New house and another neglected pond project.....

[Ummagumma]

About a year ago I posted some pictures of an old pond I was going to rebuild and the responses that I got were very helpful. Unfortunately I had to move shortly after posting those pictures so that project never really got off the ground but the house I bought also has a neglected pond and waterfall features that I want to bring back to life. For starters I am just trying to get an idea of what was there and how it worked before really pushing forward. I have already cleared most of the brush and dirt that has accumulated over the years, the rest of the debris will have to be more carefully removed to avoid any further accidental damage to the pond walls and bottom. The whole thing is built into a slight hillside in the backyard and I believe the water was fed into the top pool via 3 pvc pipes I found halfway up the back rock wall, then flowed out and down to a second pool and out again to a short spillway which empties into the main larger pool at the bottom. I also found the end of a garden hose buried in the furthest, deepest end of the bottom pool that I am guessing might have been hooked to a pump that was submerged there in order to send the water back to the top of the feature. If anyone can offer further insight or other suggestions of how this might have worked and tips on how I should proceed it would be very much appreciated. This must have looked fabulous years ago and I would love to return it to it's former glory!

Bottom pool with the buried hose I found:

Full view of the bottom pool, you can see the hose again near the top edge:

A view of the whole feature, debris still covering the spillway:

A further away shot of the whole feature before clearing the brush away from the top of the rock wall:

Another shot of the whole thing before the brush is cleared away:

Same as the last shot, just a bit closer:

Close up of one of the PVC pipes found in the back wall of the top pool.

A second PVC pipe in the same wall as the last:

A closer shot of the spillway to the bottom pool, lots of loose brush and debris from clearing out the top pool some:

And finally, a close up shot of the top pool, still removing dirt and debris of course!

 

[sissy]

welcome back and that looked like it was a pondless water feature with a stream and catch basins .May or may not of held fish .looks a little shallow to me .The garden hose may have been also used as a refill hose because it would be kinda small for a pump to pump water that far

 

[MitchM]

Get out the pressure washer, start from the top and be prepared to scoop out a lot of junk as you go before/until you decide that it's not worth restoring.

 

[Usman]

looks like remains of 1000 year old civilization lol
does it have liner or was it cement pond? if expired liner below it , i dont see much hope , u will need to redo it as all the rocks work will hide if u place new liner in it . my guess is there is very small pool below and another at top which are connected by narrow stream . ,ay b u need to fill some water and see where water remains and flowing to . or try to remove one or 2 big stones from hand and see whats below it it its liner then follow that
u need to b careful not to use sharp spade or tear it while cleaning or stepping on rocks .

 

[Ummagumma]

looks like remains of 1000 year old civilization lol
does it have liner or was it cement pond? if expired liner below it , i dont see much hope , u will need to redo it as all the rocks work will hide if u place new liner in it . my guess is there is very small pool below and another at top which are connected by narrow stream . ,ay b u need to fill some water and see where water remains and flowing to . or try to remove one or 2 big stones from hand and see whats below it it its liner then follow that
u need to b careful not to use sharp spade or tear it while cleaning or stepping on rocks .

It appears to be cement, I haven't found any evidence of a liner yet. I figure after I remove more of the debris I will hit it with the pressure washer and see where it goes from there. I agree with you about the 1000 year old civilization, I have always been fond of that "retro" look! Thanks again for the input, every little bit helps.

 

[Ummagumma]

Get out the pressure washer, start from the top and be prepared to scoop out a lot of junk as you go before/until you decide that it's not worth restoring.

Agree with you about the pressure washer, I think it will be worth it.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our group!

It does look like a pondless feature, you might find a pond at the bottom, cleaning will be the only way to know for sure.