farm pond

[pgr]

i would like to build an half acre farm pond in an old farming field. i do not know where to start. i need help. thank you

[JB1]

Check with a local excavator business.

[CNE]

First you dig a hole, then....
I couldn't resist that one. I don't have a clue.

[olderthandirt]

First thing is to run a perk test or drill some test holes to see whether the ground will hold water or not. You don't want a 1/2 acre hole that won't hold water becouse of the wrong kind of soil.

Mac

[Grandview]

I built a 130 x 170 pond. You definitely want to know what you have for soil. A local excavator is going to be a good source. Also most counties have soil maps that would indicate how well a pond would hold water. The soil on my property does not hold water so I needed a liner. I knew that before I started digging. You also have to consider how water is going to get into the pond. Will enough water naturally drain into. I tiled my house and shed down spouts into my pond. That keeps it full. Would you control all the runoff into the pond? You do not want a neighbors farm field running into your pond and filling it.

[Teiman]

I have built three ponds on three of my properties
One is about 2 acres. I always start with the county
soil and water conservation office. They will work with
geographical soil maps and then if it looks promising, They will
meet you at the site, you provide the back hoe or track hoe, You dig
a test hole while they observe the samples. Our office will even
design the pond, print drawings and all for free. I design my
own because they are usually very conservative with depth
and bank slope because of their liability. I prefer deeper
water and steeper banks than they reccomend.

Hire a pro, with a heavy dozer. (highway size) it wont work if you rent a bobcat. You wont get the compaction you need.

Hope this helps

[Fishwhiz]

It helps to start with your farm pond goals since there is a wide range farm pond construction techniques to satisfy your goals. If you simply want to store water, find the local contractor who has the best reputation for sealing a pond. You might be surprised how little most of them know about sealing a farm pond . If you are interested in more elaborate farm pond landscaping , you might want to find someone in the biological field who knows their way around farm ponds .

The NRCS may still provide some inital support, but they aren't as well funded as in the past. You also need to realize their goal is to trap sediments with "your" pond. This shortens the life of the pond significantly. They are still a good place to start to evaluate soils.

[loupiscopolandscaping]

I hear from local farms that have farm ponds that they had to re-enforce the pond bottom with layers of stone and clay with HEAVY compaction. it makes sense but ive never done it before

[chathamvahere]

If you can find a spring (hopefully in a lower zone) on the property that will be your best bet, a spring fed pond is the best, it promotes ecology in your pond, keeps the water level stable, and acts kinda like aeration, yes I built many ponds, hope this helps.

[gene gls]

I read somewhere a few years ago that there is some type of spray material ( chemical) that you can apply to the bottom of a dry hole that will seal the dirt somehow to create a pond. It is used by the ranchers out west to create watering holes for thier livestock.