I have a quarter acre pond that is 30 years old. The inlet end of the pond has silted in, and the drainpipe that goes down through the earthen dam .... the metal of the top foot or two has eroded away and there may be blockages as well. Because of the damage to the drainpipe, the water level is that much lower than it should be.
Therefore, I am considering having the dam burst, replacing the pipe, having the pond dredged, possible deepened and enlarged, and having the dam rebuilt with a new drainpipe.
I have also had problems with the pond overflowing down an inadequate spillway. Last year, a very wet year, the pond overfloyed nearly 2 dozen times. This year, maybe a half dozen. When it overflows, the water goes out through a partially wooded area, covering perhaps another quarter acre or more. I am starting to see erosion damage in the wooded areas, and there are also spots that stay wet and un-tractorable. I don't want these spots to become permanent wetlands. So I am thinking of having a burm built to direct the spillage in more manageable ways.
There are several other excavating projects that I need done as well (I have 10 acres).
I am thinking that it makes sense to contract a single excavator to deal with all of these tasks at once. I also view the pond and water management problems as "systemic", and would like to implement a solution that improves the entire system.
Some of my questions are:
1) Since the dredging will produce lots of silt, mud, etc., can this stuff be used to build the burm, to fill in holes and other low spots on the property, etc. Or does silt prove inhospitable to the growth of grass, or non-porous, leading to other standing-water problems? Could there be toxins in the mud? (My pond is fed by runoff mostly from neighboring crop and cattle farms.)
2) Are there considerations for how the banks of a pond should be shaped? Are there treatments that should be applied to the banks to keep the pond healthy longer?
3) Are there specialists who I should hire to help me design and strategize this work? Or is nature pretty forgiving, so that I stand a good change of getting it right on my own?
I live in Northern Virginia, not far from the Maryland and West Virginia borders. So I am open to referrals.
Thanks in advance!! [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]