Decommissioning pond

[I ponder]

Hi guys, I'm new here and I'm sorry if I am posting this in the wrong forum.

My sister has recently moved into a house in which there are 2 large ponds in the garden. The ponds are made of concrete and are quite deep. The problem is she will be looking after 2 small children for the foreseeable future and is concerned about the danger of the ponds with children around. She would like to decommission the ponds so to speak but would like to be able to use the ponds again in the future.

Basically I'm wondering what her options might be? If we drain them obviously they will just fill up again with rain. If we drill holes in the lowest part of the pond will it ever be possible to seal it up again for future use?

Some of the options we have looked at like putting grids over the top of the pond are expensive and the budget doesn't stretch that far at the moment. Have any of you guys been in a position like this and if so what are our options? Any and all suggestions are welcome, thanks.

Gerard

 

[dieselplower]

How small are the children?
Empty and plywood over the top?
Fence of sorts?
Tarps?
What contains the water in the pond? A liner or concrete?
How big are these ponds?
Can she just watch the kids so they stay out of the area hahaha.

 

[I ponder]

Hi there and thanks for the reply, the kids are 4 and a baby nit far off taking his first steps. Keeping an eye on them isn't an option, you could never relax in my opinion, it's just not safe.

The ponds are made of concrete, they don't have a liner. I've thought of the plywood option but they are quite big and the plywood might not look great. It might be an option though, I'll give it some more thought.

Tarps may be an option but I suppose they would have to be supported and held taut or else water would gather in them too.

Thanks for your input.

Gerard

 

[addy1]

I would just do a nice kid safe fence if you can. Can you post a photo? That would help us help you with ideas on making it kid safe.

I lived in arizona, they have strict fencing rules for pools, I am trying to remember, there is some netting that can be put over the a pool that will hold a child. If you are interested I will try to find out what it was called. That could be put over your pond, it would allow rain to go through it and you might be able to still see your fish.

 

[I ponder]

Addy thanks a lot for the reply, ill try and get some photos. I think the fence around it is a good idea. I measured the perimeter that will need fencing and it's around 80ft. One side is already up against a boundary fence. I was thinking of a 3 to 4 foot high picket type fence, what do you think?

 

[addy1]

This is what is required in arizona, I had a pool and a pond, but no kids, so neither was fenced. The yard was fenced by a 6 foot block wall. 3-4 feet and a child could climb over, they are really protective with the fencing laws, a lot of children have drowned there. I would go with at least a 4 foot fence, kids will want to get to the water. If they can climb over they will.

• Must surround the entire pool by at least a 5 ft wall, fence or other barrier
• Safety System shall be at least 20 inches from the water's edge.
• The wall, fence or barrier shall not contain:

• Gaps through which something 4 inches in diameter can pass through.
• Handholds or footholds accessible from the exterior side of the enclosure that can be used to climb the wall, fence or barrier

• The horizontal parts of any enclosure system shall be spaced not less than 45 inches apart measured vertically or shall be placed on the swimming pool side of a wall, fence or barrier which shall not have any opening greater than 1.3/4 inches measured horizontally.
• Wire mesh or chain link fences shall have a maximum mesh size of 1. ¾ inches measured horizontally.

 

[adavisus]

Drill and mark several drainage holes about a foot or two down

Fill with nice dirt, grow attractive moisture loving plants

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/
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[I ponder]

Addy thanks a lot for the reply, ill try and get some photos. I think the fence around it is a good idea. I measured the perimeter that will need fencing and it's around 80ft. One side is already up against a boundary fence. I was thinking of a 3 to 4 foot high picket type fence, what do you think?

We don't want to fill it with soil and plant it as the plan is to use it as a pond in a few years time.

 

[Waterbug]

What I do is just fill the pond with pea gravel, rock dust or sand. Whatever is cheap. You can top dress with a better looking rock if you like. Something that's easy to dig out later. Sharp rock is really hard digging. You want to kind of mound it so you don't get any standing water.

This is the cheapest option and also alllows the pond to be used in the future. But even better it allows it to become a useful landscape feature. You can plant pond type plants like Canna in pots buried in the substrate. It can be very beautiful and very easy to keep...easier than in a regular soil garden because no weeds and easy digging.

The other thing it allows is for a pondless water feature. You bury a large bucket or drum with holes and place a pump in the drum. You have to put a lid on the drum/bucket that kids can't get into because a 5 gal bucket is a very serious drowning hazard for small kids. Or you can fill the bucket/drum with large rocks. Then the water from the pump can be directed to whatever little water feature you like. The kids can even have fun messing around in there changing the water feature however they like.

I've done this many times. Helping someone fill in a pond right now. Works great. Here are some pictures of plants growing in a filled in pond. No standing water, no bugs, no algae.

This Canna is 8' tall. When grown in the soil they only got to about 6'.

You can even add a tree like Rose of Sharon. Just shows the trunk in this picture. You can see a bunch of other kinds of plants.

In the above picture you can see pea gravel, that's what the pond was filled with, and I added a few large river rocks on top. You can also see the top of a pot with a plant. You can grow any kind of plant you like because you can vary the depth from in water (the water level is about 6" below the surface) to just wet feet to totally above water (but pots above water need to be watered).