4000 Gallons... |
Well, we broke down and got some water for the pond. In previous years we'd topped up the pond with 4000 - 8000 Gallons. After getting the pond dug out - the first time that's ever been done - we no longer had the volume of the dirt in the pond and had no clue how much water would fit in the hole we made. We have a much better idea now.
4000 Gallons went in very quickly and covered up only the deepest part of the pond. The shallow end wasn't covered at all.
8000 Gallons... |
The second load of water was brought in, and the water made it to the edge of the shallow end. Since the bottom of the pond is narrower, the volume to fill every additional inch toward the top was larger. We'd only expected to get two truck loads, but it became clear that a third... at least... was necessary. The water truck driver made a guestimate that it would take ~20000 gallons; I scoffed when he said that - but it was becoming increasingly obvious he was correct.
12000 Gallons! |
The third load of water (this is getting expensive) was dumped in, and it seemed to be the least water we could put in and feel like we'd still accomplished something. The deep end has a few feet of water, and the shallow end is still pretty high and dry. The frogs were starting to move in, and the water truck operator used the water to clean off the big rocks that are pictured in the photos.
It now seems clear that while our pond has 12000 gallons, it could easily take 24000 gallons. I'm looking forward to the rain this week, and hope we get lots of it. Having it full right before winter would be really nice - and I'm sure we'll have frogs and other things burying themselves in the muck at the bottom of the pond, ready to sleep the winter away.
Come the spring we'll be putting in hardy Water Lilies, Water Irises, an aerator, and likely more plants to pretty up the surroundings.
Why? We'd like to get the frogs, turtles, ducks and maybe even some geese coming back. As the pond filled in with dirt and dried up, all the wildlife stopped coming... and we miss them.
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