The dirtiest post I've ever made on OTT

[sgtboz]

Yep, it was a gooey mess after I pump out the last of the standing water. I had a nice layer of clay down there but not enough to go around for the whole pond - thus the need for a pond liner.

Fortunately I knew what was under the goo --> A fine sandstone layer so I wasn't afraid to charge into the muck. A good bath will be in order very soon. Just trying to get things ready for the pond liner to go down in the coming weeks.

 

[85Hokie]

Now that's mire and muck....
I want to see finished product in the future

 

[ItBmine]

I'd like to see more too as you progress. I've often thought about putting a pond here with all the wildlife that passes through my yard.

 

[Traderdell]

That’s impressive, that’s going to take quite the liner! I would like to see more pictures as you progress.

 

[jmf78]

I've been tossing around the idea of putting a small pond on my propery. That there is a big'un. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[skeets]

jmf,, before you start such an undertaking in Pa, you might want to check with the DEP and the PaGC first. Just sayin some departments dont like the idea that a man can do as he wishes on his own property. There might be some paper work for you to complete first

 

[sgtboz]

Thanks for the encouragement. When I started this project the property was covered with hundreds and hundreds of small black and white oak as well as some cedars. You could barely walk through the place (only 5 acres), the trees were really that thick.

Here are just a few pics of the journey so far. I had enough natural clay for the bottom of the pond but not enough for the sides, thus the need for liners. You can see one pic shows the pond full but it never held. The pond has had water in it for over a year until I pumped it out but it was only about a 30x10x2 portion of the pond at the deep end where the clay was thickest. I've also clawed my way through 6 feet of poorly consolidated sandstone in many places using nothing but my BH77 backhoe and a QA fork attachment!

 

[jmf78]

Very cool! I really like the island.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[D2Cat]

Sgt, look good. I'd consider removing that tree in the pond dam. It looks nice and inviting for some shade in the summer, but it can cause a lot of grief later on when it dies and the roots become channels for water to escape.

 

[sgtboz]

My heart and my head have not been in agreement with that tree, D2CAT! I love having the tree there and since I'll have a liner down around it and packed with clay, I was hoping the tree might survive. I realize it won't and I need to cut it down...cover the area with the liner...and be done with it. Otherwise, wouldn't it be great!?

 

[sdk1968]

got my equipment to work & use....

but man i could never take my tractor into something like that.


my RZR? or 4whlr? HELL YES. IM IN.

my tractor? uh NO.

 

[Butch]

If I tried to build something like this in Maryland... Big Brother would be on my ass in a heartbeat...

 

[Russell King]

Why a liner instead of bentonite clay to make it watertight?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[anavidi]

If I tried to build this in California it would be called a pit.

 

[Lil Foot]

Every time I see one of these ponds, it reminds me of the problems my wife's uncle had on a piece of property he owned in northern Indiana. The lot in question was the family home where he grew up & his mother lived. In the early '60s he used his tractor to dig a small swimming hole in the back yard for the grandkids to play in. Years later, his mom died and the house was torn down. The land sat unused for years, until a large well drilling outfit bought all the surrounding property and made him a great offer on the land. They had one condition, that he fill in the swimming hole. He rented a tractor & began, only to be stopped by a federal employee with an injunction. Seems he was filling in "wetland duck habitat", which is not allowed by the federal government. He went to court several times and tried to explained that he dug the hole, and should be allowed to fill it back in. No luck, he could not make a dent in the bureaucracy. After a few years, the drilling company bought the land for 1/4 of the original price, and placed an old surplus bridge over the "wetlands".

 

[LRP]

there is an old technology called dew ponds. ur going to use a pond liner so by putting down some insulating material first and then the liner . this makes it self filling,

 

[85Hokie]

If I tried to build something like this in Maryland... Big Brother would be on my ass in a heartbeat...

In most states, BB would be sooooo far up ones ass, you would taste the boot laces.........

Sad however, all you need is one person to screw it up and big brother comes down and decides what is best for the other 99%....... damn that sounds every more familiar!

 

[Butch]

Every time I see one of these ponds, it reminds me of the problems my wife's uncle had on a piece of property he owned in northern Indiana. The lot in question was the family home where he grew up & his mother lived. In the early '60s he used his tractor to dig a small swimming hole in the back yard for the grandkids to play in. Years later, his mom died and the house was torn down. The land sat unused for years, until a large well drilling outfit bought all the surrounding property and made him a great offer on the land. They had one condition, that he fill in the swimming hole. He rented a tractor & began, only to be stopped by a federal employee with an injunction. Seems he was filling in "wetland duck habitat", which is not allowed by the federal government. He went to court several times and tried to explained that he dug the hole, and should be allowed to fill it back in. No luck, he could not make a dent in the bureaucracy. After a few years, the drilling company bought the land for 1/4 of the original price, and placed an old surplus bridge over the "wetlands".

I can cite nightmares over the Clean water Act and Wetlands Habitat regs...

 

[ipz2222]

9 and a half years I spent fighting county big brother. !!! CUT regulation and lets us work!!!

 

[In Utopia]

With the new administration haven't some of these BS regs. been done away with?