It was easy to see as we motored down the highways this summer that abundant spring rains had not been so abundant in some areas I work. By mid-summer, parts of north Texas and southern Oklahoma were in the throes of another drought. Pond water levels were quickly dropping and rich green grasses of spring were long since replaced with dry, brown kindling, poised for those dreaded grass fires we see each summer. Of course, I always pay attention to ponds. That’s what I do. By July, I was seeing pond water volumes in some areas cut by half. Areas where glistening water was home to fish and wildlife are now cracked, bare dirt.
When drought happens, land owners think about re-doing and renovating. Inevitably, this happens just about every time we have even a little drought. People think about it, our phone rings and we’re off to help.
Most of us with older water bodies have cleaning and renovating our ponds on our minds all the time anyway, but it really consumes us when the water level drops. The dream of having more water, a wider dam, a larger pond, some shoreline work, fixing the dock and maybe adding some habitat or more structure begins to become a real possibility.
We think to ourselves, “Now is the time.”
Dry weather triggers these calls to our office and each caller is always in a hurry to get started and finish before Mother Nature rolls those big storms over us and refills the pond or lake. Usually, when a call comes in, my office manager Sheri schedules a quick visit for me and we’re off to the races. This summer, between sporadic rains, we had about ten calls and got most projects done before rains came.
There are three items I look at when making the initial call. I want to know the size of the pond, how much water is left in it and how old the pond is. These crucial facts help make a plan. For example, a quarter-acre pond with just a little water in it requires a much different plan than a half-full three acre pond. A three acre site was probably better planned and built where the lay of the land is more suited for a good spillway, dam and waterline.
The Gibson brothers are long time land owners in north Texas. They’re hard workers, laborers by nature, and businessmen by experience. They live on their land and have a cattle operation. It is imperative to have water for livestock. We responded immediately to their request to “clean out” three ponds. As soon able, our crew came, started the pump to get rid of as much water as we could, the dozer and track hoe moved in, and tons of mud was moved over the backside of the dams.
In all renovations part of the plan is what to do with silty, wet dirt—mud. Many old livestock ponds were built on small drainage areas as close to the property line as possible so as not to flood valuable pastures or farmland. This method might make the best use of the land and watershed, but it makes it hard to get rid of the material coming out of the pond.
For this particular project, the Gibson’s did not recall when any of the ponds were built but they did remember they were kids when the family brought in the heavy equipment. This fact meant the ponds were between thirty and forty years old. That fact suggested each pond will probably be full of mud, no telling how deep. Stock ponds have a well defined method of life to death. As soon as a pond is completed and starts to fill with water, it also starts to fill with dirt from surrounding fields. If the land around it has been farmed, there will be more dirt than if it was a pasture covered with grass. With every rain, water goes in and brings dirt or organic matter that breaks down into soils.
After a day or two working on each site the ponds look like new. All the silt was gone, the ponds were deeper and the front side of each dam was smoothed and graded. Material that was removed and placed on the back side will need some drying time before it can be reworked and graded and planted. It was like pudding. Most of the time there is something growing in the cracked, caked mud before it is reworked. It may not be dry but Mother Nature is already doing her work and something begins to grow.
Those stock pond renovations were pretty simple. The trackhoe reached areas of deep silt while the bulldozer started at the edges and pushed silty soils to mix with the dirt beneath so the whole mess could be moved. It was tedious, but moved along fairly quickly.
Not far from the Gibson Brothers is Wolf Creek Ranch, owned by Jack and Irma Crozier.
Jack was born, raised and lived in the Dallas area all his life. After graduating from SMU law school he went to work for a real estate finance company in Dallas. He tells me he was the 24th employee hired. In 1989 he retired as President of the company after working 35 years. At that time the company had 1300 employees.
In the 1960’s Jack began buying property in north Texas because he absolutely loved the beauty of the place. Rolling hills covered with oaks. Good rainfall most of the time. It was not until the 1970’s that Jack purchased the 270 acres of land we worked on. One of the boundaries of this property is actually the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, upstream from Lake Ray Roberts. From the 1970’s he leased his properties for agriculture and cattle operations. In 2008 he sold his other property in the area. He and Irma decided to build a house for themselves and their large family. His family now includes Irma, his bride of 58 years, three grown children and six grandchildren. His children and grandchildren come up several times a year for visits. Jack tells me that the Dallas Morning News will soon feature him and Irma discussing their 58 year marriage. He said “if you really want to know all about me, read the newspaper article.” I am going to make sure and get a copy of that article because anyone that stays married 58 years has some great secrets I need to know. It probably entails saying, “Yes, honey” …a lot.
Jack and Irma also decided that 10 of the 270 acres were really all they needed to work. On this 10 acres Jack has a few longhorn cattle, a vegetable garden (most of which will be given away to his neighbors back in the city) and some chickens. The remainder of the land is leased. It is cared for by a good friend and neighbor, George Bland. Actually, some of this ranch had belonged to George and was sold to Jack in the 1970’s. George knows more about the history of the region than anyone else.
George told me this three acre pond had been enlarged and the dam moved downstream. I knew there would be at least two levels of mud and a solid rock bottom. All this history is valuable help when planning a project. Since equipment operators are working in unknown areas much of the time, once they know to look out for a second hole, where the first pond sat, they could keep from getting into trouble with deep, wet silt.
Jack’s three acres could have been pumped out but it made more sense to cut a hole in the dam and let it drain. The water drains faster, no one will have to watch the pump and it will take the rain factor out of the equation. In this part of the country our prayers end with a plea for rain but sometimes this goes against the work we are doing. A hole in a dam will let any rain we receive benefit the land but not hurt or delay dirt work.
With the lake drained, work began. It is essentially the same exercise as renovating a small pond. Find a place to put the material so it will not slide back into the pond and be out of sight until the mucky junk dries enough to reshape. The solid rock bottom makes the work hard on the human back, bouncing on heavy machinery, but took the problem of getting stuck out of the picture.
One option when we renovate an old pond is raising the water level. As a rule, this makes sense if there is room to spread the water over more land. On this project there were some obstacles to this option. There was an entry road that would have flooded and it would also have been necessary to move some of the house fences.
There were a lot of different levels of layered mud but it all sat on bedrock. The original pond was located about two hundred feet upstream and completely covered with silt. The dam had been shaved down but mud was still in the original borrow pit and it was deep. If we had not known to look out for this hole it would have really caused some problems.
About the time we moved on this project Jack started looking at another pond. That pond also needed to have the dam cut and silt removed but the water level could be raised, too. Both ponds were easy to see from the highway and my crew said people where stopping and looking all the time during the project.
I know I am blessed with my crew when a customer like Jack Crozier prefers to speak to Lupe rather than me. Lupe was in charge of the crew and I know if I had shown up to work a piece of equipment, Jack would have asked me to wait until Lupe could come back.
Jack has been around long enough to know water will only add to the value of his land and being visible from the road helps.
Jack had no previous experience with building a lake for fishing but his input was dead on. He knew where he wanted his dock and how deep the water needed to be. The shoreline was staked and measured so that most shallow water would be eliminated. Rocks that could be used for structure were placed in the bottom of both ponds.
Once the mud was removed from both ponds Jack had us continue removing any dirt that was practical.
The cost of moving silt is always a lot more than regular virgin soil. Mud is not simply pushed; it has to be handled with loaders and track-hoes. Equipment will not travel through mud without getting stuck.
The virgin soil material did not need to be placed behind the dam. It could be hauled to any open spot and spread out. We removed topsoil and hauled dirt the closest distance. This subsoil material had moisture in it but will stay in place where it can be graded, smoothed and then topsoil replaced. With a little time and that rain we pray for, this fresh moved earth will blend with surrounding landscapes. After a year no one will ever know any dirt had been moved.
The second pond started as a much smaller surface area but because we were able to raise the water level it will have as much water as the first.
The holes we cut in the dam saved our lives, so to speak. About the time we got both ponds drained it started to rain and it rained incessantly. Both ponds would have been full many times over, but because of the holes we were able to finish the job almost immediately after the rains stopped.
Both dams were repaired, topsoil was replaced and the ponds were ready for water. Jack and George keep upstream pastures in good shape, so the ponds will be protected for years to come.
At some time in the future there will be a lot of work behind both dams. There were small levees built behind both to hold pudding-like mud from running where we did not want it to go. By the time that glop dries, water will be up to the full level and Jack’s family and friends will be fishing.
The first thing we did with Crozier's project was cut the dam to drain as much water as possible.
We let as much water drain as possible, pumped out the rest
and gave the site some time for the muck to drain as much water off as it would.
Next using the track hoe, we excavated mucky silt and moved it ot the back side of the dam
and impounded it there, behind a small levee.
Our plan was to clean out the "newest" part of the pond and then move the rest.
This gives you a persepective how deep the much was i the newest side of the Crozier pond.
Another size perspective, early on in the project.
Mud collects on the back side of the dam. It will take months, maybe two years, for this stuff to dry enough to be moved.
At that point, we will mix it with topsoil, roll it, process it and level it across a field. Silt exdpands when wet and contracts
and cracks when dry. It's not much good for anyuthing and must be mixed will with good soil to be used.
Crozier's finished project. Rocks for fish structure came from the bottom of the lake, pulled from fractured bedrock.
Nearer the dam, we added some underwater features. Notice the ledge along the dam. It sits six feet below water line. The point in the foreground was enhanced with rock piles. It, too, is six feet below water line.
