Suggestions for Dugout

[Blairh]

Hi, I have a dugout that we stock with trout each year and as you all know water levels have gone down a great amount...I lost about 8' of water over the summer. Anyway I figured this would be a good place to ask for any suggestions of what to do to boost the water level back up to a reasonable level to give the fish a chance...
thanks for any suggestions

[Timberj]

couple of quick questions.......where is the water source? is this an engineered dugout (compaction-lined)?

[Blairh]

it only gets rain and I was told it has a small underground spring running into it. I believe it is clay lined

[d bowhunter]

I new a guy that got a Gouverment grant to make a fishing pond, they put in a airrater the fish the water all he had to do was hold some fishing parties for the handycap. The fishing was great dont know much more about it might be worth a look. Dave

[gube]

Put up some "snow fences" in the fall, especially on the north and west sides so that with the "melt", it drains into your pond. You would be surprised how much more water you can capture. Here is some info for ya.

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/eng10374

http://ackenberrytroutfarms.com/

[Timberj]

the only other thought I had Blair, was to contact your local Alberta Environment office. With the water issues being what they are recently, they may have options available to you.

[Hunter Trav]

Is there anywhere close to you that you could pump water from? It don't take much to do that, I believe alot of county's have large water pumps and piping to rent, all you need is a tractor to hook up to the pump, and your good to go. I don't know if you can pump out of lakes, but any large sloughs should be ok. Something worth checking into anyways.

[addicted]

is your pond in the wide open or is it shaded and kind of enclosed .. shelter it a bit and it will keep down some of the moisture loss.

[dodger]

What would happen if you had a well drilled next to the dug out and used a gas generator to run the pump when you need some water?
My $0.02 worth, Dodger.

[Blairh]

Thanks for all the help guys, Im thinking about puttin some willows in around shore to protect it from the wind. The well is a good plan too but I think its 3000 to do it. I might run hoses from an old well and just leave it for a week.

[KyleM]

Run a pipe off your down spouts from your roof.

Lots of people do it in Ontario where its much much hotter and
the ones Ive seen have zero issues.

[nicemustang]

Have a tractor? Push a bunch a snow on it. We used to do that back in the day, and snow fences or bales are good ideas too.

[fishunter77]

Push as much snow as you can around your dugout. You will be surprised how much after the melt the dugout will rise.

[Wood1]

Blair, do not plant willows anywhere near your pond, the root systems will go a long way and willows will suck up huge amounts of water. Clay lined or not, most dugout ponds will leak or leach water and will follow the ground water levels. A spring will not always help in replenishing water and in some cases may be a source of leaks. As others have said, try to catch snow melt and rain runoff. Wells can be helpful but the low GPM would require constant pumping to make any difference and would = large electrical bill. Also, keep in mind that well water has zero dissolved oxygen and can cause oxygen crash and fish kills.

[Private Ear]

Thanks for all the help guys, Im thinking about puttin some willows in around shore to protect it from the wind. The well is a good plan too but I think its 3000 to do it. I might run hoses from an old well and just leave it for a week.

Check out the PFRA shelterbelt center for free trees if you have 5 acres or more. Also go to the Pondboss forum for lots of good advice on ponds/dugouts. It' a US site but hey...dugouts are dugouts.

[Blairh]

settin up a snow fence tommoro, hopefully the wind keeps up. Im gonna spend a day in this weekend with the tractor and push snow.

[Ackenberry Trout]

First I should let you know the fish can live in as little as 5 ft of water below the ice if aerated well all winter. During July and August you should worry because the dugout will exceed the max limits of rainbow trout (24 deg C if you have high D.O.).

Second, during the summer you could pump water from a well or other watersource (with permission), using a koenders windmill and water pumps that run on air. I believe they go as small as 4" in diameter.

Third, if you lost 8' of water during the summer in a clay lined dugout your dugout is leaking. The norm is about 2.5 ft of water loss from evaporation / year in a deep dugout!

Forth, you can rent the large tractor water pumps and aluminum pipelines from alberta agriculture. They can also help you out with the permits!
hope it helps
Lorne :lol:

[Blairh]

Do muskrats make a dugout leak? Ive heard they do but im not sure.

[Rumtan]

Yes they dig a home through the side of a watershed just below the surface which drains the water till it gets to be level with their dug channel. All the muskrats at our place had a "tragic farm accident" they were catching lead shot with their hide, and the cormerants were only landing once !