So You Think You Want a Pond?

1
So You Think You Want a Pond?

• Developed by
• Susan Donaldson
• University of Nevada Cooperative Extension

USDA NRCS
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What well cover

• What is a pond?
• Why have a pond?
• Types of ponds
• Pond requirements and issues
• Site considerations
• Water quality, vegetation and fish
• Maintaining your pond

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Whats a pond?

• Lake more than 10 acres
• Pond less than 10 acres
• Pond manmade
• Arbitrary distinction - smaller than a lake!

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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Why do you want to have a pond?

• Irrigation water storage (is it legal?)
• Stock watering
• Aesthetics
• Wildlife habitat
• Fish production
• Recreation
• Fire suppression, etc.

USDA NRCS
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Pros and cons of pond ownership

• Aesthetics versus ugliness
• Water storage versus legal issues
• Livestock watering versus water quality
• Recreation versus public health, safety, risk
  management
• Habitat versus nuisance species

USDA NRCS
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Ponds are a lot of work!
UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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Types of ponds

• In-stream dammed ponds (?)
• Excavated, off-stream ponds
• Empoundments
• Water features
• (not included in
• this presentation)

USDA NRCS
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Contemplating a pond?

• Consider water sources
• Surface runoff
• Streams
• Springs
• Groundwater
• Wells
• Seeps

USDA NRCS
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Water use

• Do you have the right to an adequate amount of
  water to keep the pond filled during hot weather?
• How much evaporation will occur from the water
  surface?
• No water, no pond!

USDA NRCS
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Laws and liabilities

• Check on local and state laws regarding liability
  and other issues
• Check your CCRs
• Check with your insurer

USDA NCRS
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Permits

• Obtain needed permits
• Water rights
• Excavation
• Pollution
• Army Corps of Engineers
• Etc.

USDA NCRS
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Neighboring issues
USDA NRCS
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You still think you want a pond?
USDA NRCS
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Soil type

• Bottom soils and seepage
• Fine-textured clays and silty clays work best
• Sandy soils wont hold water
• If bottom materials are not suitable, the rate of
  water loss may be unacceptable

15
Site considerations potential hazards
www.earthponds.com
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More site considerations

• Keep pond at least 100 feet from a septic leach
  field
• Dont build on top of buried pipelines, cables or
  utilities
• Site should be accessible for maintenance
• Pond should fit into the design for the rest of
  your landscaping

USDA NRCS
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Depth and size issues

• A deeper pond has less nuisance weed growth and
  less temperature fluctuation
• For fish habitat, a pond should be deep enough to
  avoid winter freezing issues
• Keep pond at least 3 feet deep to avoid cattail
  encroachment
• Size of the pond depends on water availability,
  CCRs, risk and insurance costs, etc.

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Health issues

• Flow rate and stagnation
• Mosquito habitat
• Disease

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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Water quality issues

• Ponds may be a source of water quality impairment
  
• Sediment
• Nutrients
• Temperature

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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Water quality issues hot springs ponds

• These ponds are filled with thermal waters
• Water quality is likely to be poor, with high
  levels of minerals
• Your neighbors may complain about odors
• The water is not suitable for fish

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Safety issues

• Emergency spillway how much water does the
  spillway hold?
• More severe events may destroy a dam
• Will the failure threaten your home or someone
  else's home?

UNCE, Reno, Nev.
USDA NRCS
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Vegetation issues

• Identify your plants
• Select species for revegetation
• Learn about plant management needs and longevity
• Manage invasive species

USDA NRCS
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Fish-stocking issues

• When stocking, consider water quality needs
• Temperature
• Dissolved oxygen
• pH
• Nutrients

USDA NRCS
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Fish-stocking issues

• Permit requirements contact local fisheries
  department or U.S. Fish Wildlife Service
• Appropriate species
• Fish needs
• Stocking rates
• Best time to stock

USDA NRCS
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Maintaining your pond
USDA NRCS
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Sediment accumulation

• Consider periodic dredging, perhaps every five to
  10 years
• To decrease sediment accumulations, never
  construct a pond within a stream
• Control sediment in inflow water

USDA NRCS
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Muddy water

• Determine the cause
• Remove fish that are rooting around
• Fence out livestock
• Establish moderate growth of vegetation including
  rushes, sedge and cattails to protect pond banks
  from erosion

USDA NRCS
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Muddy water

• Determine the cause
• Keep domestic ducks and geese away from the pond
• Maintain good vegetative cover throughout the
  watershed
• Plant windbreaks to decrease wind-related wave
  action

www.morningsidepark.org
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Muddy water from clay particles

• Apply alum or other materials
• Add organic matter (barley hay)

www.conservect.org
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Leaky ponds

• Determine the cause
• For porous soils, use bentonite clay applied to
  dry pond soils at a rate of 1 to 3 pounds per
  square foot of basin
• Incorporate the clay into the soil using a
  rototiller or disk, then compact it with a
  sheeps foot roller or soil compactor

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Leaky ponds

• Commercial pond liners are available, but are
  expensive
• Drought conditions can cause cracking and leaking

www.geomembranes.com
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Algae
A. Miller
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Algae

• Planktonic
• Filamentous
• Attached (periphyton)

Big Bear Municipal Water District
www.aquaticsystems.us
www.epa.gov
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Nuisance algae
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Tips for controlling algae

• Reduce nutrients, especially phosphorus
• Try biological controls, such as barley straw
  may not be effective
• Improve pond aeration
• Remove by hand (for filamentous algae)
• Apply chemicals

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Excess aquatic vegetation
UNCE, Reno, Nev.
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Excess aquatic vegetation

• Consider mechanical removal or sterile grass carp
  to eat plants.
• Check with your fisheries department to see if
  permits are needed.

www.thebestlinks.com
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Excess aquatic vegetation

• Chemical controls

www.dunnsfishfarm.com
www.macarthurwatergardens.com
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Fish kills

• Causes include
• Lack of dissolved oxygen (summer problem)
• Decaying aquatic vegetation
• Hot water
• Chemical contamination
• Diseases

www.epa.qld.gov.au
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Tips for avoiding fish kills

• Consider adding an aeration system to increase
  dissolved oxygen
• Avoid using toxic materials and fertilizers
  adjacent to the pond
• Dont make lawn pesticide applications in the
  pond drainage area if it will rain, or if you
  irrigate with pond water
• Fence out grazing animals

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Wildlife damage

• Burrowing animals
• Muskrats and beavers
• Nuisance fish, fish diseases and parasites
• Waterfowl, especially Canada geese (manure,
  aggressive males, honking, etc.)

U.S. Fish Wildlife Service
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Wildlife damage
If you provide water, they will come!

• To the pond itself
• To other parts of your property

U.S. Fish Wildlife Service
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Mosquitoes
Graphic adapted from www.mosquitoes.org by A.
Miller
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Tips for mosquito prevention

• Add mosquito-eating fish
• Dont let plants touch the water surface
• Avoid fertilizer and nutrient contamination of
  the pond

www.ventura.org
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Tips for preventing pond problems

• Dont build one in the first place!
• Fence livestock out of the pond and provide an
  alternate freeze-proof, year-round watering source

USDA NRCS
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Tips for preventing pond problems

• Maintain deep pond edges to deter the growth of
  aquatic weeds (3 to 4 feet)
• Maintain healthy vegetation on the margins of the
  pond
• Manage your pond to minimize problem algae that
  may shelter mosquitoes. Nutrient control will
  help reduce algae blooms.

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Homework

• Inventory your pond.
• Whats growing on the banks?
• Whats growing in the water?
• How deep is the pond?
• What temperature is the water?
• Do the jar test.
• If you dont have a pond, write your own personal
  pro and con list.