Anyone know how I can get a free/cheap pond dug?

[ericinok]

I know this has probably been talked to death on here, but I've heard all kinds of rumors that this or that state agency will "come out and dig you a pond for free". Well, I've learned that nothing's free.

I've heard the corp of engineers will dig you a free pond to practice/train on their equipment or something like that. And I've heard that the state wildlife(?) office will dig you a pond and stock it for free, but you have to let the public fish on it for X number of years. Frankly, I don't believe either of these stories. I've heard others, but don't recall them at the moment.

I have a very small pond in the corner of my property, but I would like one a lot bigger and more in the back, away from the road.


Please let me know which rumors are true, and what the catches are to each agency that decides to give me this "free" pond. Also, any recommendations on getting this started would be greatly appreciated.

[Pat]

If you qualify under the guidelines of the local conservation district you may be able to get partial reimbursement for erosion control structures (read ponds.) Same story with the Feds. Check with your county extension agent and ignore the rumors about how someone knew the brother in law of the guy who used to date the hairdressor before she left town after getting free ponds and free bermuda sprigging and free...

To qualify for some of the programs you have to be able to document agricultural production of $X,000 annually where X may only be one or two. There are programs to help with tree planting for windbreaks, ponds, fencing, cedar clearing, and so forth. Check with yoiur extension agent.

Also look up NRCS in the phone book, maybe under US Gov listings (Dept of Ag.)

There are plans where you sign up for a conservaton thing where you get assistance maiking your property a better adjunct to wildlife habitation.

Did I mention calling your extensioin agent?

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[weldingisfun]

Pat is right. The same types of programs are available in Texas. All you have to do is call and ask. What can they do to you? Say no?

[Michael]

Your local NRCS office is definitely the place to start, I was at mine earlier today although for a different reason. If I remember correctly, Pat is correct in that you can get a cost-share type of plan through them, but I think that if the gov't assists in the cost and the pond is over a certain size then you have to allow public access to it. I have to go back to the NRCS office on Tuesday and will ask about it.

[wondery]

ERICINOK, DO YOU HAPPEN TO BE A VETERAN. IF YOU ARE I KNOW ABOUT 20 OR SO YEARS AGO MY FATHER HAD A POND DUG AND STOCKED HERE IN TEXAS AT NO CHARGE. THERE WAS A MINIMUM ACREAGE REQUIREMENT AND LIVESTOCK REQUIREMENT. MIGHT BE WORTH LOOKING INTO.

[zzvyb6]

Go rent a 3 or 4" trash pump and throw the inlet hose into your shallow pond and stand back. If there is muck or sand down there you'll have a pretty deep and wide pond pretty soon. Better results when you build a raft to float the pump and use two or three helpers to drag the raft around in the proto-pond, etch-a-sketch style. My neighbor showed me this trick. In the 1940's he put his tractor powered pump on a raft and sucked out a 1 acre pond this way. A friend of mine copied this technique and let the pump run unsupervised. 2 hours later he had a 'pond' 10 feet in diameter and 25 feet deep (oops).

[Pat]

zz, Dredging is or can be a good way to make a pond. I was working up a scheme for cleaning some of mine that would also apply to digging a new one.

It involved suction dredging and dumping the silt and mud uphill on the water shed. The water will run back to the pond leaving most of the silt on the hill where it will enrich the soil. You wouild need to move the outlet hose around to not put too much silt in one place and choke the grass.

I worked this up because you can do it without draining the pond and waiting for it to dry so you clould get in with a dozer or such. There are scoop methods where you drag the scoop with a tractor but I like the dredging better.

To build a pond with a dredge you need a good source of water. You can start with a puddle and dredge ouit the softened dirt at the bottom. You need a means of repetitively adding water to the ever growing protopond. If you have a limited access to water then you need to recycle the water.

A good operator with a decent dozer and average digging conditions (not a lot of rock) can dig a good stock watering pond in a day or so, making the dam out of the excavated dirt so no dirt is hauled in or out. You don't need a small inland sea, as a half acre is terrific for stock watering and a fishin' hole.

Once you get it filled enough you can enlarge it with a dredge if you don't want all the cost up front. A large trackhoe (4 ft bucket) can enlarge a popnd pretty efficiently at about $100/hr around here but that would not include disposing of the excavated dirt. IF you are locky/clever you colld plan the initial shape to let a trackhoe dig, swivel, and dump on the back side of the dam so no trucking is involved.

Most of the cost share programs require minimum agricultural production/yr ($1000 or $2000 annual sales) but some of the wildlife habitat programs do not have an agriculltural producton requirement and will help maintain and imporve your land as habitat. This is not mutually exclusive with agriculture but ag is not mandatory.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]