Do I restore a natural pond?

[dragoneggs]

Finally got a couple hours in the seat yesterday until the rains were miserable enough to shut me down. I was down moving a little debris left from a huge excavated pile of trees, stumps, brush, etc. from clearing three years ago. I have salvaged most all of the firewood, burned a bunch, and have a few large stumps I am still wrestling with.

There used to be a small natural pond at the low end of my property that held water year around mostly because it collected water off the hillside from a few natural springs. One of the debris piles the excavator built was right on top of the pond. Since then the pile has broken down, decayed, and has created some 'high' ground. In the first picture you can sort of make out the pile being built behind the tree being torn down. In the second pic, the tractor is actually sitting on the top of where the pond used to be. The last 4 months, we have seen record rainfall and now my springs are finding new routes down the hill.

Thinking I need to start digging the pond back out to restore it and divert the water back to where it was instead of flowing down my lower natural driveway (3rd pic). It doesn't look like much but it actually is quite a bit of water. I am concerned about the erosion. My wife is concerned about inviting frogs and mosquitos with a new pond. I tried to remind her that they were never an issue before we cleared.

If I start digging now I think I will have nothing but a tractor in a bowl of soup! Opinions? :confused3:

 

[mapper]

I can understand your wife not wanting mosquitoes but not frogs. Frogs will help keep the mosquitoes in check and provide a nice chorus at night. We love the Western Chorus Frog performance as soon as the weather starts to warm up each year.

 

[oosik]

Mosquito larva will drown in "open" water(wind & resulting wave action). If you do rebuild the pond, keep it free of cattails, toolie weeds etc. The larva will thrive and reproduce in still water. That's why mosquitos seek out areas such as - water in old tires, water in open containers etc.

 

[PhysAssist]

I can understand your wife not wanting mosquitoes but not frogs. Frogs will help keep the mosquitoes in check and provide a nice chorus at night. We love the Western Chorus Frog performance as soon as the weather starts to warm up each year.

Plus, if it is a year round pond, adding even a few fish to live in it will keep the skeeters down- in contrast to having little areas of standing water collecting in various locations where fish couldn't live.

 

[PhysAssist]

Finally got a couple hours in the seat yesterday until the rains were miserable enough to shut me down. I was down moving a little debris left from a huge excavated pile of trees, stumps, brush, etc. from clearing three years ago. I have salvaged most all of the firewood, burned a bunch, and have a few large stumps I am still wrestling with.

There used to be a small natural pond at the low end of my property that held water year around mostly because it collected water off the hillside from a few natural springs. One of the debris piles the excavator built was right on top of the pond. Since then the pile has broken down, decayed, and has created some 'high' ground. In the first picture you can sort of make out the pile being built behind the tree being torn down. In the second pic, the tractor is actually sitting on the top of where the pond used to be. The last 4 months, we have seen record rainfall and now my springs are finding new routes down the hill.

Thinking I need to start digging the pond back out to restore it and divert the water back to where it was instead of flowing down my lower natural driveway (3rd pic). It doesn't look like much but it actually is quite a bit of water. I am concerned about the erosion. My wife is concerned about inviting frogs and mosquitos with a new pond. I tried to remind her that they were never an issue before we cleared.

If I start digging now I think I will have nothing but a tractor in a bowl of soup! Opinions? :confused3:

Hi DE,

My specific to thread comment is above, but I find myself having to ask about your tractor's seat.

I am curious as to whether it was OEM, or aftermarket and if the latter, where from?

If it was the former, I am jealous of all the BX owners and will be calling my dealer tomorrow to see what the upgrade will run.

Thanks,
Thomas

 

[Gary Fowler]

We have ponds all over (4 total) plus a creek that is dammed up to hold water year round. We had 2 when we bought the place and then dug 2 more. We hardly have any mosquitos but we do have fish in all the ponds PLUS a bunch of various species of frogs. Between the fish and the frogs they keep the mosquitos under control.

I would never have filled up the pond with brush to start with, but for sure would restore it if at all possible.

 

[cat fever]

We have ponds all over (4 total) plus a creek that is dammed up to hold water year round. We had 2 when we bought the place and then dug 2 more. We hardly have any mosquitos but we do have fish in all the ponds PLUS a bunch of various species of frogs. Between the fish and the frogs they keep the mosquitos under control.

I would never have filled up the pond with brush to start with, but for sure would restore it if at all possible.

X2 I'm with Gary.

 

[dragoneggs]

Hi DE,

My specific to thread comment is above, but I find myself having to ask about your tractor's seat.

I am curious as to whether it was OEM, or aftermarket and if the latter, where from?

If it was the former, I am jealous of all the BX owners and will be calling my dealer tomorrow to see what the upgrade will run.

Thanks,
Thomas

The seat is stock OEM came standard on my BX25D. The higher back more comfortable seat was one of the improvements over the BX25 it replaced... big improvement too IMO. I'm 6-2 230b for a data point.

 

[dragoneggs]

We have ponds all over (4 total) plus a creek that is dammed up to hold water year round. We had 2 when we bought the place and then dug 2 more. We hardly have any mosquitos but we do have fish in all the ponds PLUS a bunch of various species of frogs. Between the fish and the frogs they keep the mosquitos under control.

Agreed, I would never have filled up the pond with brush to start with, but for sure would restore it if at all possible.

Yeah, it wasn't my plan to have it filled up but there wasn't really enough area 'out of the way' to put it elsewhere and the excavator operator was well into it before I realized where he was piling. As it was, I hand another huge row pile on the other side of the clearing. Almost completely cleared/burned everything except for a small pile and some stumps too big to move far.

 

[dragoneggs]

Plus, if it is a year round pond, adding even a few fish to live in it will keep the skeeters down- in contrast to having little areas of standing water collecting in various locations where fish couldn't live.

Yeah would love to put some fish in there and see about keeping it circulating enough and filled enough in the summer. I am an reef aquarist and that would be a fun project to create something 'live' outdoors!

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Mark, beware of all the environmental police we have around here; especially if it is declared a year round creek, stream, or wetland. County maps will show all that stuff. I have a year round creek through our property and learned a lot when we applied for the logging permit. Even the claiming indigenous people tribe (PC term) got involved.

Ron

 

[dragoneggs]

I think I am under the radar Ron... and I think this is not mapped. But I hear you! Let's keep it between us!

 

[Happy Gilmore]

How big was the pond originally, depth/size?

 

[PhysAssist]

The seat is stock OEM came standard on my BX25D. The higher back more comfortable seat was one of the improvements over the BX25 it replaced... big improvement too IMO. I'm 6-2 230b for a data point.

Thanks, with myself @ 6'2" & 280# and my SWMBO @5'10", we have been looking for something in a higher back with some support over the very low backed seat that was OEM on our B2320.

I have been looking around casually, but if I could get a Kubota OEM model for a reasonable price, tat would be the best.
Thomas
PS: If you ever get it back to filled, and need to aerate the water, look into pumping air into through through micropore aerators, we have four in our pond, which are basically keeping our overpopulated koi alive, it's tons more efficient than any fountainy kinds of circulators.

 

[hslogger]

I dunno how much your site drains but I would say it aint the right time in the PNW to be digging it. It would be better to have somewhat of a clear vision of what it would be before you start in on it. Years ago I hired a guy down here in Oregon named Jim Nelson who calls himself the pond doctor.He travels quite a bit. I had a couple old ponds that went back to the era were you took the livestock to the water instead of the water to the livestock. The sites were overgrazed and banks degraded. He was able to guide me into improvements that would or would not make a difference. I found out later he had mega clients as well as small potato folks like myself. I would suggest making a list of what you want it for, what you intend on using it for. Recreation? boating? fishing? irrigation? Site study in the long run is something I don't think you would regret. We did a lot of planning for irrigation, aeriation, fenced them off to livestock and basically I went the route of developing "a managed Natural wildlife area " that I use for row boat, fishing, irrigation on small scale. It has taken a long time with natural plantings but it is a wildlife magnet. We use very sparingly once every couple years a specific aquacide on a certain weed. Other than that it is a managed natural. I chose that route rather than wanting a manicured and somewhat sterile environment. Planning is everything. I don't see a reason why you have to get into a contentious relationship with DNR up there. At the time I began my project on my own, before Jim's involvement, I was able to get grant from NRCS and SWDthat really made my project possible. I am forever grateful for their help.

 

[dragoneggs]

How big was the pond originally, depth/size?

Hey Happy... Original pond very small... 20 x 30 feet by about a foot deep. Easily could dig it out deeper and it could be much longer... like 100ft and wider to about 30ft or so. Not sure I want that big of a pond. Rather a small manageable one that supports the springs feeding it. Aeration definitely... I learned from life long messing with aquariums, that circulation is king!

 

[fishheadbob]

Good luck with your pond reclamation project. You might want to lookup your local Soil and Water Conservation Service (SWCS) with some general questions about ponds, requirements ,etc. Someone there generally knows a lot and tends towards helpful rather than the environmental police while still keeping you legal.
When I looked at your 3rd picture - what you called your lower natural driveway - a red flag went up. There's a house down there. Next time your earthen wall collapses in that spot - cause it looks like that is maybe where it let go before- a few hundred thousand gallons are going through that house in a bad mood. Hope I'm reading that pic wrong, but if not, and if that were my house below your dam, I'd be blowing you in to every agency under the sun before your honest mistake became very serious for me and my family.

 

[mapper]

You definitely have time to figure out what you are going to do, it looks like we won't be drying out for a while yet. My brother in law's neighbor near Port Orchard had a similar situation with springs coming out of his hillside. He was building ponds and managed to get mired down with a mini excavator. Bil found him spinning in circles trying to keep the muck at bay. I don't recall how they ultimately got him out but it was not easy!
As I recall this happened in early summer, not in the middle of a fairly wet winter.

 

[dragoneggs]

Good luck with your pond reclamation project. You might want to lookup your local Soil and Water Conservation Service (SWCS) with some general questions about ponds, requirements ,etc. Someone there generally knows a lot and tends towards helpful rather than the environmental police while still keeping you legal.
When I looked at your 3rd picture - what you called your lower natural driveway - a red flag went up. There's a house down there. Next time your earthen wall collapses in that spot - cause it looks like that is maybe where it let go before- a few hundred thousand gallons are going through that house in a bad mood. Hope I'm reading that pic wrong, but if not, and if that were my house below your dam, I'd be blowing you in to every agency under the sun before your honest mistake became very serious for me and my family.

It is not as perilous as it may look. Actually the water flowing down my grass driveway flows into a decent sized ditch and is diverted before it crosses my main driveway that serves me and a couple neighbors. Between that and the house 'below' is a highway and another major ditch and drain system on my side of the road. So... unless I make a gigantic pond (not in the plans) and I have a catastrophic failure, I don't see water crossing two roads and two drainage ditches.

As much as I am envious of some the ponds some folks here have, mine will be puny in comparison. I will not be building up a ridge but defining a low area that was there for years holding water on its own. That said, thanks for the words of caution.

 

[dragoneggs]

Hey mapper I think you are right... I need to wait for 'dry' season to really get after this. I know I have to do something because the standing water now is full of rotting wood and is getting kind of nasty.