Plan: Create Small Pond from run off stream of artesian well - HELP! anyone done this?

[Ree]

Hi and thank you for reading! I hope that we can find others who have created a natural pond this way. Our property has a stream that is the run off from our next door neighbor's artesian well. It runs across our yard, under our driveway and to the other side where it naturally pools, runs off and is absorbed into the sandy ground. We have hopes of creating a slightly deeper pond, approximately the same size or smaller than the existing "pool". We'd love some help as to how to achieve this in as natural way as possible - we're thinking like a beaver pond. We'd love some help and suggestions! Thanks in advance!

 

[reef vet]

Hey Ree,
Sounds like a great way to make lemonade out of lemons! I'm also jealous to have a constant source of clean water, what a great opportunity! It would be helpful to know what your goals would be for this pond. What type of fish, if any, are you wanting to put in the pond? What size is the existing "pool" or pond you want to have? Do you plan on naturalizing it with plants and adding some sort of filter? The filter really would depend on the actual water flow you have for the size of the pond you are creating. Do you know the gallons/minute(hour) that you will be receiving from this water source and is it constant year-round?

 

[addy1]

That sounds really neat! Like the ??'s above

 

[j.w]

Will be interesting to see how this works. I can envision putting a liner in and collecting the water but then there is the overflow. I suppose a pipe w/a screen would protect any fish from escaping but then it will clog up and you will have to keep it clear of debris all the time. If you aren't having fish you could just create a waterfall over the low edge and let it flow where it wants to go. You are so lucky to have this free water. I would love it!

 

[Ree]

Hey Ree,
Sounds like a great way to make lemonade out of lemons! I'm also jealous to have a constant source of clean water, what a great opportunity! It would be helpful to know what your goals would be for this pond. What type of fish, if any, are you wanting to put in the pond? What size is the existing "pool" or pond you want to have? Do you plan on naturalizing it with plants and adding some sort of filter? The filter really would depend on the actual water flow you have for the size of the pond you are creating. Do you know the gallons/minute(hour) that you will be receiving from this water source and is it constant year-round?

thank you so much for answering! So… Goals for this pond: to have a water feature for something that is already present. We will have to figure out the gallons per minute flow. And since we have not spent a lot of seasons there, we are not sure how slow it might get in the summer. That’s something we’re going to have to figure out. We’re not looking to make this very large probably about 5 x 8 or so. Maybe add Koi at some point- However they’re all or already animals that frequent this stream and there are frogs and turtles etc. Yes we will naturalize it with plants but we would prefer not to have to use a filter unless that’s something we have to do. I have read about people creating a bog area and we could certainly do that. We are totally grateful for any advice or ideas that you can offer. Thank you again!

Will be interesting to see how this works. I can envision putting a liner in and collecting the water but then there is the overflow. I suppose a pipe w/a screen would protect any fish from escaping but then it will clog up and you will have to keep it clear of debris all the time. If you aren't having fish you could just create a waterfall over the low edge and let it flow where it wants to go. You are so lucky to have this free water. I would love it!

sounds like it might be easier and work better if we don’t add fish. I’m hoping that we might be able to do this without a liner since there is already water accumulating there?

 

[j.w]

If it ends up holding water and you only make it 5' x 8' and you do add fish, add goldfish not koi as they get very large and need lots more room than goldfish. I love the Shubunkin type of goldfish as they look kinda like a smaller version of koi. Not hard to find the Shubunkin type usually and they aren't way expensive like koi can be. A couple bucks or less on sale.

 

[reef vet]

Ditto on the shubunkin if you are planning on something of that size, you'll struggle quickly with Koi as they'll definitely grow too large. You'll be much happier with a school of shubunkin.
At this point the flow will be really important. I suppose we are all imagining different things, from a dripping tap to a rushing stream, that this well is providing. Any chance you can post a video or just get a rough idea by how fast it will fill a 5 gallon bucket?

With that size and any serious amount of water flow, you won't really need filtration.
As a rough assumption, lets say you are 5x8x3 deep. Roughly 120 cubic feet= 900 gallons. If you have zero "built" filtration, lets just aim for a 10% water change per day. So if you have 90 gallons running through the pond daily, I would believe you can get by with the completely fresh water. Depending on the flow, you may end up actually needing to divert some of the flow elsewhere, or using a bog to slow down the current.

Essentially, I would imagine a liner that has a "high" point pulling water from the stream, or a 2" PVC pipe (if the water flow is enough) running into the liner pond. Then on the "low" point on the other side of the liner pond you can create a stream that leaves the pond that only allows 1/2' to 1" of water to escape and then simply fill it with gravel/pebbles to prevent any fish from ending up down stream.

 

[Doctor mcboy]

if you have enough fresh water you do not need filtration. i say build it 2 x the size of what you want then wait for a year and see how the pond level stays.

 

[WaterGardener]

I've always felt this would be the ideal pond. But I have been concerned about how to prevent fish eggs and fry from being washed out of the pond into the natural water system.

Sounds like the OP has the perfect situation where the stream disappears back into the ground. I'm envious!

 

[Doctor mcboy]

I've always felt this would be the ideal pond. But I have been concerned about how to prevent fish eggs and fry from being washed out of the pond into the natural water system.

Sounds like the OP has the perfect situation where the stream disappears back into the ground. I'm envious!

i know free fresh water sounds fantastic

 

[Balsam Camp]

Hi and thank you for reading! I hope that we can find others who have created a natural pond this way. Our property has a stream that is the run off from our next door neighbor's artesian well. It runs across our yard, under our driveway and to the other side where it naturally pools, runs off and is absorbed into the sandy ground. We have hopes of creating a slightly deeper pond, approximately the same size or smaller than the existing "pool". We'd love some help as to how to achieve this in as natural way as possible - we're thinking like a beaver pond. We'd love some help and suggestions! Thanks in advance!

What was the result of this?

 

[don hollowell]

i have a srtesian well feeding my koi pond,,,and is has been constantly running for years. so 10 yrs ago i decided to put in a koi pond,,,the results are great,,and we love it,,we have the spring running over the falls and we dug a bog filter several months ago..and it seems to be working great,,,we have a overflo from the pond into the lake we live on..we are expecting new koi any time now....i always have clear clean fresh water in our pond,,,,but please,,,,do not use any and i mean any chemicals in your pond,,,i learned that the hard way after secerak yrs of fish kille...good luck on your pond,,,you will love it....my pond is 28 ft long 14 ft wide and 2 to 5 ft deep

 

[Skywatcher87]

i have a srtesian well feeding my koi pond,,,and is has been constantly running for years. so 10 yrs ago i decided to put in a koi pond,,,the results are great,,and we love it,,we have the spring running over the falls and we dug a bog filter several months ago..and it seems to be working great,,,we have a overflo from the pond into the lake we live on..we are expecting new koi any time now....i always have clear clean fresh water in our pond,,,,but please,,,,do not use any and i mean any chemicals in your pond,,,i learned that the hard way after secerak yrs of fish kille...good luck on your pond,,,you will love it....my pond is 28 ft long 14 ft wide and 2 to 5 ft deep

I know this thread is a couple years old, but I was wondering are you using this artesian well for your water source in your home? I have a flowing artesian well and the ground water is currently coming up around the well casing, creating a small pond in my yard. I am thinking about making it into a stream to keep from having standing water in my backyard (I live in Alaska and don't need anymore mosquitoes than I already have).

 

[j.w]

and welcome @Skywatcher87