It's POND-imonium! Digging a Pond and the Adventures Along the Way (Part 1)

"As a rough rule of thumb, I would say the smaller the pond, the more belligerent the fish."

- Craig Brown - 

When Matt and I were first looking at land, a pond was on the "must" list.  We both love fishing and hoped to have a situation where we could relax after work and fish.  The pasture we purchased did not have a pond, which was definitely a disappointment to us.  But as I previously discussed, not every piece of land is perfect.

While the pasture did not currently have a pond, we had identified a spot that one could eventually be dug.  Our expectation was that this would happen several years from now...after all, let's focus on the house!  Well, that changed quickly when we realized that we were going to have to pay for a lot of fill soil to be hauled in to be used in and around the house foundation.  The estimate was about 150-200 dump trucks filled with clay...Matt made the comment, "man, it seems a bit ridiculous to pay for soil to be hauled in only to, a year later, pay for soil to be hauled out when we dig the pond."  And thus, the idea took shape quickly.

We were so grateful to J.S. Robinson (for the 100th time...) for alerting us to the need for so much fill soil.  Rather than surprising us with a large change order, they gave us the information early to allow us to brainstorm an awesome solution.  

There are definitely some considerations to think about when deciding whether to dig a pond, where to dig a pond, and when to dig a pond.  Here is a hit list of considerations:

Location

There appears to be two main questions when digging a pond:  (1) will it hold water consistently, and (2) will there be sediment that runs into the pond.  Now, don't get me wrong, there are preliminary concerns with permitting and aesthetics.  I would suggest checking both with your city and county permit office to determine what restrictions may impact your decisions.  

In unincorporated Johnson County, we just need a simple land disturbance certification because our pond will not be larger than one acre.  Not-so-coincidentally, any ponds over one acre require a permit (thus driving our decision :) )

No Brainer - Picking the Right Contractor

Much like our decision to choose J.S. Robinson, our pond contractor made our process so enjoyable.  Our timing (as usual) was not great--apparently excavation companies are very very busy around Thanksgiving (which was when this idea formed).  They are often trying to fit in all the work they had before the ground freezes and the workers don't work.  So my experience calling excavation companies online went pretty much like this:

Me:  Ring Ring Ring...

Contractor:  .............

Luckily, we found the contractor Rock Your Pond!

Doug is the owner and has been designing ponds for 20+ years.  He was quick to respond and was able to fit our project in (they actually started over Thanksgiving weekend...remarkable).  Doug's crew was completely amazing--they were so nice, tidy, and were always positive and willing to accommodate my daily visits :)  Thus began the pond dig.  

I would highly recommend their services.  Highly.  These guys seriously rocked...our pond!

Contact them through their website:  Rock Your Pond

The Process

So, digging a pond over Thanksgiving means little-to-no rain, thus the pond will not fill up for a while.  However, check out these awesome progress pictures!

Rock You Pond begins ripping out the trees and brush!

After the brush and trees are cleared, the bulldozer scrapes the soil to the side while the excavator beings breaking up the topsoil.

Did I mention that Rock Your Pond was a super amazing crew?  They were so sweet to my budding engineer Charlie and let her see and play with her favorite construction equipment!

 But back to the pond...

The tree in the foreground will become a little point in the pond.  Doug mentioned that a perfect circle pond looks man-made, so little curves created.

And thus began our "topsoil situation"...we were told by many contractors that we could expect about 6-18" of topsoil.  While most people would love a lot of topsoil, we really needed orange clay.  Rock Your Pond used the clay to line the pond (2 feet thick to prevent leaks) and our excavation crew at the house needed orange clay for fill.  Well, we were blessed with approximately 4-5 FEET of topsoil.  You can start seeing the topsoil ridge that began to be created...

Matt appears thrilled by the amount of topsoil!

And finally...drum roll...ORANGE CLAY APPEARS!  Full disclosure, I became so anxious about the amount of topsoil, I began to wonder if we would ever hit orange clay.

Rock Your Pond was excited when they noticed the water pooling in the bottom.  They told us that this meant our pond would fill with some spring water (meaning the pond water would be clearer than a normal muddy pond).  Not guaranteed, but fingers crossed!

Rock Your Pond dug further and further down, creating the one acre pond that was about 12 feet deep.  While the inside of the pond was lined with orange clay, the top and sides of the pond was covered with topsoil to facilitate grass growth.

To give you a sense of size...there are Matt, Charlie, and Madelynn walking in the pond...

And for our hopes of clear water, here are the latest water clarity images :)  We continue to do the rain dance and will update you later in the year once this pond get filled.  

In the spring, we will be stocking it, seeding it, and as always, LOVING IT.

"Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not the fish they are after."

-Henry David Thoreau-

Finally, because we are nerdy, we like to be able to track the water level rise (as slow as it is).  Matt placed a stake in the pond with a ribbon to track the level.  He placed the bottom of the ribbon at the top of the water level each time we checked.