Seeking advice for a tiny pond.

Hey hey,

I want to build a little pond. The problem is that the place where I can use gravity to disperse the water is sub-optimal. I put a picture below because what I am about to type will likely be gibberish. If my idea is dumb please tell me. My other option is just to buy a solar pump or two and move water around that way.

How much soil do I need to keep for my "dam" where I drew the black arrow? I am trying to squeeze this pond in between the property line (red stake) and the cut where my house and driveway are. I am trying to hold water at my highest point. The pond will be small, 4ft deep and maybe 15 feet long. I am trying to see how wide I can make it.  In case it isn't clear I am really asking this, How close to a cut bank can I dig a big hole and fill it with water? Hahaha. Thanks!

Ambitious and perhaps risky business :)

What kind of soil? How much rainfall annually? 100 yr flood looks like? Overflow options for flood event?

Ive seen pics of indigenous projects on steep land like you sketched.ive also heard horror stories of landslides, etc.

Planting shrubs might be another way to at least get water into the subsoil.

Another consideration is gutter flow from house to cistern where you could store water for irrigation, drinking, etc

Right? Haha yeah I totally hear you. I am not taking this lightly, just exploring my options...

Not a lot of rain these days in California but when it comes it's often really heavy (join the club...). It's so inconsistent that I don't know how to even estimate it. But I will go overboard with the overflow mitigation. I have a piece of 12" culvert pipe that would reach from the top of the pond down to the bottom of the cut, where there is a drainage ditch already. I just would have to buy another elbow connector.  I am more worried about the weight of the water blowing out. If it did fail it would suck but there's nothing all that important in it's path. I have a large surface drain that would take most of it. Still I am not going to build this if it's more than say a 0.8% probability. That's why I am wondering about the width of the "dam" wall.

The soil is heavy clay with an average amount of rocks. Ancient riverbed is what it is.

Oh and thanks for the gutter idea. I actually just started doing that with about 1500 gallons of storage. The problem is that I have to then move most of it back uphill. Between that and the fact that I get zero rain 9 months out of the year is why I want to build this pond.

Don't worry this is all exploratory, I mean I want to do it but I am not going to just do it, if that makes sense.

First, what is the reason for a pond? Do you want to grow water plants get an old bathtub. Do you want to store water? Do you want to create habitat? This would be the reason for a pond. Bt generally a pond close to a house would be better perfectly sealed say a concrete pond.

Hi, sorry. I knew I would suck at explaining this...

The pond is above my house in elevation. Not above it above it. Like if the pond collapsed it wouldn't wash into the house.

The purpose of the pond would be primarily water storage for a food forest below it.

Dan, I always read what I write before I submit it.
It helps a lot.

I work with water catchment in dry areas. I suggest you study the subject and you will be surprised.

What area of land, what volume of water and how big a food forest are you looking at?


There are many tricks to capturing and holding water.
Firstly I believe your plan is flawed. Holding water in a pond for 9 months is wasteful. Evaporation and ground leakage will takes most of it.
Tanks are the best practical method of holding captured water today.

The cistern method, and moving it uphill is a great concept. To drain back to a food forest the water does not have to be elevated a great height, provided you have good sized supply lines from the storage tank.
A small pump working many hours will shift a lot of water.

As for reducing consumption mulch, pebble mulching and water holding organic matter in the soil work well.

I always read what I write too. The problem is it's the same dumbass on both sides of the equation.

But no, I agree with everything you said here John. That's the way I will likely go but I am getting tired of looking at water tanks. Maybe I'll just bury them. I need the dirt for some mounds anyways. Hell, maybe I'll just dig this pond to see what happens. Who knows, maybe the hill will collapse and inside I'll find a ton of gold and y'all will never hear from me again!