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Hi all, new here and looking for some advice/comments....
To give a brief - I have a what i call a wild pond. it has sat there on some land at a lower level (in a dip) surrounded by fields with cows in. On one edge is a house that i know has a cess pit and years ago had a pipe run from it into a very small stream. this stream runs past the pond but does have an inlet into the pond. It has been relatively self managing for years (decades) and ducks lived on a small island on it. it had a few reeds around it along with some other wetland plants....nothing untoward was of a concern.
Over winter, every trace of plant life vanished and the pond appeared relatively clear. However, from then and to now, plants have overtaken every centimetre of the pond. More concerningly, in patches, a film of orangey/brown scum started appearing. There was an awful pungent foul smell from the water, which on certain days rises to the land area, making it quite horrible to stand around. The water colour is a light brown if bottled. Amongst the film on patches, the rest is covered in cress like plants, so with that and the very tall reeds, there is no visible water....it is covered.
Being surrounded by a cow field, and the new information about this cess pit, i had a water test by a lab. I spoke to them, but they were reluctant to tell me what is and isn't normal. The more I read online, the more I am getting confused as to whether the results are very bad - to ok.... i am sure they are not good!
My aspirations for the pond are to keep it as a wild pond, but i want it more opened up and not a mass of reeds...it may attract the ducks back then and perhaps other critters.
I would appreciate some comments, although i am considering getting a pond expert in, to advise as well.
it is approx 180 sq metres, and 8ft in deep in places, if not more.
thank you
To give a brief - I have a what i call a wild pond. it has sat there on some land at a lower level (in a dip) surrounded by fields with cows in. On one edge is a house that i know has a cess pit and years ago had a pipe run from it into a very small stream. this stream runs past the pond but does have an inlet into the pond. It has been relatively self managing for years (decades) and ducks lived on a small island on it. it had a few reeds around it along with some other wetland plants....nothing untoward was of a concern.
Over winter, every trace of plant life vanished and the pond appeared relatively clear. However, from then and to now, plants have overtaken every centimetre of the pond. More concerningly, in patches, a film of orangey/brown scum started appearing. There was an awful pungent foul smell from the water, which on certain days rises to the land area, making it quite horrible to stand around. The water colour is a light brown if bottled. Amongst the film on patches, the rest is covered in cress like plants, so with that and the very tall reeds, there is no visible water....it is covered.
Being surrounded by a cow field, and the new information about this cess pit, i had a water test by a lab. I spoke to them, but they were reluctant to tell me what is and isn't normal. The more I read online, the more I am getting confused as to whether the results are very bad - to ok.... i am sure they are not good!
My aspirations for the pond are to keep it as a wild pond, but i want it more opened up and not a mass of reeds...it may attract the ducks back then and perhaps other critters.
I would appreciate some comments, although i am considering getting a pond expert in, to advise as well.
it is approx 180 sq metres, and 8ft in deep in places, if not more.
thank you
