Stock dam cleanses

I was wondering if you took a dam that is always muddy water and planted some Catails  and under water plants maybe tossed in some minnows or goldfish maybe a bluegill. Would it settle the mud a clarify the water/ make it better quality for the stock.

Basically I’m wondering if I can improve my stock dams by converting them into ponds.

Yes encouraging a healthy and diverse ecosystem should help with the water quality.

Also if it's possible to slow the water down and encourage a lot of wild plants to grow up around it, that should help trap sediment and keep it from flowing into the pond and also filter the water and let it slowly enter the pond.

Sounds like a neat project! Would love to see some pictures if you have them!

So they are spring fill ponds. All the snow melts and the runoff runs down big gully’s so we collect some in dams are dirt is gumbo clay so I think it’s always muddy because the clay is suspended in the water. They all dried out this year. But most years the have water but rarely get more water after the spring rains end.

The added life needs to be easy established due to almost guaranteed winter kill and or droughts

I have some small pools that I haven't done anything to, except dig them out and let them fill up with water.

They were quickly inhabited by frogs and all kinds of water insects and creatures, and now I have a type of underwater plant growing. So I bet if you build it, they will come.

Why is it always muddy?   Muddy water flowing in.  Livestock churning up?  Other causes?

Without a stirring agent of some form most water settles out fairly quickly.

Be aware some fish actually make the water muddy.

First thing to do is to exclude any stock from walking into the3 dam, and providing a different water supply to the stock.