to put much of anything, the lots are so small. I have 3 lots, mine is one of the largest yards in the area I think. My house sits on a really small one about 30'x 50', the house is about 24'x22' and then I have two lots to the south side of it that are 30'x 100' each. I think the yard just had soil before I added the sand for drainage purposes. Although deeper down it may be clay. The neighbor dug out for a garage and put the dirt here in my yard. It is mostly clay and rocks.

[Anon001]

daffodil,

I don't think you will be able to build a big enough pond to supply your water needs on such a small lot, especially if you also have a garden. The only way (other than being spring fed) would be if you had gutters that directed the runoff from your roof to the pond.

With a pond being that small, you may also have trouble with the water becoming stagnant.