I lost one of my trout ponds!

[j.w]

How horrible and sad. I would be devastated and hope there are still fish that survived somehow.

 

[RobAmy]

Tough break Mike, hope the repairs will not be to bad. We have had some cold temps for sure. Spring is close, so you an really see what is going on and what to do to prevent another major drain off again. Best of luck and keep us updated

 

[haver79]

Sorry to hear about whats happened to your pond. It has been another tough winter. Hope there is enough water in there for fish and good luck
on your repairs in the spring.

 

[Mike in Vermont]

I appreciate all of the kind words, advice and support, everyone. So glad I found this place. The more I think about it, I am liking the idea Mitch has with the above ground overflow. I am guessing the bank will still need to be dug up to fix the hole.

 

[MitchM]

If you have some extra time for reading Mike, you might want to check the forums over at Pond Boss.
That's a place where folks deal with larger projects, but from what I can tell, mainly in the southern states. There doesn't seem to be much information dealing with cold weather issues but you might get some ideas for constructing the overflow.
Depending on the makeup of your soil, you may be able to do it using clay and rocks like I said for erosion protection.
I'm very interested on seeing what you're dealing with there once the snow melts because I keep a close eye on my overflow here as well.
Here's the pondboss link: http://forums.pondboss.com/

 

[bettasngoldfish]

I'm so sorry Mike.....

Can't even image the mess, I'm hoping some of your fish managed to survive.

Please keep us posted

 

[Mike in Vermont]

If you have some extra time for reading Mike, you might want to check the forums over at Pond Boss.
That's a place where folks deal with larger projects, but from what I can tell, mainly in the southern states. There doesn't seem to be much information dealing with cold weather issues but you might get some ideas for constructing the overflow.
Depending on the makeup of your soil, you may be able to do it using clay and rocks like I said for erosion protection.
I'm very interested on seeing what you're dealing with there once the snow melts because I keep a close eye on my overflow here as well.
Here's the pondboss link: http://forums.pondboss.com/[/QUOTE]
.

Thanks for the link, Mitch. I will be sure to do some reading

 

[Mike in Vermont]

So, I have great news. I think I have fixed my pond.
.;
The last few days were warm so, I went down to the pond to check it out. The bottom drain was still intact in the bank of the pond. I climbed down in the pond on the ice, and looked in the top of the drain. That section is about 6 feet long. The ice had raised it out of the fitting. When the pond drained, the ice and bank collapsed against the drain, pushing the top towards the pond. Since this happened, we have had several nights -20 F so, the bank was froze. I couldn't remove the pipe. I ran extension cords to the pond and brought the 80,000 BTU space heater out on the ice. This melted a lot of the ice around the bank.
.
I got a heavy 6 foot bar, with a wide, thin end. I chopped at the frozen dirt and rocks for hours, and was able to remove the pipe. There was a 45? degree elbow where the pipe fit on. This was about 2 1/2 feet down and 2 1/2 feet in diameter. Rocks had fallen down inside. I placed a large, flat rock over the drain, as I had to chop the bank out six inches wider, so the pipe would fit on the elbow straight.
.
After a few more hours of chopping I removed all the fallen pieces, then removed the rock I set on top of the drain. I laid down in the mud, with my head inside the hole, and removed most all of the rocks inside. The rubber seal looked good, so I rinsed it off, and placed the drain pipe back on. At first I couldn't get a tight seal, as I heard a small amount of water leaking. After turning it, and placing it in again, the seal was tight.
.
I grabbed some 5 gallon pails, and started scraping up some 1 1/4 inch limestone from under the eves. That was the only area exposed. I ended up filling in the entire hole around the drain, up to where it was before. (probably 700 lbs of stone) I'm going to pick up a few hundred more pounds to place a little more around it. I will also try to melt/break more ice, so it doesn't collapse and hit the drain.
..

.

.

.

I'm feeling real good about this fix. Also, no dollars were removed from my wallet. My back on the other hand.....

 

[Meyer Jordan]

If you have some extra time for reading Mike, you might want to check the forums over at Pond Boss.
That's a place where folks deal with larger projects, but from what I can tell, mainly in the southern states. There doesn't seem to be much information dealing with cold weather issues but you might get some ideas for constructing the overflow.
Depending on the makeup of your soil, you may be able to do it using clay and rocks like I said for erosion protection.
I'm very interested on seeing what you're dealing with there once the snow melts because I keep a close eye on my overflow here as well.
Here's the pondboss link: http://forums.pondboss.com/

Absolutely no doubt, if it is an earth bottom pond, Pond Boss forum is the place.

 

[MitchM]

Mike, that's great that you repaired the damage, but what will prevent the same thing from happening next year?

 

[bettasngoldfish]

So glad you were able to save the pond. Sure sounds like a lot of hard work though.

 

[addy1]

Glad to hear! Back breaking work though

 

[Troutredds]

Nice effort there, Mike! I got a kick out of the line "I laid down in the mud with my head in the hole..." Now that's commitment! Great news.

 

[Mike in Vermont]

Mike, that's great that you repaired the damage, but what will prevent the same thing from happening next year?

Well, the pond will be 22 years old next month. I never did any drain inspections during the winter months. I figure my fix is better than the way it was installed. Also, I am going to keep an eye on it, in future winters.
.
My biggest concerns now is the filling up process. With the water loss, all the ice has collapsed. I worry about it rising back up, and doing damage to the drain. In normal circumstances, the ice isn't a problem. The drain thaws out first, and the ice just melts, turning into a thin film, before completely disappearing. Around the bank, the dirt attached to the ice was frozen. When the water gushed out, the ice dropped, taking part of the dirt bank with it.
.
Unfortunately, I will be leaving next week, and will be gone for 3 weeks. A couple is looking after the house but, won't be able to do anything with the pond. I am hoping my uncle will come over every few days and check for any problems.

 

[MitchM]

Hmm.
In my mind I see it that the frost got under the plumbing and dislodged the pipe. 2 1/2 feet doesn't seem that deep to me, even for your climate. Maybe I'm picturing it wrong. You had some pretty cold temperatures this winter, so maybe it's just a result of deeper frost than normal.
Our frost line here for building code is 4 feet deep.
It looks like the drain is on the south side of the pond, so it will be the first to freeze and the last to thaw.
If you could clear away some of the snow that's shielding the drain from the sun, it might help a bit to prevent further freeze/thaw damage, I think.
I hate chopping frozen dirt too, you deserve a holiday.