@Bandit99 ....continued from Meat Thread. I have several dry holes on my property that look like nice failed attempts at a pond and all of these are on or near the top of a hill. Most of the ponds that work well seem to be in a valley and around here if you start digging one in a valley you will likely hit a spring that will keep it full, this has happened to me twice. We are in KY and we have clay soil which seems to be good for ponds and I have never had to use any sort of liner. One thing that seems to help keep the algae away is sun light and not being down range of nitrogen. Most of the algae covered ponds around here seem to be surrounded by trees or get runoff from fertilizer. Depth also seems to help with algae for some reason, the deeper ponds seem to be clearer. I think aeration helps the fish and helps with the algae but I have never done it. If you find someone locally with a bulldozer or a big excavator they probably know the best approach for your area. Most guys around here charge $65-$85 dollars per hour to dig, total hours probably depends on how big you want it.
I hit water with a post hole digger at my BOL, When I get around to digging a pond I want a 30ft level, Then 20 Then 10 Then down to a foot on one end, The deep end is for the winter time keeping the fish warm.
Most successful ponds in NH seem to be those with either flowing water or being at least 6 feet or deeper as quickly as possible. Between problems with weeds caused by excess nutrients in the water, usually due to lawn runoff and septic system effluent, and the increasing number of ponds with excess growths of non native water weeds, water milifol , duckweed, water chestnut, etc, many ponds that do not dry and freeze each winter are turning into cattail or other swamps. If you create a pond here in the Live Free or Die state, you have to of course get a permit, if it uses a berm etc to hold the water, the structure has to be permitted, monitored as it is constructed and it will be inspected at given times. In addition the land around it is now a wetland and a whole new set of rules exist for what you can do with the land. It has reached the point that we illegally discourage beavers from building a dam in many areas as it can change the status of a house lot from being suitable for a house to being unsuited for a house. I know of 40,000 gallon underground concrete tanks being built for fire suppression systems as it was cheaper and easier to get permits for than for installing a pond.
I think the recommended drop at the shore line to prevent algae growth should be 3' here in Mesopotamia (the land between two rivers, cradle of civilization. Food basket of the world, etc. etc.) IIRC. If you're going to do it legally, talk to your DNR.
That's funny, The permit thingy, I don't need diddle squat to dig a pond or clear land or installing a portable shed or building or reworking a old water well.....Supposed to get a permit for a septic tank or building a home but somehow I don't have time to get these hahaha......
From what I see 'roun dese pahts, if it's shallow, it's weedville. If it's deep, it has fish worth catching, and yes, the fish and boat commission has something to say about stocking, even if you legally catch a fish in legal water, and plop it in your pond. Also, 'roun dese pahts, you need permits for the drill and blast. Or the DEP will talk with you about that berm.
Couple of the neighbors here in Da Creaux put in their own drainage culverts. Parish came by and informed them they would have to remove the culverts since they didn't get permits. They told the parish if they wanted to remove the culvert's to get after it, 5 years later the culverts are still in place.
New Hampshire has that all under control. Government wants you to do something, fine you so much a day until you comply, add the fine to your tax bill and sell the property when you don't pay. Never need to go to court other than to get the paperwork stamped. In 1776 we fought a revolution over matters a lot less serious than that. Since your taxes pay for the inspectors, the courts, etc, it is like China, if they kill you, they charge you for the bullet. The sad part is the crazy laws are being passed by my new neighbors to protect the environment, stop animal abuse, protect their property resale value, finance the new schools, police station, and pay raises for the teachers, etc. and they will be there to cheer when your land is taken as you were such a reactionary and had guns, animals, and hunted. You have to be evil and deserve to lose it.
@duane "If you create a pond here in the Live Free or Die state, you have to of course get a permit." Opps! I didn't even consider if I would need a permit to dig a hole...I better check on that... As for stocking it - well - how in the hell can they justify charging me a permit for that?! I'm not selling fish and they are for personal use... @BenP " One thing that seems to help keep the algae away is sun light...If you find someone locally with a bulldozer or a big excavator" I got a nice area that's cleared and is directly in the sun; however, this is Northern Idaho so trees aren't too far away. Our water table is very low. I don't know exactly but we pump our water from a well that is 400'-450' deep. We don't have clay but a hell'va lot of rocks. I need to get some work done this coming Spring (unless I purchase a tractor or skid steer myself) so when I do I will ask them about it.
The same here at the farm. We had a 10m x 12m x 4m (~33' x 39' x 13' deep) pond dug, while using the clay / dirt to fill in another area of the farm. This was during dry season. Once rainy season hit, that dry hole filled up pretty fast. Been full ever since. The only regret I have is, I wish I had added a pond liner after having it dug, so the water wouldn't be so cloudy today. Supposedly, after X length of time (no confirmation on how long, which could mean 100 years), Khmers say it will clear up. Not sure I will live that long, though. This is one thing I do love about living in SEA - cost of living / overhead. We had 60 loads of dirt from digging our pond (and another small pond nearby, at the cost $6 US / dump truck load. We got 60 loads from a distant neighbor's pond being dug (dumped and spread by tractor), at a cost of $6.50 US / dump truck load. How they can work so cheap here, is beyond me. The last time I paid $6.00 US / dump truck load, was when a pond was being dug in my home town, and I owned the truck they filled. It was a little single axle 1968 Ford F-600, which would hold about 7 cubic yards of dirt. I was a young man, back then ~ 30 years ago, I guess? A second reason for living here. No permits for structures (houses, barns, chicken / duck houses), septic systems, tower footings, etc., are required. Well, at least not here in the province.
My Mom has a pond. They dug it on a low spot near the base of a hill. Put in some drainage ditches that led towards the pond. It stays pretty full except for those really dry summers. It does have a lot of sediment from years of catching all the run off. There were fish for a year or so but a heron stopped by and ate all the fish. They decided not to restock.
We don't have the pond permit issues here. You are supposed to get one for septic but they usually are just glad you are putting one in and seem to turn a blind eye when there is no permit.
We have a fairly good sized flood control pond across the street from out house and the use of it by wildlife is impressive. Ducks, Canada geese, deer, once in a while a moose or bear, coons, etc. The fish eating birds love it and do a very good job of keeping the shallow water fish free. I am very impressed by the eagles when they fish. A pair of eagles patrol thru the pond a few times a day and eat fish, small animals, small birds,etc, and are real fun to watch. Two does and two fawns under my apple tree as I write this, and a flock of about 10 turkeys spending the night in a tree about 100 feet from house. Now if something would just eat the rodents eating my tomatoes I would be really pleased. I have no idea what is on the idiot box tonight, but the dog and I checked the property when we closed the greenhouse, all the swallows have left the nests and only a couple birds spend the night in the greenhouse now.
It still would be if I had the hard working neighbors of 40 years ago instead of the yuppies who replaced them. Scream about being green, protecting the environment, stopping the pipe lines, etc. Always wanting new laws and more rules to protect the climate etc, but they are all in their fancy houses or SUV's, and the dog and I never meet them when we go our daily walks or when we are keeping our wood neat and taking care of the animals. I just have to come up with an app so they can pay for it with a credit card and take a enhanced reality walk thru the woods with their VR glasses while they set on the couch and sip their Starbucks. Make me some money and maybe they would learn to appreciate all the beauty that we have right here. While I hate the dam* tree rats, I have never in my life seen a human as graceful and coordinated as a squirrel running down the top rail of my ceder fence, with his tail shining in the sun, and jumping over the top of the fence post and land running on the 2 1/2 inch rail. I would rather watch that on a crisp fall evening with the leaves changing than the so called gymnastics being performed thousands of miles away in the olympics, but everyone around here knows I am an old fool.
