Karen Cho

Good points. We have only been on the property a short time (in the area for a long time though) so we haven't been able to observe the whole 4 seasons and that makes big decisions difficult. I do think swales are a good idea though since we do have such a long drought every year. That way we can capture and sink what little rain we do get- also irrigation water. I should have mentioned in my original post that this is the wet season so what we are seeing will most likely not be a problem mid-summer or fall. It get really really dry here by the end of May.

We are in the process of putting in the orchard fencing on an acre on our new property (deer, elk, moose). It is on a south facing slope (12%) next to a pond berm where there is good protection from our prevailing winds and frost. We have the potential for 4-6 months of drought each year with very few rain events after April or May, so we wanted the orchard close to the pond for irrigation purposes and also to have a good head from our rain catchment tanks uphill. Also, we are digging a pond directly downhill from the orchard where two drainages come together. However, in drilling the post holes for the fence, we are finding that the lower 1/2 of the orchard has a real high water table, i.e. the holes filled up quickly with water, making it difficult to set the posts in. We have beautiful clay loam soil but digging past 3' is proving difficult- not sure if it is fragipan and the soil survey was vague. There are many ponderosa pines growing around the area

We are planning to dig swales and plant the berms with fruit/nut trees/shrubs but now I am concerned that whatever is planted in the lower half has the potential for wet feet. Sure, the berms will raise the plants slightly and this may not be an issue for shallower rooted plants, but larger trees may not be happy. Would it be worth building in some sort of spillway so we could drain the swales during the wet season? They could potentially be drained into the lower pond. How do we go about doing this?

Many thanks for any advice! This is our first swale project of this scope.

Its not downwind! This property is sounding like it just may not be worth it. I was not really looking to have to spend a lot fixing this type of issue. The soil is actually a deep clay loam but who knows, maybe that area is a bit rocky?

Thanks for all the feedback. I think it may be wise to leave the lagoon to another buyer. Its not like the property is a must-have in every other way.

Thanks for the replies. Since it is just a property that we toured to possibly purchase, I don't know all the details. It is downhill from the house on a gentle slope. I assume there is a pipe that discharges black & greywater from the house plumbing directly into the pond. It is situated in the middle of a fenced pasture that would be a shame to waste but my biggest concern would be contamination of food crops planted anywhere nearby. We have dry hot summers with little/no rain for 3-6 months. I would be more comfortable using this water for irrigation if it were just greywater. We do have small children too and plan to sell produce from the site.

We are looking at a property to buy that (I was excited to see) has a nice big pond. Upon further inspection we have discovered that it is in fact a sewer lagoon and therefore not at all suitable for food production irrigation. Does anyone have experience with these things? Is there any hope of using the water for irrigation? We were told that proper maintenance was to keep all vegetation away and construct a sturdy fence. It seems like such a waste (no pun intended). Any thoughts would be much appreciated!