mel b3 Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 hiya guys, i know that this is a bit of a strange one. im buying a piece of woodland and i want it to have a fishing pond , ive found a piece of land that i quite like , and it has a seasonal pond , that can sometimes dry up in summer . i would like to fit a liner into this pond and fill it with water and fish , now then here comes the hard part , the land has no water supply , so , could i dig a well , and use it to fill the pond ?. its just an idea at the moment , and a pretty sketchy idea at that so please take it easy , im just wondering if it would actually be do able. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewh100 Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 what sort of size of pond are we looking at mel dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 hiya guys, i know that this is a bit of a strange one. im buying a piece of woodland and i want it to have a fishing pond , ive found a piece of land that i quite like , and it has a seasonal pond , that can sometimes dry up in summer . i would like to fit a liner into this pond and fill it with water and fish , now then here comes the hard part , the land has no water supply , so , could i dig a well , and use it to fill the pond ?. its just an idea at the moment , and a pretty sketchy idea at that so please take it easy , im just wondering if it would actually be do able. hello mel, so you have managed to find that, have a research on getting a survey done to see how far down is the water table, how is the pond filled, ? a spring ? how big is the pond, i am sure a few other members have mentioned ponds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted August 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 what sort of size of pond are we looking at mel dave hello mel, so you have managed to find that, have a research on getting a survey done to see how far down is the water table, how is the pond filled, ? a spring ? how big is the pond, i am sure a few other members have mentioned ponds the pond is around 30 yards x 25 yards ish , and its around 3 feet deep but only has around 12" of water at the moment . their is no spring on the land , and the ground is pretty wet , even though it has drainage ditches on the outside edges. im not really sure about throwing cash at surveys at the moment , at least until im a little more sure that im buying the land. i know that its all a bit pie in the sky at the moment , im just looking for some kind of starting point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 There have been a couple of attempts at this locally, one by me. It isn't easy; water evaporation is considerable in a dry summer and fish need water with a highish oxygen content. Mine (after many years as it was started by my father) does hold water, but isn't oxygenated enough for fish ....... but other wildlife love it (including a few passing duck). Another attempt locally has also worked ........ but uses local stream water. This was later discovered to have some septic tank outfall in it from further upstream - and can also get salt in winter from road treatment was off. Again - no good for fish. If you have power available locally, you can oxygenate the water, but this is expensive to run - and more suited to garden scale ponds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 (edited) hiya guys, i know that this is a bit of a strange one. im buying a piece of woodland and i want it to have a fishing pond , ive found a piece of land that i quite like , and it has a seasonal pond , that can sometimes dry up in summer . i would like to fit a liner into this pond and fill it with water and fish , now then here comes the hard part , the land has no water supply , so , could i dig a well , and use it to fill the pond ?. its just an idea at the moment , and a pretty sketchy idea at that so please take it easy , im just wondering if it would actually be do able. hello, good luck on that Mel, Edited August 20, 2017 by oldypigeonpopper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted August 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 There have been a couple of attempts at this locally, one by me. It isn't easy; water evaporation is considerable in a dry summer and fish need water with a highish oxygen content. Mine (after many years as it was started by my father) does hold water, but isn't oxygenated enough for fish ....... but other wildlife love it (including a few passing duck). Another attempt locally has also worked ........ but uses local stream water. This was later discovered to have some septic tank outfall in it from further upstream - and can also get salt in winter from road treatment was off. Again - no good for fish. If you have power available locally, you can oxygenate the water, but this is expensive to run - and more suited to garden scale ponds. It's looking like a no go at the moment then ,it's a shame because it's a nice little plot in every other way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 not easy getting water there.the pond i shoot duck pigeon on.is dry at the moment but fills up in the winter from the farm land a round it,if we want water in it we have to drain it from another pond 150 m away, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted August 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 hello, good luck on that Mel, Thanks Gordon ☺. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 It's looking like a no go at the moment then ,it's a shame because it's a nice little plot in every other way. Well, it is a nice thing to do, but it isn't usually easy to get it to hold water 365 days a year - and to get it to fish supporting water is a lot harder still. Mine does have some natural water, but this drops to a trickle - or even nothing - in dry summers. We had to use a liner in some places - possibly where old land drains ran underneath - I'm not sure. My father originally excavated it (maybe 50+ years ago) with a sort of 'Blaster Bates' character who was the licensed explosives man for a quarry. I doubt you could do that now as rules on blasting are much stricter. The other option was a drag line machine, but it wasn't accessible for a machine of that size easily due to trees etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 There have been a couple of attempts at this locally, one by me. It isn't easy; water evaporation is considerable in a dry summer and fish need water with a highish oxygen content. Mine (after many years as it was started by my father) does hold water, but isn't oxygenated enough for fish ....... but other wildlife love it (including a few passing duck). Another attempt locally has also worked ........ but uses local stream water. This was later discovered to have some septic tank outfall in it from further upstream - and can also get salt in winter from road treatment was off. Again - no good for fish. If you have power available locally, you can oxygenate the water, but this is expensive to run - and more suited to garden scale ponds. this is your problem....see above ....also if you dig a well it may be subject to E.A. approval ..............lining a commercial size pond you would need to use a product called Bentomat.........it is a multi layered fabric with Bentonite powder in it which will give the same permability as half metre of clay at 10 to the power of -9............. if you have a water source..just below ground level...you wont have these problems...... unfortunatly nothing in life is simple anymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 Have you got any clay in the woodland. Puddled clay makes a good pond liner. I am looking at this for our woodland as we have clay near the surface and a few wet areas. Another factor is it might need some sort of planning permission.I am still trying to find out about this as things you can just do in your garden, you need approval to do in woodland. It just cost us £100 to apply to put a shed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve d Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 The land being wet now, in high summer and there are drainage ditches? What is it going to be like in winter? The very bottom bit of my allotment is like this as everything from the rest of the site drains this way towards the woods, its unusable in the winter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 If you dig a well to keep the pond filled up you could use a solar powered capillary pump to transfer water. Just leave it running continually. You would need to make sure the pump had either auto cut off or could be run dry, so the pump didn't damage when water levels are low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsonicnat Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 I thought that digging wells to water course depth required planning permmision.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 I thought that digging wells to water course depth required planning permmision.? http://www.welldrilling-uk.co.uk/borehole-questions-answers.html Found the answer part way down this page. You can take 20,000 litres a day without permission or licence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted August 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 thank you very much for the replies guys , this is exactly the kind of information that i was looking for , and has helped massively . im just off to take another look at the wood , and ill send more replies later. thank you again guys , please keep the replies coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 Genuine (and probably silly) question... I've always wondered, when thinking about digging a well, how do you know where you can and can't dig one? Surely you can't just dig one anywhere, there's got to be water down there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general grievous Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 I was thinking exactly that Lloyd. Great to see you found some woodland Mel, will you be posting any pictures? GG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 Genuine (and probably silly) question... I've always wondered, when thinking about digging a well, how do you know where you can and can't dig one? Surely you can't just dig one anywhere, there's got to be water down there? the way i understand it...if you dig a well....i take it you wont be doing it by hand...so therefore a borehole ...into the water table....you will need and Abstraction liecence/permit from the E.A. to do so.........probley easier for personell consumption...house etc....but it still can be a very difficult thing to get............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 Genuine (and probably silly) question... I've always wondered, when thinking about digging a well, how do you know where you can and can't dig one? Surely you can't just dig one anywhere, there's got to be water down there? The answer to that is on that link as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 The answer to that is on that link as well. Have read that lori................it is made to sound very simple and easy..............my dealings with the EA...over the country...have been terrible to very good................the fact is ....the E.A. can be very very twitchy funny about water abstraction in their various areas....some of the dealings i have had with them have been pure pleasure...they have been very very helpful.....then in a different area they have been downright obstructive....they should be singing all from the same hymn sheet...but the fact is they dont..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimfire4969 Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 This is not a cheap answer. I have had a bore hole drilled to supply the water for my caravan & campsite. Whilst this was being done I was chatting with the boss about another bore hole in a field where I want a lake, the field has no power or running water. The drill company can drill a bore hole and as it is not for human consumption it does not filtering (the expensive bit), the pump that is dropped down the bore hole can run from a solar panel and can even be set up to click on when the water level drops to a level. Cost roughly 4K. I know this is overkill but an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 This is not a cheap answer. I have had a bore hole drilled to supply the water for my caravan & campsite. Whilst this was being done I was chatting with the boss about another bore hole in a field where I want a lake, the field has no power or running water. The drill company can drill a bore hole and as it is not for human consumption it does not filtering (the expensive bit), the pump that is dropped down the bore hole can run from a solar panel and can even be set up to click on when the water level drops to a level. Cost roughly 4K. I know this is overkill but an option. Thats not overkill at all...........that is what is needed to abstract water...end of...........you could go for a generator...then things get really complecated..... best thing is to find a wood or a "carr"...that has standing water in it all the time...and get a mini digger in with mats to dig it out and enlarge it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 Had a look on the EA website about water extraction. It costs about £100 to apply and its full of forms. Think I will stick with digging out the soggy bit on ours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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