Update. New spillway & pipe will be here next week. Here's a shot of the tractor and 17 yard pan to dig clay from my place for the dam core. It can really move dirt.
Another photo of the tractor and pan. As long as it was there, I had them move the overburden dirt to cover a 100 ft culvert I added to a small creek crossing the power line. Now it will be easier for me to maintain the powerline so the power co. won't have to spray/bushhog it. Got some tractor time moving dirt too! [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
There are two Case dozers on site. One's small (454?) and we are using it to clear the path for the fencing we are installing. Sure beats hand clearing. The other is with the pond construction crew. It sure helps that one next door neighbor family owns both. The son owns the construction business - bought his dad out with another neighbor's backing. He drives the New Holland & pan 1/4 mile down the road to his house each night after work.
It is a very pretty 16 acre pond, winding through the trees following the creek bed. This is the reason we want to keep it and are willing to invest the money for the best long term repair of the dam. It appears to never have had a proper core, being constructed of the topsoil, etc pushed down from the adjacent slopes around the dam. As we've dug, we've found the dam to have been very water saturated. We are fortunate that it didn't blow out in the last few years. Wednesday we receive the new spillway and pipe. We should start that instalation Thursday or Friday, weather permitting. More photos then.
It'll have to be restocked. The state has a good program costing $38.50 per acre for 500 bluegill/shellcracker fingerlings stocked in Nov/Dec and 50 bass stocked in May (all per acre). This would cost me $600+. I'll probably miss this program this year since the pond won't be full until January? I haven't checked private fish sources yet. The pond really needs bedding habitat improvement. I may add some gravel beds plus I'll look into getting lots of Xmas trees from the county in January. In 3 to 5 years with proper management the fish population should be very good. I just have to keep the neighbors from fishing it out. One neighbor even thinks that adding mature large bass is good for a new pond. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
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