MAINTAINING YOUR POND

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Because of the potential for erosion, cleaning out feeder streams or bringing in supplementary inflows directly may bring in silt. It's important to do stream work during dry weather, and to stabilize the channel upon completion. If a stream is prone to erosion, it often makes better sense to contain the water in a pipe. Piping prevents erosion and enables the owner to control the flow, which can be helpful during repairs. Adding a cutoff valve, along with an alternative channel for the water that allows the inflow to be diverted around the pond, makes it possible to keep the pond dry during maintenance work. Piping also prevents water loss due to seepage. If animals are pastured on inflow areas, it may be necessary to pipe water in to prevent damage for trampling.

Piping a stream into a pond can be tricky. It's necessary to create a pool that will feed the bypass pipe, and yet not readily fill with silt. Often, a dam is constructed upstream of the pool, keeping it relatively silt-free. Usually the pipe is covered with stone or encased in a perforated concrete or steel box to filter out debris and silt.

Flexible plastic pipe is often used to bring in extra water and can be buried or left above ground, depending on winter use. Normally an above-ground pipe should be drained in winter if there is any chance of freezing. A pipe buried below frost line will run in cold weather, as long as the pickup source doesn't dry up or freeze. If the pond is used in winter (for fish culture or skating, for instance), the water line will have to be frost-proofed or the water level may drop due to icing in the pipe. It's important to bury the pipe with as few dips and rises as possible to ensure against air locks or silt clogging the line. A vent in the pipe sometimes helps prevent air locks. A pipe that flows downhill with no obstructions will be easy to drain, which is helpful in winter. Burying the line also keeps the water cooler in summer. This may or may not be helpful, depending upon the temperature you or your fish like to swim in.

Flexible corrugated construction pipe — sometimes called "elephant trunk" — is becoming popular in pond systems. Four-inch elephant trunk delivers a large volume of water and is easily maneuvered. It can be used in temporary setups quite effectively to bring cold stream or well water to a trout pond in summer, and during pond construction to prevent water flowing into the pond from eroding the exposed soil. I've also seen it used as a pond siphon hose that doubled as a suction pipe to remove silt.

If piping seems unnecessary or too expensive, channeling supplementary water directly into the pond may be most practical. Dry weather is best for digging, and upon completion it's important to stabilize the channel with rock riprap and/or vegetative reinforcement. Often a small silt basin is dug just upstream of the pond to catch silt before it reaches the pond. This pocket can be cleaned out as needed, by hand or machine, without disturbing the pond.

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