Digging Pond

[bowhunternw]

I was thinking of trying to dig in a pond on my property. What I am wondering is there a way to determine to what elevation it would hold water. It is a fairly wet and flat terrain, and would be filled from the water table. My thoughts were to dig a pilot hole and then come back and see if it has filled with water. The reason I ask is I would like to get a rough idea of how much dirt I would have to excavate.

 

[Dave63]

I dug a 1 acre pond 8-10 ft deep had to have a 1:1 pitch the first 8 feet per the DNR. 400 loads... 2 off road 4x4 dumpers..

 

[Satchmo]

Bowhunter....if you know anyone that does perc tests for sewer systems, they would likely have a T-handled hand auger kit with a 2 or 3 inch auger bit. This would allow you to probe down to around 10ft to check water table.

 

[SD51555]

Seek out MNFish on this site. I believe he's a pond builder by trade.

 

[Jim Timber]

You don't need to get to the water table, you just need to hold more than you lose to evaporation and leakage. This can be done with clay added to the hole, or a liner, or there might be enough heavy soils that it will hold water without any help. If its staying wet now, unless you pierce the layer that's retaining that water, it should stay wet when you add more.

I hope to add a pond or three to my place before too long. Two of them will be dammed hollows (draws), and I might try digging a hole on some flatter ground that stays soggy too.

With my soils, I have areas that don't drain well but I'm not sure how much of it is because of clay and how deep that clay is or if it's that there's enough duff in the top soil that it soaks up the moisture and doesn't let go of it. I have a good diversity of soils around my property, so each spot could bring it's own challenges.

 

[bowhunternw]

I wish SD!! My dream job for sure. I'm a medical device engineer by trade but have designed and built a few dug out ponds. Is the pond designed to raise fish, water hole for ducks, deer, or other wildlife?

I don't want to spend a fortune on it so just a small wildlife pond. Is there an optimum depth of water in your mind? I would like a fairly gradual grade going to water, to make for easy access for deer and whatever else would use it. If I could go down 5' in the size I want, and have some water then I could do the work myself. Thus the reason I was wondering if there is a way to predetermine what elevation would be normal water level. Satchmo I will look into the auger you are talking about.

 

[Riggsgwp->]

My father in law is currently digging two ponds and he got a permit from Morrison county SWCD. The state and fed had zero involvement with the process. The permit cost 75 dollars and is good for 3 years. It was classified as a type 6 wildlife pond which means he had to remove all spoils to upland ground. They specified the limits on depth and size and then sent someone out midway through the dig for inspection. This will be their only inspection as they really only want to inspect the spoils.

 

[Riggsgwp->]

I don't want to spend a fortune on it so just a small wildlife pond. Is there an optimum depth of water in your mind? I would like a fairly gradual grade going to water, to make for easy access for deer and whatever else would use it. If I could go down 5' in the size I want, and have some water then I could do the work myself. Thus the reason I was wondering if there is a way to predetermine what elevation would be normal water level. Satchmo I will look into the auger you are talking about.

If you do end up going through the permit process under wildlife pond the restrictions on depth will be 6ft from surface, not water depth.

 

[sandbur]

8-10 years ago I got a permit for $50 to dam up a spring. It was a tiny project-just created a waterhole that was 6 feet across at the very most.
But it works!

 

[bowhunternw]

I did call either the nrcs or swcd last year just to see what kind of hassle it would be and they said that they just had to come out to site to check for wetlands. Then make sure that no excated material be place in a wetland. Seemed like it shouldn't be too big of a deal on that end.

 

[Riggsgwp->]

Woodduck maybe you're right but I do know that DNR only has oversight on public waterways. I'm just relaying the info from his permit and it was a very easy process to go through. He owns the excavator and did the work himself. My father in law wanted to do this for 20+ years and thought it would be a nightmare to deal with permits but that just wasn't the case in his experience. I'm sure different classifications require more extensive permits but what bowhunternw is describing seems quite doable.

 

[Riggsgwp->]

I don't want to derail this thread but what do you think was the difference in your 650 dollar permit vs. his 75 dollar permit? His site does not involve cattails or anything sensitive although there is an adjacent dried up wetland with cattails. SWCD inspected the site before the permit was issued. I know some guys that classify wetlands for a living but Im just curious on the difference in your experience.

 

[Tree Spud]

A great resource for pond development ...

http://forums.pondboss.com/

.

 

[NWWI]

Permits first. ours is 80x200 fed by 20 springs, 300gpm, to a trap to adjust level then feeds a lower pond then out to a swamp. 24 feet deep. Nice feature.

That looks real nice, but a bit chilly for a dip!

 

[nwmn]

I did call either the nrcs or swcd last year just to see what kind of hassle it would be and they said that they just had to come out to site to check for wetlands. Then make sure that no excated material be place in a wetland. Seemed like it shouldn't be too big of a deal on that end.

This is what I was told when I asked our SWCD guy about digging a pond. He said that it was alright to dig a pond as long as the spoil is deposited on higher ground. I never followed through with the process, but I think that was all he told me to do.

bowhunternw, where are you at in NW MN? I plan to get a few smaller ponds dug out in our woods this spring, but I plan to only have them like 2-3' deep and 10' in diameter. That should hold water in our area most the year. Maybe a little deeper to account for the drier August season.

 

[bowhunternw]

This is what I was told when I asked our SWCD guy about digging a pond. He said that it was alright to dig a pond as long as the spoil is deposited on higher ground. I never followed through with the process, but I think that was all he told me to do.

bowhunternw, where are you at in NW MN? I plan to get a few smaller ponds dug out in our woods this spring, but I plan to only have them like 2-3' deep and 10' in diameter. That should hold water in our area most the year. Maybe a little deeper to account for the drier August season.

nwmn I tried to PM you see if it works.