Old Pond

Anyone know, ow far down should I  dredge an old pond, to remove the sludge?

Thanks!

is it a plastic lined pond?
Is it "clay-lined"?
Or does the pond corresspond to the current water table and if you were to remove 1gpm over a week, the pond would just naturally refill?

What can you do to minimize the amount of sludge that froms in the pond once it is "cleanned"? Build a swale on contour maybe 5ft above so that all the soil settles out> or if it is feed by a seasonal stream build a settling or series of pond right above this main/original pond?

But to answer your question directly, more info  is required? How deep was the pond originallty, and how deep is it now? Can you ask the neighbors or prior owners kids/etc how deep it used to be? Why exactly do you want to dredge it?

S Bengi wrote:How deep was the pond originallty, and how deep is it now? Can you ask the neighbors or prior owners kids/etc how deep it used to be? Why exactly do you want to dredge it?

Agreed! These are important questions to answer.

What is the subsoil in your area? If this was a constructed pond, digging too deep into the layer that holds the water would be a disaster.

If this an old, healthy, bioactive pond, note that any dredgings are magnificent additions to gardens, orchards, compost.

Often you can tell by spotting an interface between the sediment and the base material.
Are you pumping the pond water out?
Are you pumping the sediment out?
If you pump the sediment you may come across a firm layer which may be the original floor.

If you have a clay bottomed pond, no funds or heavy equipment, and do have slave labor (In my case, Hunny and The Kid), this info may be helpful. (Done for a different project described here.)

We've had topsoil flowing into our pond for the last decade. The former owner next door messed with the watershed when he filled in his small pond. Now the stockpond on the further property oveflows in heavy thunder storms, making a river overland instead of moving underground through french drains as it was designed. Sigh.

Our pond is clay lined, cause we live in the land of clay. The guys used a snow shovel scooper thingy (Can you tell we don't use it for snow very often?) to get sediment out of our big pond. It moves easily through the sediment. Hunny confirmed that it would be very clear if he hit the clay bottom.