POND SITE 



culty, the screening surface should 

 be large in proportion to the amount 

 of water used. 



Where there is considerable de- 

 bris in the water, the operator may 

 have difficulty in keeping the screens 

 clean. In this situation, another 

 type of construction is often used. 

 This involves building a concrete 

 box in the bottom of the stream; 

 the box is slightly raised from the 

 bottom so that it does not become 

 covered with gravel, and so that the 

 current continually washes over the 

 surface and carries away leaves and 

 other debris. Information concern- 

 ing a structure designed along these 

 lines is obtainable from a qualified 

 civil engineer. 



Where water cannot be obtained 

 by gravity, pumping is sometimes 

 justified. The pumping cost is a 

 continuing and constant one, and 

 operations must be on a scale large 

 enough to justify it. It is essen- 

 tial to have a cheap source of power. 

 To make operations as thrifty as 

 possible, the ponds must be tight 

 enough to prevent too great a loss 

 from seepage. Some operators ar- 

 range construction in such a way 

 that when one pond is being drained 

 a portion of the water can be di- 

 rected into an empty pond and 

 used again. This saves pumping 

 costs and fertilizer. 



Where a series of ponds is oper- 

 ated, the most satisfactory results 

 are obtained by storing the water in 

 a reservoir from which it may be 

 taken as required. Generally, such 

 a reservoir is constructed by build- 

 ing an earthen dike just below the 



source of water. This has the ad- 

 vanta.ges of providing an adequate 

 source of water as needed and of 

 removing noxious gases or minerals 

 by aeration and storage. 



Water may be forced to a higher 

 level by means of a ram if conditions 

 are satisfactory for its operation. 

 When the source of water is a 

 spring, it must have a large capacity 

 to justify the use of a ram, which 

 is wasteful of water. A maximum 

 of about one-seventh of the water 

 can be forced upgrade. A 1-foot 

 fall from the spring to the ram is 

 required for every 10 feet that the 

 water must be forced vertically to 

 the pond, and the flow is further re- 

 duced in proportion to the horizon- 

 tal distance the water must be 

 pushed. A large reservoir that per- 

 mits the use of water in the pond 

 system, as necessary, is preferable 

 to having a ram supply the ponds. 

 Usually, obtaining water by use of 

 u ram is inadequate and unsatisfac- 

 tory. 



A windmill can be used to supply 

 water to small ponds of i/i to 14 

 acre. Local conditions, such as the 

 amount of rainfall and evaporation, 

 help to determine the size of pond 

 tliat can be tilled and maintained by 

 this method. The size of the pump- 

 ing equipment and other elements 

 involved in windmill operation will 

 assist in deciding whether a wind- 

 mill should be used. 



Choosing the pond site 



Too much emphasis cannot be 

 placed on the proper location of 

 ponds. The selection of a good site 



