NVSWCD provides advice on the feasibility of constructing a pond, planning and constructing a pond, and maintaining an existing pond. General maintenance includes weed and algae control, fish stocking, shoreline erosion, and water quality.

(For information about Fairfax County regulations for building a farm or amenity pond, click here.)

A pond may be filled with a nuisance weed, such as hydrilla. How can the owner get rid of it? Using the example of hydrilla, solutions may include biological, physical, or chemical methods.

• Biological—Introduce Triploid Grass Carp (a sterile fish) which is a vegetarian and will eat the hydrilla.
• Physical—Remove the hydrilla by pulling it out. A boat may be needed to do this.
• Chemical—Use an appropriate EPA approved herbicide.

On a pond dam, there might be deep-rooted vegetation overgrowth. It is not advisable to have deep-rooted vegetation on a dam because it shortens the life of the dam. If a plant dies, its roots rot and leave tunnels. These can act as conduits for seepage.

Trees on a dam are especially risky if there is a storm. Strong winds may cause a tree to fall over, and the strong root system takes with it a portion of the dam. If mature trees are already on the dam, it is not advisable to cut them down. Instead, thin the branches to make the trees less top heavy, thereby reducing the risk of their toppling over.

Seepage around a dam most commonly occurs around the barrel (the horizontal pipe that takes water out of the pond) or along the toe of the dam.

• Seal the pond side of the dam with bentonite; or
• Install a perforated pipe to intercept seepage.

For healthy growth of a fish population, there is always a need for balance between or among the species. Overabundance of one species compared to another creates an imbalance which affects fish growth and productivity.

The most common fish combination in this area is bass and blue gill. They balance each other because the bass eat the blue gill fingerlings. If there are not enough blue gill, then the bass will not have enough to eat, and their growth will be slow. If there are not enough bass to keep the blue gill population under control, then the blue gill is faced with competition for the limited food in the pond. The result is slow and/or stunted growth.

To enhance fishing opportunities in a pond, you may add catfish to the bass/blue gill mix. As bottom feeders, catfish do not affect the balance of the other fish.

If shoreline erosion is a problem around the pond, encourage natural vegetation to grow at the edge of the water and on the shore to protect the shore from wave action. In some cases, reinforcement of the shore using stones or timber may be necessary.

There are excellent publications available online about managing ponds:

Management of Virginia Ponds for Fishing from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

Backyard Conservation Tip Sheet from the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture

To view the following publication, Adobe Acrobat Reader must be installed on your system. The Reader can be downloaded and installed free from Adobe.

Ponds—Planning, Design, Construction (PDF, large file, 1,784 kb) from the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture