Running downspouts to pond

[JBailey]

I am in the brainstorming phase of planning an in-ground pond in a small pasture that is down slope from my house. We get some serious rain and most of the downspouts don't drain far enough from the house for my liking. Some we will dig nice gravelly drainage pit for, but there are a couple at one corner of the house I'd like to run out to a pond.

The main issue is that it would have to go across our gravel driveway and through a garden area. The driveway part would have to be able to take car traffic, but the garden part has more room for design variation. We keep the gutters fairly clean, but get lots of pine needles from our trees. There have never been issues with backing up, but if we run a pipe or small culvert under the drive, I worry about blockages there. The distance across the drive that would need to be sub-surface is maybe 20 feet.

Has anyone done this kind of waterscaping? Found any helpful pics or websites?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I would advise against this project. Pine needles will begin to decay as soon as they become wet. The resulting released nutrients will make their way into your pond and only promote excessive algae growth. This would provide no benefit to the pond.

 

[JBailey]

Ah, good point. I wonder if I could put the pond in how I want, then route the downspouts lower than the pond so they feed a boggy overflow area. The key concept being new pond

More pinterest surfing is called for.vi saw some really clever ideas for downspout catchment and routing that didn't involve ponds, so i guess two separate projects is better than one algae-inducing one.

 

[CometKeith]

Were you planing on putting fish in the pond? Usually you don't want run off going to a pond because it can contribute harmful substances into the pond like fertilizers and pesticides but if you are not going to have fish there might be some more leeway.

 

[Mmathis]

Ah, good point. I wonder if I could put the pond in how I want, then route the downspouts lower than the pond so they feed a boggy overflow area. The key concept being new pond

More pinterest surfing is called for.vi saw some really clever ideas for downspout catchment and routing that didn't involve ponds, so i guess two separate projects is better than one algae-inducing one.

Sounds like you need a rain garden!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_garden

 

[mgmine]

Large ponds are fed from runoff. Most new housing developments and shopping malls are required to install ponds. Those do just fine with fish and plants even after all the run off from parking lots. So I would guess that the run off from your roof would be fine. If you are concerned about the pine needles you could have the water run through a barrel first and then go to the pond.

 

[sissy]

I would worry about grit from roofing shingles you should see the gunk in the bottom of my rain barrels and I am amazed there is any grit on my shingles .The roof is a 30 year roof and was a 2004 build and the front part of the roof was redone in 2007 when we built the covered front porch

 

[morewater]

I've installed several "dry wells" for areas that are prone to flooding on various properties. Depending on the distance from the house and the foundation, this might be an option for you.

Another option is a downhill "bog" area that will retain some of the water while allowing the excess water to filter down.

 

[bobchapman]

I am in the brainstorming phase of planning an in-ground pond in a small pasture that is down slope from my house. We get some serious rain and most of the downspouts don't drain far enough from the house for my liking. Some we will dig nice gravelly drainage pit for, but there are a couple at one corner of the house I'd like to run out to a pond.

The main issue is that it would have to go across our gravel driveway and through a garden area. The driveway part would have to be able to take car traffic, but the garden part has more room for design variation. We keep the gutters fairly clean, but get lots of pine needles from our trees. There have never been issues with backing up, but if we run a pipe or small culvert under the drive, I worry about blockages there. The distance across the drive that would need to be sub-surface is maybe 20 feet.

Has anyone done this kind of waterscaping? Found any helpful pics or websites?

If you combined a couple of the ideas here, you could have a workable solution:
- run the downspouts to a settlement pit/tank/bucket at the house: you'd need to clean this out occasionally
- run a 4", or maybe 3", PVC pipe from the settlement pit/tank/bucket underground all the way to where you want it.
This means a fair amount of digging, but is a very viable approach. You could use schedule 80 pipe under the driveway (very strong) and schedule 40 otherwise.

Bob Chapman

 

[sissy]

I have a tank in the ground and 2 of my gutters run to it .It was put in the ground when they back filled the foundation for the house .I pour liquid fertilizer in it and drop a pump connected to a hose and fertilize my yard and plants.It was put in a low spot in my yard and all the rocks from my property are around it now

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Large ponds are fed from runoff. Most new housing developments and shopping malls are required to install ponds. Those do just fine with fish and plants even after all the run off from parking lots. So I would guess that the run off from your roof would be fine. If you are concerned about the pine needles you could have the water run through a barrel first and then go to the pond.

Yes, but what are the annual costs for water treatments.

 

[mgmine]

Yes, but what are the annual costs for water treatments.

Nothing. The purpose of theses ponds is to keep the drain water out of the sanitary sewers so that the water does not have to be treated.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Nothing. The purpose of theses ponds is to keep the drain water out of the sanitary sewers so that the water does not have to be treated.

Then the possibility of run-off affecting water quality should not be a concern for a pond keeper.

 

[Mmathis]

I still say, RAIN GARDEN! When we visited St. Louis a few years ago, I visited their rain garden which was in the middle of a busy downtown street, and fairly close to our hotel. I knew what a "bog" was, but had never heard of this. Of course, theirs was there as much for awareness as it was for usage and tourism (lots of unique art sculptures -- very interesting). They had all of the plants labeled, and told a little about each one. This was in early fall, so not a lot of blooming plants. But I did recognize so many of the plant [common] names from my searches for bog plants.

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden....ing-guide/design-and-build-a-rain-garden.aspx

 

[mgmine]

Then the possibility of run-off affecting water quality should not be a concern for a pond keeper.

Nope no concern. The concern would start if the water started to shine with an oil slick or there were dead possums floating on the top or if it stunk so much it would gag a maggot. I haven't seen that at any ponds but I'm sure that it happens. I doubt that it would happen from runoff from a roof but then again maybe I'm wrong. I hope things are okay in Florida and you didn't get hit too hard with hurricane Hermine