2/3 Acre Pond

[Omaha]

Thought I'd start a thread about the progress we're making on a small farm pond in Sarpy County. We began clearing trees back in the winter and with all the rain were only recently able to get in there with the 'dozer and get stumps out and start digging.

I'm planning on going about an average of 8 feet, with a max depth of 12 feet. There will be a small swimming area for the kids on the northeast corner next to a "camping peninsula".

Goal is to make this a balanced largemouth bass and bluegill pond, gearing more towards the LMB. As soon as it fills I will stock forage, flathead minnows (7# approx.) and golden shiners (5# approx.). Along with them I will stock my bluegill and redear sunfish. About 270 BG and 70 RES. About a year after that, a spawn or two, I will stock the LMB, about 70, and probably 100 or so channel cats.

There's obviously more to the story than this, but these are the basics. I will try to update as often as possible and please offer any advice you may have or any questions as well. Below are some progress pictures, much of which aren't much to look at, but that's why they call it progress...

The first bunch of pictures show just how much brush and trees had to be cleared. Spent every spare moment out there over the winter clearing it out.

























Just lots and lots of stumps and roots, tearing up large amounts of dirt.



Stump removal. Very large trees and our 'dozer guy took the afternoon off so I attempted to move them with the bobcat.



I think this one weighed about as much as the bobcat.



How not to do it. Seriously, though, 30 seconds after this picture was taken, this stump was in the truck.



While waiting for the rain to stop , we had some fun thinking about structure and built a few PVC trees.

[Chad]

This will be fun to watch! Thanks for sharing.

[obert]

Looks good. How are you getting your oxy and water into the project? Looks like a great area.

[Omaha]

Originally Posted by obert

Looks good. How are you getting your oxy and water into the project? Looks like a great area.

Couple options there. Regular run off using a pretty significant draw on the northeast corner, see topography below.



Best case scenario (at least for my patience), would be to hit a good spring, which is very likely. Third thing to consider is something the dozer guy brought up to me last week and I'll have to research a little further, but it was something about drilling down to the water table to fill. I've never read or heard of this so I'll have to look into it more before saying ok.

[obert]

Very nice. I've only built one for cattle, not fish. Want to clean one up for fish in the future and was curious how you want about getting oxy and fresh water to it. Great project, can't wait to see the final results.

[Omaha]

Dirt work is absolutely addicting. If I didn't have a job, I don't think I'd take a break.

[obert]

It is fun isn't it, ha ah. Too bad I suck at leveling. I can spend dust til dark on the dozer. A ton of fun. I did learn not to use it in the hills when the ground is frozen though. I love the "how not to do it picture." Reminds me of a landscaper I worked with in Omaha...

[Omaha]

Originally Posted by obert

Very nice. I've only built one for cattle, not fish. Want to clean one up for fish in the future and was curious how you want about getting oxy and fresh water to it. Great project, can't wait to see the final results.

I'm very much still in the beginning, i.e., learning, stages and am very aware that many decisions will end up being made on the fly, but I'm researching as much as possible to be prepared for whatever. Around your future pond, what's the watershed like? How big is the pond? I believe in NE the suggested watershed is 20:1. I'd be interested to see how it goes for you. I have 2 other ponds that I will likely try to bring back to life in the near future. One is in Iowa and it filled in with silt years ago. Would like to dig that out and start over again. Another is an established pond, but they can't get fish to live in it. It's in Iowa too and he said he had the DNR stock it.

[obert]

There are 5 pond/dams on the property. The past few years only 2 were holding water. This year 4 so far have water. There is only 1 I'm looking at as the rest will be used for watering purposes. Having trouble keeping water in it though, we built it 3 years ago now. The pond is an acre. I'll see if I can get pics this weekend. Problem is it doens't hold water. That is why I was curious how you were getting water to it. When it rains it fills up fast, but doens't last long. Would you be sealing the bottom of yours or doing anything to help it hold water?

[Omaha]

Originally Posted by obert

I love the "how not to do it picture." Reminds me of a landscaper I worked with in Omaha...

Yeah, that's my wallpaper right now.

I was attempting to put that stump in the back of the truck like the others, but this one was huge. I'm lifting the bucket and it just falls on its nose. So I'm bracing myself up as you can see in the picture, trying not to hurt the truck too much. In the meantime, my dad's snapping pictures. Sheesh.

[Omaha]

Originally Posted by obert

There are 5 pond/dams on the property. The past few years only 2 were holding water. This year 4 so far have water. There is only 1 I'm looking at as the rest will be used for watering purposes. Having trouble keeping water in it though, we built it 3 years ago now. The pond is an acre. I'll see if I can get pics this weekend. Problem is it doens't hold water. That is why I was curious how you were getting water to it. When it rains it fills up fast, but doens't last long. Would you be sealing the bottom of yours or doing anything to help it hold water?

Ah, gotcha. I was hoping to hit some good clay. There's a creek not far from where I'm digging the pond and it's lined with really good clay. So far, however, 5 feet deep approximately, we haven't hit any clay. But, we're fortunate enough to have a source of some good clay (a friend who owns 175 wooded acres and 3 ponds - very jealous) to seal it if we don't hit any ourselves. That might be your problem then, you think? Maybe you could get a sample of the soil and have it analyzed to see if it's conducive to holding water. It's the biggest pond problem I believe, leaking. Can be the most expensive too, unfortunately. Oh, how about the dirt levels? If you look at the basin as it leaks, can you see any difference in dirt coloration/type?

[obert]

You know, I haven't really looked into it too much yet. This sits at the bottom of a crp piece, no trees yet. Will be looking into it a little more in the future as the kids get older. Going to be a long project slow project for us. But always curious on this since it's something I want to do here in the future.

[holdemplyer]

Obert, grab some dirt from where your pond is, enough to make a softball sized clod of dirt. Pack it down so it's good and hard. Place that ball in a bucket of water. Observe the clod, the longer it stays a ball, the better, if it begins breaking down quickly, the pond needs some dirt work that includes clay or some other substance to seal it.

I wish I had the issue of Pond Boss that I read this out of to get you the exact timeframe to observe and analyze.

Omaha, that looks like a very fun project! I've spent many hours playing in the dirt with a bobcat!!! Keep up the reports.

[Omaha]

Originally Posted by holdemplyer

Obert, grab some dirt from where your pond is, enough to make a softball sized clod of dirt. Pack it down so it's good and hard. Place that ball in a bucket of water. Observe the clod, the longer it stays a ball, the better, if it begins breaking down quickly, the pond needs some dirt work that includes clay or some other substance to seal it.

I wish I had the issue of Pond Boss that I read this out of to get you the exact timeframe to observe and analyze.

Here's a couple tests you can consider, till you decide to subscribe to PondBoss.

To quickly identify the best clay material, grasp a handful of moist earth in your hands and roll it into a ball shape. If the ball maintains its form when you drop it on the ground, it may contain sufficient clay. Take the ball and roll it between your hands to form a thin pencil shape. If this pencil shape of clay will bend before breaking, the clay is likely of sufficient quality to seal a pond. There are always exceptions, so move onto the next test.


Using something like a five-gallon bucket, drill several holes along the vertical edge near the bottom of the bucket. Holes of around 3/8th inch work well. Next, fill the bottom of the bucket with four inches of crushed gravel, such as 3/4-minus. On top of the gravel, place about six inches of what ever soil/clay type material you plan to use for the pond. Thoroughly compact this clay layer throughout the bucket, paying particular attention to the edge. Make sure the clay is somewhat moist. Moist enough to make a ball out of the material is about optimum. Now fill the bucket to the rim with water. Cover the bucket with an impervious surface such as plastic. Wait a couple days, then refill the bucket. The soil needs time to saturate with water. Cover the bucket once again. Now wait up to a week to see if the soil will hold water. Obviously you can check after the first day to see if the material failed. Our experience has been that if you lose less than an inch of water after a week in the bucket, you have good material. We don't seem to get as good of compaction in a bucket as we do out in the lakes and ponds themselves. This is why we relax our expectations within the bucket.

Originally Posted by holdemplyer

Omaha, that looks like a very fun project! I've spent many hours playing in the dirt with a bobcat!!! Keep up the reports.

I will keep you posted. I'm keeping a thread going on PondBoss as well, but thought it was important to get one going here to share with fellow Nebraskans.

[Laramie]

another guide to determining soil type. Guide to Texture by Feel | NRCS Soils

Once you start seeing rocks (glacial-till) then the good clay is not far below.

I would caution against digging a hole to the static water level (water table) chances are it wouldn't provide a source for water, but rather might work against you when the level drops...plus it could be quite costly depending on how deep a substantial water source is...

Are you getting any engineering assistance or is this on your own?

[Omaha]

Originally Posted by Laramie

another guide to determining soil type. Guide to Texture by Feel | NRCS Soils

Once you start seeing rocks (glacial-till) then the good clay is not far below.

I would caution against digging a hole to the static water level (water table) chances are it wouldn't provide a source for water, but rather might work against you when the level drops...plus it could be quite costly depending on how deep a substantial water source is...

Are you getting any engineering assistance or is this on your own?

This is on my own, with tons of research and advice. How would the water table idea work against me? Would it act like a drain?

[Laramie]

It could, but more likely it wouldn't add water, unless you pumped from it. The level of the water doesn't flucuate enough to be a surface water source. It is not like puncturing a pressurized system where water will flow out at will...

[Omaha]

Originally Posted by Laramie

It could, but more likely it wouldn't add water, unless you pumped from it. The level of the water doesn't flucuate enough to be a surface water source. It is not like puncturing a pressurized system where water will flow out at will...

Oh, I see. Good stuff. Thank you very much for the info.

[rjd]

The lake we have ,when they start irragating around us you can almost see the water level drop. This is a spring fed lake , old gravel pit.

[Omaha]

Originally Posted by rjd

The lake we have ,when they start irragating around us you can almost see the water level drop. This is a spring fed lake , old gravel pit.

Why is that?