make seasonal ponds year-round?

I have 3 ponds on my property. Only the middle pond is year-round; the other two are seasonal. I would like to make them all year-round, and looking for an easy fix. I have absolutely no experience with ponds, and do not have any idea where to start. You advice would be appreciated!

Pond #1, or Upper pond, is about 8m X 5m X 2.5m deep (25 ft X 15 ft X8 ft deep). It is man-made, or at least man-enlarged. It drains to Pond#2 (Middle Pond) through a ditch. It fills completely in early spring, but dries out by early August. I don't think there is any lining installed. Should I install the lining to make this pond year-round?

Pond #2 (Middle pond) is year-round. It is probably also man-made, at about 15m (50 ft) diameter. Not sure about the depth as it never dries out, but since cattails grow in the middle of it, it is probably not too deep. There is a pipe at the top of the dam going to Pond #3, but I never saw any water going through it.

Pond #3 (Lower pond) is the largest. Obviously man-made, it is about 30m (100 ft) long, and could be up to 6m (20 ft) wide and 4m (13ft) deep, but it never fills. There is no more than 1m (3ft) deep paddle of water in it in the spring, and hardly any during the rest of the year. It was constructed on the slope, so there is a 3-4m (10-13ft) wide dam along the long lower side. There is probably an acre of land that drains directly to Pond #3, and we get 30+ inches of rain and 80+ inches of snow per year.


Thanks!

Hello Wi,
How much property do you have?
How large an area drains towards these ponds?
I am wondering if you can create some swales to capture more runoff that might be guided towards the ponds.
I have read that pigs can be used to help seal a pond.
The middle pond is year round but there is no water that runs out from it?
Can you stop the first pond from draining to the second through the ditch?
Pictures are always a great help!

Miles, I added the photos in the initial post. And there is an additional photo of Pond #3 here.

Pond #1 fills to the top. It would overfill if not draining to Pond#2. It is in a strategic location next to a rather steep (20% or more) slope, and I estimate that 5+ acres are draining to it. I wonder why it dries out - because it is not big enough and the water evaporates, or because it leaks water underground?

Pond #2 might be leaking water underground to either Pond #3, or to our neighbor's property.

Pond#3 is probably the most problematic. Does it never fill because there is not enough runoff, or because it is not sealed along the long lower dam?

Here is a more recent photo of seasonal pond #3. We have very little snow this winter.
Any ideas, anyone?

First, I'm telling you not to change your ponds, but vernal ponds are often the habitat for some unique life forms. Have you had a person from a USDA wildlife office check the vernal ponds for you? Out of curiosity you might find something worth preserving, but then again, you might not.

When I lived in NJ we had a vernal pond near by that was the home to some rather unique plants and numerous frogs. Pretty cool. The owner of the land decided to preserve the vernal pond because he found the frogs to be interesting. Each spring he hosted frog-days on the weekends, renting out picnic tables for families to use. They could picnic and listen to the frogs. He added a portapotty and a small gravel parking lot and made a nice little business out of it. It was an idea that worked.


******* Edited correction: I meant to say "I'm not telling you to change your ponds...." Boy, I put the word "not" in the wrong place!

Su Ba, no, I have not heard about this USDA program. Will check it out.

Interesting idea with the frogs, but probably will not work for me. All our neighbors have their own seasonal streams or ponds, and many have year-round ones; so they probably have as many frogs as we do.

Personally, i would not invite the government onto my land for advice. I wouldn't want a friendly request for advice to become an order telling me what i can and cannot do on my land.

I would think about what i want them for. If for fish, i might get an excavator in there and make some of them bigger or deeper. Check your soil. If it's sandy, you might need to add clay. If not, pigs. They seal ponds and turn into bacon.

Oh, also see the Earthworks video kickstarter. There's a portion on pond sealing.