Spring #2

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After battling the politics to get the pond dug, and then battling the flooding caused by what the political bodies dictated, we are finely in the home stretch! Behind the left corner we dug a small 10' round, 5' deep pond with a trench that will eventually be connected to the main pond so it can overflow into it, along with collecting yard runoff. It will be lined and have a rock bed so when it's dry it still looks nice. We have a solar powered filtered pump in the small pond that has an auto shut-off for when it's empty or really low. The pump is taking the water back to the main pond over what will be a waterfall area. That part isn't done yet, and we still have to get the windmill that will provide aeration to the main pond. Also need to do some landscaping along the left side. But we have made great progress in just 2 seasons.

This is the pond's 2nd spring and has already risen a good 3-4 feet from where it was going into winter. The cat tails that came in naturally last year haven't come in yet, and I have to go out abd clean up last year's brush...been too chilly and now we've had a few days of rain so it's too wet to do it. But the willow trees we put in behind the left corner have some green on them, so we're excited to see they made it through their 1st winter.

I was hoping to add some more plants to the pond edge this season to help with the water clarity. Not sure we will be able to yet, but that's okay. I'm happy with where we've gotten to after all that we had to overcome to get to this point.
 

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After battling the politics to get the pond dug, and then battling the flooding caused by what the political bodies dictated, we are finely in the home stretch! Behind the left corner we dug a small 10' round, 5' deep pond with a trench that will eventually be connected to the main pond so it can overflow into it, along with collecting yard runoff. It will be lined and have a rock bed so when it's dry it still looks nice. We have a solar powered filtered pump in the small pond that has an auto shut-off for when it's empty or really low. The pump is taking the water back to the main pond over what will be a waterfall area. That part isn't done yet, and we still have to get the windmill that will provide aeration to the main pond. Also need to do some landscaping along the left side. But we have made great progress in just 2 seasons.

This is the pond's 2nd spring and has already risen a good 3-4 feet from where it was going into winter. The cat tails that came in naturally last year haven't come in yet, and I have to go out abd clean up last year's brush...been too chilly and now we've had a few days of rain so it's too wet to do it. But the willow trees we put in behind the left corner have some green on them, so we're excited to see they made it through their 1st winter.

I was hoping to add some more plants to the pond edge this season to help with the water clarity. Not sure we will be able to yet, but that's okay. I'm happy with where we've gotten to after all that we had to overcome to get to this point.
looking good! Just be careful re catching 'runoff' and 'overflow' as this is usually how you get pesticides and fertilizers from the yard/surrounding yards. This will definitely give you water issues and major algae growth.
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
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Great progress! That will look great when you are done. Looks good now.
 
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Nice!
Beautiful job!
Your hard work and perseverance has paid off.

I'll second what brokensword has said about yard runoff.
Most of us form a small berm around our pond to prevent this.
At worse, depending on the grade of the property, you may have to somehow guide the rain water around your pond.
 
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I made a French drain around the part of my little pond that catches runoff from my patio, so the excess water just gets redirected to the side of my yard that leads away from my yard.
 
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Thanks all! I totally understand the concern about fertilizers and pesticides getting into the pond. We don't use either on our lawn so we should be in the clear in that regard, but I do appreciate the reminder. We just got the windmill delivered this week, which we're using for aeration. It's 23 feet tall...hoping that's tall enough to catch the breeze. It's suppose to not need much to move the blades...fingers crossed!

For BarbO and brokensword: We can't send any of the water to the neighbors - and politics in this area included yard runoff when we were going through the permit process to dig the pond - which was what got us in the flooded mess we had last year. It was a nightmare to say the least. This was the best option we could come up with considering we are landlocked. There is only 1 yard that would potentially have any runoff coming through, and he doesn't use fertilizer or pesticide on his yard either. I appreciate the info though, for sure!
 
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I'm guessing that's an earthen pond. Nice setting
 
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I'm guessing that's an earthen pond. Nice setting
Yes, the ground is mostly clay back there and a pretty high water table. Behind our lot there is one more small gravel road with houses and other structures on either side of it and then the lake is beyond them. Going with a natural bottom was the best option in our opinion, so we had the guy dig down about 14 feet, and then it filled itself. I think it took only about 3 days to fill up if I remember right.
 

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