About a month ago I shared our pond restoration experiment in Putting Things Back; Regenerating the Pond and Woods. Yesterday morning, Easter Sunday, we finished the project by closing/filling in the berm and opening (what we think to be) the original drainage pipe. The pond quickly filled, and by sunset, was full. We see a few low places in the berm that we are concerned will overflow if the drainage pipe doesn’t do it’s job quick enough. We will watch during the next rainstorm and see how that goes. We may need to build the berm higher, but otherwise, all is working well. In creating the pond and with it draining, the area below the pond, which was already soggy, is now a wetland. We’ll see what plants survive the higher water, and hopefully, we’ll be able to locate some native wetland plants to create a truly healthy ecosystem. Here are photos of the finished project. Enjoy.
Filling in the berm where the former owners of the property originally drained the pond. Chad re-opened it to fully drain the pond so we could dig it out more.
Chad diverted the creek at the lowest point in the land. We are pretty sure this is where the creek originally flowed.
The drain to accommodate for overflow . We found a pipe buried in the berm. It was clogged with dirt, and Chad simply stuck a shovel handle through it to unclog it. It sits pretty high…the may need to be adjusted. The next rainstorm will let us know.
April 8, 2012…the pond filling with water.
April 9, 2012…the pond full of water!
April 9, 2012…from the bridge over the creek toward the full pond.
March 2011…it was almost impossible to walk through the bottom of the land because it was so marshy and nothing defined.
April 9, 2012…and now, clear lines, pasture, walking trail. Standing up on the trail looking down at the pond.
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