Ideas for sewage lagoon - pond?

Just wondering if a former sewage lagoon (for one house) can be turned into a small pond for fish, plants, birds? Or something else good like a swimming hole. I know it depends on local laws, depth, soil, etc but in general what could probably be done with it? The lagoon had a tank before it and probably didn't get too polluted and hasn't been used for waste water for 3 years. Would it be clean now or easy to clean, or no? I would not try if it was a difficult expensive project. It has typical fencing around it now, but I was wondering about pulling it up and repurposing the fence too. One side is wooded, one side is open.

I'd make it a pond. After a year or so test the water and see what the microbiology is. If the microbiology is essentially the same as a purpose built pond then I'd use it as one, including swimming if I were so inclined. This is a good question for your county extension agent.

Pat

We live in an unincorporated part of our county(SE US). For homeowner aerobic septic systems the county only requires that the clean discharge water be restricted to your own property and that there be no odor objectionable to your neighbors.

Most incorporated cities around here require homeowner aerobic septic systems to have a retaining tank with an automatic sprinkler system that activates when the tank is full and waters your lawn whether it needs it or not. Most septic system contractors around here will only install this type.

The simple fact is that around here ponds do not work too well because the inflow of clean discharge water will about equal the outflow by absorption and evaporation and, therefore, you still have to deal with the outflow from the pond which is almost equal to the inflow.

We had a pond for years which became a maintenance nightmare and a nasty mess as will stagnant water anywhere. Our solution was to eliminate the pond and create a natural looking "creek" as a water feature. The creek and the plants at the creek absorb water better than the pond ever did and the "creek" just peters out when it runs out of water. Volunteer crayfish love the creek and their tunnels absorb a lot of water. If I could figure out a way to harvest the crayfish, I would not hesitate to eat them.

Our home is 27 years old and we are still using the original aerobic septic system. We have had to repair the aerator numerous times. the last time was a couple of months ago and I was able to verify with the aerator dealer that the county regulations mentioned above were still in effect.

My first instinct is to recommend that you stay away from the pond idea. (My first thought is "mosquito pit".) On the other hand, you're not starting from scratch and the hard part has already been done. Maybe a book on the subject either from the library or from a home improvement place would help you decide.