Jun 14, 2024 Building and Maintaining Ponds Building and Maintaining Ponds Written by: Illinois Land Broker, Matt Cox. Building and Maintaining Ponds A nice pond or lake is one of the most sought-after property features that my buyer clients often put on their “Top 5” wish list for a property. Ponds and lakes are unique features in real estate. This topic will likely have many follow-up articles in my future newsletters, as it can become very complex for landowners. There could honestly be an endless supply of pond topics. What to Expect From This Blog In this blog, I will touch on topics like suitable building sites, basic pond construction, aquatic herbaceous control, and basic stocking and harvesting of fish. I think this will be a great topic that any landowner with a pond, or aspirations of building and maintaining ponds, will gain some knowledge to utilize on their property. With anything in real estate, there are certain levels of maintenance, management, and cost-effectiveness that must be carefully considered. Building and maintaining ponds can be expensive depending on the situation. So, if you are looking to build a pond, the building site is crucial, available building materials are important, and hiring the right contractor is also very important. If you already have an existing pond or lake, there is always a certain level of maintenance required for the levee, control structures, aquatic vegetation control, and basic management of fish. New Home Construction Now, if we were discussing new home construction, the footing and foundation of the home are quite honestly the most important construction components that will dictate the integrity of that home. Similarly, the levee or dam is the foundation of your lake or pond. A poorly constructed levee can create major problems in the future for the landowner. Proper construction the first time is critical because fixing a poorly built pond can be more expensive than the original build. Below are some of the basic terms that you will need to know about an earth dam. Keywords to Know and Understand About Your Pond Cutoff/Keyway: The cutoff or keyway is equivalent to the “footings” of a house. It is dug below ground level at the construction site in the center of the levee and is packed full of non-permeable material such as compacted clay. The keyway keeps water from seeping under the bottom of the levee, where the new dirt is put on top of the existing ground level. Digging the keyway may reveal unknown problems such as sand or gravel veins that may determine the building site simply won’t work. Core: The core of the dam is exactly what it sounds like—the center. It should be built out of a non-permeable layer of material such as highly compacted clay. The core is tied directly into the keyway and extends from the keyway to the top of the levee. Upstream Slope: The upstream side (front) of the dam is the water storage side of the levee. It is where the lake or pond is located. It is always recommended to have a minimum of a 1:3 slope or 3:1 slope, meaning for every foot you build up, the levee needs to be built out 3 feet. This is determined from the centerline of the levee. For contrast, a 10-foot-tall levee will be 30 feet wide at the base from the center of the levee on the upstream side. Downstream Slope: The downstream side (back) of the dam is usually a little steeper than the front side. Most recommendations are for no less than a 2:1 slope, meaning for every foot you raise the levee, the downstream side needs to extend 2 feet. At the end of construction, a 10-foot-tall levee will be approximately 50 feet wide at the base if you combine the upstream and downstream slopes. Most contractors will take into consideration that the slope must be safe enough to maintain via mowing to keep trees from growing on the levee. Overflow Pipe: The overflow pipe is the seepage or drainage mechanism that keeps the water from exceeding the maximum water storage capacity of the levee. This allows excess water to travel through the levee without going over the top. The size of the overflow pipe is determined by the amount of water runoff the lake may receive and how quickly it can remove it. Emergency Overflow/Spillway: The spillway is a lower portion of the dam designed to control excess water from going over the top of the dam itself. It is usually higher than the overflow pipe but is designed to remove excess water that the overflow pipe cannot remove in a timely fashion to avoid water flowing over the dam. Freeboard: Freeboard is a vertical measurement that tells you how much higher the levee is from the top of the water surface to the lowest part of the dam that is not designed for water to flow over. The amount of freeboard dictates the size of the overflow pipe and the overall design and width of the emergency overflow/spillway. In my next article, I will discuss what you should be looking for to determine if you have a suitable location to potentially build a pond. I will also discuss the importance of what all these definitions mean when constructing the levee. Stay connected. Be sure to follow Matt Cox on Facebook. MEET MATT COX – Local Expertise Within Reach Matt, a full-time Licensed Realtor, with LandGuys of Illinois. He lives in Fulton County with his wife Ashley and two sons Easton and Camden. Matt specializes in rural land sales which include recreational land, tillable land, rural home sales, and waterfowl property sales. Over the years, Matt has sold rural properties. He has also assisted numerous clients in navigating unique circumstances and obstacles specific to rural real estate ownership. Through this blog, he aims to aid rural landowners in making informed decisions and calculated improvements to their properties. Matt hopes these efforts will enable landowners to maximize their enjoyment, enhance their return on investment, and ensure the land retains its value, both aesthetically and financially.