spring pond questions?

Bc4abc

5 year old buck +
The property we have, has two very small ponds on it ...they are positioned one above the other on a hillside. the previous owners had these ponds scooped out with a bulldozer or some sort of equipment. the small pond which is above the larger one appears to be a seep or small spring . i believe that the original intent was to collect some water in the smaller pond and have the rising water go through a spill way pipe down to the larger pond filling it up . Unfortunately the larger pond has never held water, at least not in the 1.5 years we have owned it. the smaller pond only hold a small amount of water it is roughly 12 feet across and maybe 8 feet wide on a good day, only a foot deep at the deepest point. This varies with the water table.

i think we are resigned to the fact that the larger pond will never work and we may fill it in and reclaim that land.

The smaller one however we would like to expand to roughly double its current size, and maintain as a wildlife watering hole. My question is do any of you have experience excavating a spring to maximize the water flow and adding clay or a liner to hold more water? I'm not really sure where to start with this project...LOOKING FOR SOME GUIDANCE...
 
Get with your local USDA office and ask for a project manager in the NRCS division. They can help you with any questions you have about improving a wetlands or expanding one in your area.
 
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