Integrating a pond into a backyard swale

Hey all!

Just closed on my new house and am super excited about starting some minor earthworks! The backyard has a gentle grade towards the house and my plan is install a swale about 2/3 up the hill near the back of the yard. I'm imagining the spillway of the swale overflow directly into the pond with fish and edible aquatic plants and then the overflow the pond screened and spread down the hill from there. The other option is to make the pond part of the swale itself and have the pond fill up FIRST in a rain event and then back fill the swale with the fish water. Thoughts?

I have no experience but the second sounds great!

How much rain fall do you average per year? It may be best to go with a swale feeding the pond, with out knowing more about your particular situation it would be a best guess scenario. One other thing to think about, how are you going to prevent any extra runoff from inundating your house at the bottom? Might need a French drain system as the starting point of improvements.