# daming up a creek for a small pond



## shdybrady

I have a all season creek that runs beside my property and want to dam it up just to make a small little pond. It will be mostly a frog pond and it will be for aesthetic reasons. It will be too small for anything else. I have contacted fema and the dnr and they gave me the go ahead. What is the best way to dam it up? I was thinking rail road ties and then have it go up to a spill way. I dont have any intentions of stopping the creek just causing it to rise just a couple of feet then spill over. Ideas?


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## fishhead

Do you have access to rocks? There's a rock dam near here that is at least 4' high. The rocks are huge but you could use smaller ones.


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## Bearfootfarm

If you want to be able to go all the way around, you could just use dirt with a culvert at the right level


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## Wintergrower_OH

Here an idea . How about using the pond/creek for hydro power ? Then damming it up would have additional benefits .


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## richmond1273

i don't think the railroad ties would last very long. IMHO i think some combination of rock and dirt with a culvert would be best.


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## Dragonid

Field stones. If there are fields near you, there are bound to be piles of stone at the margins of them. The farmers aren't likely to care if you take the pile of rocks they tried to get rid of, so long as you can do it without messing up the field.


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## shdybrady

I would love to look into hyro power. I have done some research but its not a fast flowing creek so Im not sure if its possible. But if I utilize the waterfall coming off the dam then it might help it out some. As for the creek it already has 4-5 foot sids of dirt. So I figured I would dam it up to about 4 foot just incase of a heavy rain causes it to rise a considerable amount. I guess I could dig around and get some big stones. But I havent seen any that come to mind. But Ill do some research


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## texican

Problem with railroad ties, they're treated (through and through) with creosote... I'm thinking it'd poison everything in your frog pond, and pollute the stream...


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## jwal10

You may be better off bypassing the creek into and out of your pond with a small pipe. 3/4" in, 1" out, at water level. It will keep the pond full all the time. Dig a hole, use the spoils for a berm, level all around. Keeps the sediments from filling the pond....James


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## cindy-e

where I live, that would be illegal. Check codes before you do it. 

FWIW,
Cindyc.


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## cindilu

If you posted pictures of the creek that would give us a better idea of what you are wanting and we can help you put ideas together that would work for you?


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## Harry Chickpea

That is more a weir than a dam. It is best to call it that. You are correct that for hydro power it would be too small to do much more than power a few LED lights.

For something that is safe and stable, you might consider a crib or an inclined crib with facing. Wood that remains underwater is less likely to rot. With a crib dam, you use square timbers to make a fairly large container or crib like a corn crib. The crib forms the structure and holds rocks and gravel within the crib. The ends of the timbers are overlapped and drilled and pegged together with rebar or something similar. Cribs can be open or closed. The upstream face of such a dam is faced with hemlock or tamarac or oak planking, spiked securely to the crib. When a flood event occurs, the facing prevents the rushing water from getting to the stones in the crib and washing them away, or from damaging the crib structure.

You can often tell an old crib dam by the downstream wall looking like the side of an old log cabin. I know of a number of them over 100 years old.

Four feet is about the max. height you want to use, and if you have a gentle "ladder" of overflow pools, so much the better. Above that 4' height, you start running afoul of laws designed to help the TVA and DOE, as well as laws allowing migrating fish to spawn.

You will want to pay special attention to the sides and bottom of the weir. If there is a weak spot in the bank, the increased water pressure will find it and the creek will go around your weir. If the base under your weir is muddy, it will undercut.

If you look at the old thundermill dam sites, you'll see that most of them are at rocky constrictions in the stream or river. The undercutting problem is one of the reasons why they are located in those places.


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## unioncreek

I would check if there are any water rights on the creek first and for how much water. Then if there are no water rights on it or they don't take all the water I would file on it. We have property that has a creek that supplies water for irrigation and we we're never getting enough like we usually did. So, we followed the creek upstream and some newbie had moved in and build a pond. We called the sheriff and he stood by while we used dynamite to open the dam back up. 

Bob


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## ChristieAcres

Yes, I'd check with the County you are in, regarding Water Rights. Unioncreek posted very good info, as Water Rights can exist with all properties the Creek runs through. In WA, no one is allowed to dam up a creek, as it is illegal. However, it isn't illegal in all States.


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## cindy-e

And really, if you bought the place in part because it had water coming through in the form of a creek, chances are so did somebody downstream from you. You might not like it if somebody messed with the flow of the creek upstream from you and messed with your natural water supply. So whatever you do, consider your neighbors!


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## wy_white_wolf

Instead of building a dam for a "pond" I'd rather build a small waterfall and let it dig the pond and be self cleaning.

The idea was im MEN many years ago. Maybe someone with the archive cd can find the artilce for you. I tried on-line and couldn't find it.

WWW


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