The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Land Management => Topic started by: Goldcraig on January 05, 2012, 07:11:16 pm
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Hola...We have a stream which flows through our land and I wondered if anyone had ever dug out a pond / hole in an existing stream? There is a good flow of water and the previous owner had made a small dam for his ducks which is still there. I am convinced that fish will be in the stream as I know where it flows and joins to.....Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks .... :farmer:
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fish on your own land.....not a lot could top that for me....
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not sure on the law in Scotland i know there are issues with doing anything like that to any water source in England you need environment agency permission and they are a hard bunch to please.
my uncle has a small river flowing through his land and we moved some of the rocks in the water to create some deeper pockets of water to promote wildlife, his neighbour who is an interfering pain reported him and we had to break them all up even though we were enhancing the water for wildlife and not obstructing the flow in anyway.
The practicalities of building a pond in a stream are easy just be prepared for a lot of soggy wet mess!!!
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Don't know about any water course laws above ground but we have plenty of old stone earth drains that have collapsed. We have had a problem sealing ours, but with the heavy down pour over New Year I was able to stand and find leaks. So with my supply of puddle clay ( here is some I made earlier ) I forced it and worked it into the holes. Good result as these photos show, it now appears to be holding water but has found another leak stopping the level raising. I am going to collect some bulrushes and pond life stuff this weekend.
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The bit in the middle is a sluice, the inverted clay pipe is the water level that we are aiming for. Note the reeds that have got established and used as plugs in the clay. The grass on the right is an island for the eventual ducks ? ?
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The "Right" refers to the first photograph, left on the second. The blanket in the bottom is for plants to sit on and get established and to prevent a thin membrane of clay puncturing under the weight of water which has been a past problem.
The boundary wall in the back ground has a major piped earth drain running along it on the other side, some one elses' land. It is damaged just below under the hooves of cattle and the water pours through the wall into our land creating a quagmire. Need to speak with the owners but thats another job and more time.
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Many thanks for sharing your photos....right now, it's quite down the list, but deffo has a place marker....There is enough od a small pool for the ducks (When we get them) just now
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I like bulrushes but beware of putting them into a pond which is not deep. If you pond is shallow, less than about 2ft, they will seed everywhere and all you end up with is a rather glorious vista of rushes and not water. I only know this from doing the thing of throwing in a handful of seeds and watching the pond disappear over the next year or two,,, live n learn :)
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Yes, thanks for that warning because the pond where we got the bull rushes from is exactly as you described. It was hard work pulling a handful out, the owner of the pond was rather hoping that I would clear much more but it physically was not happening.
So as these bull rushes expand then they need culling ?
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They don't so muh expand as transmute !! One day you have a pond full of water, the next, a bed of reeds and not a lot else.
You can keep pulling them to keep the numbers down but I ended up digging the pond deeper to keep it clear.
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I have deepened the beck, and it widened itself, near the goose house and made a dam - which has created a pond. Environment agency don't know and what they don't know won't hurt them!
I'm sure the neighbours driving across the ford further down the beck, with their muck trailer, does far more harm than my goose pond - and I don't tell about that either!
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You'll need a consent from the EA as you are effectively diverting a water course.