An Earth Pond Maintenance Guide

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If, indeed, pond culture requires less labor than most counter endeavors, the reason has more to do with the pondkeeper than with the pond itself.
If, indeed, pond culture requires less labor than most counter endeavors, the reason has more to do with the pondkeeper than with the pond itself.
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Anyone who has tended a pond knows the periodic chores: erosion and weed control, spillway repair, cleanup, and, most vexing, plugging leaks. Neglecting them can imperil fish, water, and pond—not to mention the neighbors downstream.
Anyone who has tended a pond knows the periodic chores: erosion and weed control, spillway repair, cleanup, and, most vexing, plugging leaks. Neglecting them can imperil fish, water, and pond—not to mention the neighbors downstream.
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Leakage in earth ponds may be caused by one or more of a number of different kinds of factors, from natural intruders to problems with the pond's construction.
Leakage in earth ponds may be caused by one or more of a number of different kinds of factors, from natural intruders to problems with the pond's construction.
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A leak around a horizontal pipe should not be difficult to fix. One pond owner simply tamped down the earth above the pipe to stop the leak.
A leak around a horizontal pipe should not be difficult to fix. One pond owner simply tamped down the earth above the pipe to stop the leak.
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Graham Noble took a do-it-yourself approach to his pond, including the edge and bridge.
Graham Noble took a do-it-yourself approach to his pond, including the edge and bridge.
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Beaver dams can block outlet channels and lead to flooding.
Beaver dams can block outlet channels and lead to flooding.
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Riprap is used to prevent erosion of the outlet channel.
Riprap is used to prevent erosion of the outlet channel.

“Ponds need no such labor and charges as other commodities do.” That was how the elder Pliny saw the need of pond maintenance 19 centuries ago, and it’s a view that still looks good, especially to stewards of land-based, labor-intensive farming schemes. To many of them, pond culture has all the lure of a forever-standing GONE FISHIN’ sign. Yet anyone who’s maintained a pond knows the periodic chores: erosion and weed control, spillway repair, cleanup, and, most vexing, plugging leaks. The pondkeeper who neglects them imperils fish, water, pond, and the neighbors downstream. If, indeed, pond maintenance requires less labor than most country endeavors, the reason has more to do with the pondkeeper than with the pond itself–for the cunning pondkeeper works with the seasons, synchronizing chores with the life cycle of the pond and tapping the forces of nature for support.

Pond Repairs

All ponds are divided into three parts: the inflow, the basin, and the outflow. The inflow may be a spring, stream, pipe, watershed runoff, groundwater, or a combination. The basin consists of the pond bowl, adjacent shoreland, and–in the case of an embankment pond–the dam. The outflow may be a natural spillway, a piping system, sluice gate, or a combination of these. In some cases, a dug pond will not have a visible inflow or outlet, but unless it’s stagnant, ground water is flowing through. “Sky ponds” and other reservoirs that depend on precipitation have no ground-water inflow.

Inflow brings the water, the basin holds it, and the outflow releases it. When a pond is in good shape, the three elements work together. Elementary stuff to be sure, until something goes wrong.

Pond Inflows

  • Published on Apr 1, 1992
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