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Re: Pond, was Re: letter

Sajjad,

	Now I don't want to dampen yor dream, BUT, if or when the day comes to
look into actually building a pond, you would probably be much better
off in terms of maintenance and durability of the pond, as well as
controllability of the flora and fauna going in and coming out of the
pond if it were constructed in a way that the water from a stream didn't
flow directly into the pond, but was either pumped in from some
controlled source, or in some places, allowed to simply fill up with the
yearly rainfall as it occurs naturally, with a system in place to deal
with controlling the flow and isolating most living organisms in the
runoff when it occurs.
	There are of course advantages to the impoundment type pond, but if
these aren't well constructed and excess water input taken into account,
they can become a major problem for downstream neighbors if the dam
gives way, not to mention the time and expense to the owner to fix it
and make restitution for damages. Then there is the problem of the
wildlife in the pond as well, as there needs to be a positive control
system used to contain the fish or other animals that may get
inadvertently introduced there, with the potential to have accompanying
parasites and diseases introduced into the watershed that were not there
to begin with. This sort of thing is a problem in some places, as well
as introduced exotic species from "farm ponds" of various sorts.
	Plus, with the controlled setup, you can get the change to give certain
species a boost in the dominance positions of the pond's ecosystem. If
the pond were a "first come first served" situation, you might get
unexpected and unwelcome residents in the pond that would soon take the
joy out of the whole deal fer ya.
	Also, in some localities, any pond site and plan must be approved by
state inspectors before it is even built, much less water going into it.
That is a precaution against earthen dams giving way in unexpected
flooding situations. Some folks might not go to the trouble to have the
inspection done, or even inquire as to their state's laws or regulations
concerning this, but nevertheless, there are potential legal
implications if things go wrong.
	Since you're just in the pipefittin stage, might be good to look into
the actual situation where you may move to when ya get to lookin at
places to put down roots. Might have some bearing on just where the
homestead gets built. :)

Herb


Sajjad Lateef wrote:
> 
>         The pond is only a pipe dream right now ...
> 
>         Anyway, would the pond get automatically seeded with plants? The
> fish and animals would come in on their own naturally. But, the plants may
> need a helping hand. Perhaps, transplanting some local species from the
> stream into the pond?
> 
> Sajjad
> 
>  On Wed, 22 Jul 1998, Mark Binkley wrote:
> 
> > Yeah, that would be really fun.  One caution - if you do a set up like
> > that, where a stream flows through or floods in, don't introduce any fish
> > or other plants or animals.  These may (WILL) get lose and may reproduce in
> > the stream.  This is bad news if you haven't picked up on that from the
> > lists yet.
> >
> >
> > >        Excellent article. Great work, Robert.
> > >
> > >        It may be hard to believe this but it has long been a dream of
> > >mine to establish a small natural pond (not Goldfish or Koi!). While a
> > >teenager (over 10 years ago), I had read an article in the Reader's Digest
> > >about this person who dug up a small pond around a stream in his backyard.
> > >This pond was made by partially damming up a small stream and creating a
> > >large expanse of quiet water with the overflow continuing downstream over
> > >a short waterfall. Since this pond was fed by the spring, it was not long
> > >before it came 'alive'. The person had even created a small island etc.
> > >
> > >        Now, wouldn't it be super-cool to do something like this? Perhaps
> > >one of these days when I get my own place, I'll move out of the city to
> > >one of the 'burbs where there is a stream in my backyard ... (Hmmm ...
> > >I'll have to worry about flooding and flood insurance, though :-)
> > >
> > >Sajjad
> > >
> >
> >
> 
> --
> Sajjad Lateef   ICQ#13114451    http://www.eecs.uic.edu/~slateef/
> sajjad at acm_org                  30th Anniversary ACM @ UIC 1967-1997
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