Abstract: Successful permitting will result in efficient pond project planning and execution. Sensible work processes will result in clean edges, increased volume and contented environmental compliance officials.

The permit process will define pond project construction processes. It’s important to include commonsense work procedures into the permit so work will be done in an efficient manner.

Pond projects include the following procedures:

• Silt fence and hay bale installation. Do it exactly by the plan. Don’t argue with anybody about this detail. I’ve seen huge projects delayed by a few misplaced hay bales. Some engineers take it personally when you don’t install silt fence properly. Install the bottom of the silt fence in a few inch slit to permit sediment retention.
• If you will do a wet excavation, or dredging, be sure to accommodate any wildlife issues. This may involve fish relocation.
• Use tight equipment without leaky hydraulics. An oil sheen will quickly stop work.
• Consider using a flexible float system for on-water excavation. These floats, readily available for rental, are metal boxes with latching capability that allow an excavator to sit, dig, and freely move through the work site.
• Plan dewatering pump size and discharge schemes. If the pond will be drained, be sure discharge clean water downstream by using a sedimentation bag or filtration basins. Sedimentation bags built of permeable geofabric fasten to the discharge pipe end. Filtration basins filter water with several rows of haybales.
• Be sure to dig to design grades. Marine engineers have procedures to identify digging depth. They can measure the length of the excavator arm and establish elevations off this mark.
• Pond dredging efficiency includes moisture management. If the excavator loads a bucket of water laden spoils into a truck or trailer you will quickly have an unmanageable mess. A sensible scheme allows for spoil dewatering on a pond bank permits the material to drain before stockpiling. After a few days, transport to final dump location.
• Spending time creating a neat pond bank, or exposed edge, will finish the pond project and allow a smooth pond edge. For safety reasons, be sure to construct a safe slope, not a sharp drop-off into the pond.
• Consider using pond spoils for topsoil. It may be full of organic elements that produce nice loam when mixed with drainage sand.

Also see Small Pond Dredging Project.

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Abstract: Golf course ponds require periodic dredging to remove unwanted plants and maintain storage capacity. This post discusses a small dredging job.

Pond maintenance dredging involves the removal of plant material and  soil spoils from a wetland. Dredging has been done for thousands of years, and the process can be expensive and messy. Here’s a few suggestions:

• Hire a wetland engineer to develop a project scope and process permits. Make sure they include input from a dredging contractor so they will know how to  describe the work and plan  erosion control. I’ve seen beautifully engineered plans and narratives result in unworkable construction processes. Dredging contractors are then forced to work in an unfamiliar method.
• Keep it clean. This sounds easier than reality. The best scenario is to load the muck into a self-contained (non-leaky) trailer or truck and dump it in its final resting place. You will need to pay a driver and machine time for the trailer, and loading is very slow. Make sure the material is dewatered before loading or you will have a soupy, unstable load to convey to the dump. A rake works better than a bucket for obvious reasons.
• If you can’t load directly, then load on the bank and let the spoils dewater for a few weeks.  Make sure the permitting engineer is on-board so you don’t violate an environmental rule or two. The best dewatering scenario  has a sloped bank so the  excess water drains into  two rows of heavily staked hay bales. In a few weeks the spoils will turn to dryer  material that will be easier to clean from turf.

These pictures show a small dredge job done with a small excavator mounted on a  flat barge with two paddle wheels used for propulsion.

After the operator scooped muck with a six-foot rake, he paddled over to the edge of the pond and dumped the spoils. He trailered the barge to the pond edge, and he completed his work in three days.

The spoils were neatly stacked on the edge of the pond. We trucked out the material and the turf looks good.

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