Clay pond
 

The top 2 metres of my land are clay. Can this be used to create a large
pond without a liner? I have 4 acres of unused farmalnd in Scotland (very
wet, very exposed) and would like to use the land for something more
attractive. All ideas are welcome.

Thanks,

Floyd
--
http://www.smellyhound.com

Usually you can, however even with a good clay I would still have it
tested for permeability........you may be surprised. I have what is
called blue merle clay which is a h eavy dark grey blue colored clay
which is about as good as it gets for a pond. I also have clay here
that is a yellow tan color, but it is not suitable for a pond unless
you treat it with bentonite, as its comprised of too much silt and
sand particles thorughout, whereas the blue merle is like a wad of
modeling clay......

On Sun, 1 May 2005 14:36:57 -0700, "Floydster"
wrote:

===The top 2 metres of my land are clay. Can this be used to create a large
===pond without a liner? I have 4 acres of unused farmalnd in Scotland (very
===wet, very exposed) and would like to use the land for something more
===attractive. All ideas are welcome.
===
===Thanks,
===
===Floyd


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

Perhaps. How long does water stand in shallow depressions in your land? Not
all clay soil is totally impermiable, so the water may seep away. Why not
dig a small hole, fill it with water and see if it drains. You could also
dig the big hole, fill it with water, but no plants or fish, and see what
happens. If it drains, get a liner. If it does not, get fish and plants.

"Floydster" wrote in message
...
The top 2 metres of my land are clay. Can this be used to create a large
pond without a liner? I have 4 acres of unused farmalnd in Scotland (very
wet, very exposed) and would like to use the land for something more
attractive. All ideas are welcome.

Thanks,

Floyd
--
http://www.smellyhound.com

It depends on how much water you have flowing into your pond area. 40
acres of drainage will be enough for a 1 acre pond. So in other words
if the water that hits 40 acres of land drains into your pond area then
you can make a 1 acre pond. If you have 80 acres of drainage then you
can make a 2 acre pond. Most states have a limit of 100 acres of
drainage into an area before you need a permit. If you have constant
springs all you need is water that is equivalent to the output of a
garden hose. Water seeps through anything. As long as you have a
constant inflow of water you will be fine.

Check out my pond building at
http://www.wildlifereserve.org/mbuild.html

Also check out the "designing a pond" page under "thing's I've learned"

Sam


Floydster wrote:
The top 2 metres of my land are clay. Can this be used to create a
large
pond without a liner? I have 4 acres of unused farmalnd in Scotland
(very
wet, very exposed) and would like to use the land for something more
attractive. All ideas are welcome.

Thanks,

Floyd
--
http://www.smellyhound.com

where do you come up with the figures of needing 40 acres of land to
drain into an area to make a 1 acre pond? I have a fractionof that on
the one parcel of land and have a 1+ acre pond that stays quite full
all year around.......Can't buy the 100 acre limit thing either, as it
makes no sense either as drainage is not just limited to what property
one owns....its all surounding lands, that happen to pitch or grade to
the lowest level......and certainly not restricted to ones acreage. My
upper field on another parcel of land has over 550 acres of land, I
have three ponds there and no permits, and the pond is in a hollow and
is filled from most of my acreage runoff.......into one pond,
overflow into the other and final runoff into the last, but there all
filled from that one main pond.........total land area has not a thing
to do with having a pond capable of holding water as this original
poster asked........



On 2 May 2005 05:35:34 -0700, wrote:

===It depends on how much water you have flowing into your pond area. 40
===acres of drainage will be enough for a 1 acre pond. So in other words
===if the water that hits 40 acres of land drains into your pond area then
===you can make a 1 acre pond. If you have 80 acres of drainage then you
===can make a 2 acre pond. Most states have a limit of 100 acres of
===drainage into an area before you need a permit. If you have constant
===springs all you need is water that is equivalent to the output of a
===garden hose. Water seeps through anything. As long as you have a
===constant inflow of water you will be fine.
===
===Check out my pond building at
===http://www.wildlifereserve.org/mbuild.html
===
===Also check out the "designing a pond" page under "thing's I've learned"
===
===Sam
===
===
===Floydster wrote:
=== The top 2 metres of my land are clay. Can this be used to create a
===large
=== pond without a liner? I have 4 acres of unused farmalnd in Scotland
===(very
=== wet, very exposed) and would like to use the land for something more
=== attractive. All ideas are welcome.
===
=== Thanks,
===
=== Floyd
=== --
=== http://www.smellyhound.com


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!