pond overflow???

[micaaronfl76]

the picture i posted of the pond is something i took off the internet but it is the pond i plan to do. below i have posted two images, one of where i intend to put the pond and the other is whats on the exact opposite, as you can see it slightly slopes towards the arbors, also note i do not want to flood arbors. the backyard is not that wide fyi.

any suggestions?
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-...AAAB0/2d4mUiHAuv4/s288/IMG-20110511-00259.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-...AAAB4/4MrfwOaDlq8/s288/IMG-20110511-00260.jpg

 

[micaaronfl76]

 

[micaaronfl76]

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_...AAAB0/aiJhBrWwia4/s640/IMG-20110511-00259.jpg

 

[micaaronfl76]

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_...AAAB0/aiJhBrWwia4/s640/IMG-20110511-00259.jpg

 

[shakaho]

It's best if your pond is not "level with the ground." If it is every heavy rainfall will result in water running into your pond from the yard and the roof, making it dirty. I learned that the hard way. I would build a level boundary around the pond even before digging, using cement blocks, landscape timbers, or whatever. Your liner will go over this boundary. You can use soil from the dig to blend the boundary into your yard. The overflow pipe can come out of the pond on the side opposite the house and water the lawn

 

[fishin4cars]

Pic links aren't working for me. You can pipe water to go where you want. You can install drainage pipe around the pond for drainage to go from the yard so it doesn't get into the pond, but a overflow is def. needed. It can be as simple as one place in the liner for the water to over flow out of, You set the low spot where it is best, or you can install a fitting/connection directly to a pipe to drain off where you want it to go. Another option is build a overflow box with a pump and float switch. Once the box fills with water the pump turns itself on and pumps the water out of the overflow box until it is empty and shuts itself off. This switch has a large float the you attach to the electrical cord, you plug it in first then plug the pump into it, It turns off the pump when the water level gets to low. biggest problem with it is getting a pump big enough to keep hooked up that can keep up with the worst case scenerio of rain fall.

 

[micaaronfl76]

thanks everyone i was think of running a pvc pipe from the pond to the left hand side of the pond where there is a a gutter pipe (it runs out down my driveway). i was going to cut through the gutter pipe and also bring the pond up a few inches from being leveled with the ground. here is a pic of the drainage pipe.

fishin, having problems posting pics sorry.

 

[fishin4cars]

I can see that pic. LOL don't see any reason why that wouldn't work just fine. Sounds like you got a workable plan. How far from the gutter to aprox. where the edge of the pond will be & where you would locate the over flow? You need about 1/2" of drop per 10' of line for good drainage. So if the water level in the pond is four inches above the ground level you can run the pipe 80' with no problem, any shorter - better drainage.

 

[shakaho]

Does the water that goes down your driveway go into a storm sewer, or perhaps a drainage ditch? Unless your pond will have only native species of plants and animals, this would be a questionable and perhaps illegal procedure. Overflow from private ponds is one of the most common ways in which invasive species of plants and animals get introduced to natural waterways.

I don't know where you live, but unless you have a lot or downpours, the overflow from your pond should not be a lot of water. Certainly nothing like what comes off your roof. Pond overflow should go into the soil and not run off your property.

By the way, your lawn is simply gorgeous!

 

[fishin4cars]

Does the water that goes down your driveway go into a storm sewer, or perhaps a drainage ditch? Unless your pond will have only native species of plants and animals, this would be a questionable and perhaps illegal procedure. Overflow from private ponds is one of the most common ways in which invasive species of plants and animals get introduced to natural waterways.

Good point which I overlooked......

 

[micaaronfl76]

thabks for the grass compliment but it only looks that nice since its been raining soo much, ill take a pic in july and you would notice a difference. I am located about 30 minutes outside of philly.

The pipe lets out at the top of my driveway and has a long haul down the driveway i can fit about 4 cars end to end. then it eventually makes its way to a storm drain. its illegal to run a pipe directly to the street but not down your driveway here. i plan to put in some perrenials, boxwood, japanese maples that i have already growing around the house and some koi. thats about it nothing crazy :beerchug:

 

[CometKeith]

Hi Micaaronfl76, re the over flow figure if you get 2 inches or more of rain then it might be like the 100 year rain. It's unlikely your pond will overflow if the water level in your pond is a few inches below the top. There is natural evaporation and water loss from water features that will make you add water and this will be more of a concern then having too much. Also if you do regular water changes you can adjust how much you add back in. If I know a big storm is coming I don't add so much water that it would run out of it when it rains. By the way I like your grass too!

 

[addy1]

We have the gutters from our galvanized shop roof running into the pond (rural area not worried about chemicals on roof) my pond was 5 inches low (we were working on it) by the time the storm passed it filled the pond and flushed it nicely. Had a little river running out of our overflow area. Great water change lol

The lotus pond (300 gallon tank) was 4-5 inches low, no input from gutters hose etc and that sucker filled up with that storm, The rain came down in buckets.

 

[JoaniePA]

Here's what I did. I built a dry stream bed leading from the low area of my pond (lined it with rubber liner and rocks. The stream bed leads to a tiny pond where the water can flow into. I lined the pond and poked a few tiny holes in the liner so it would drain out slowly. I then filled the pond (about a foot deep) with pea gravel and planted with water forget me nots and some iris. [thanks for the idea, addy!] There's a tiny rock bridge over the stream bed. It works really well. In a heavy rain it fills up and there is standing water in it for a day or two. After about 5 days it appears dry again, but if you scrape away the pea gravel a little you can see it is still very wet. The plants love it and are doing really well, and I haven't had a mud problem around that area of the pond since I put it in.

 

[addy1]

Great joanie, glad it worked for you and it looks very nice. With our slope ours just drains away. But I do have the overflow running into what will be our corn field once it is warm enough to plant corn.

I have the dry area filled with pea gravel a slight depression to direct the water and keep it from being too muddy.

I would make a boggy area like that too but it is running behind the dirt berm for the bog so not a area that needs to be pretty lol.