“Loki’s Pond” is fed by several natural springs, with the overflow running past a spillway into the original creek. A great setup, and a marvelous opportunity to rehabilitate a beautiful, natural pond. However, the downside to a flow-through pond is the silt that is carried by the incoming stream… Yes, we are standing at the bottom of what used to be a 24” deep pond. Our challenge is to remove the 12” of accumulated silt, well, actually MUCK! Some really nice pickerel had established itself in the raised hump of sediment, along with a variety of creepers. We managed to save most of it for replanting.
			Mike hauls away yet another load of rich biological goodness, while Jim coaxes a few more gallons out of a recalcitrant pump. All in all, the demolition took an entire day, but we were left with a clean hole. We only needed to trim about ten feet of edge where water had found its way under the liner to cause a bit of erosion.
	A BIG liner! Seven hundred square feet of 45mil EPDM by Firestone. Thankfully, the four-man crew provides extra muscle to move things around. We used heavy duty rock mat for the underlayment. We have got to plan for an eventual flood in the locale, since it is a low spot on a natural creek. Over the years this pond will settle deeper, and who knows what may be exposed under the liner.
		Once the liner is down, we got to work on the inner rock wall. Not too many pictures that day, just Mike and Jim, on the job, moving 5000 pounds of Antique Kearny Stone. At right is a shot of the initial corner, might have been our only break of the morning!
						…and VOILA! Instant pond. Just pull out the wrinkles and fill it up! Water enters the pond via the existing sluice, which can be seen irrigating a couple of potted plants. The exit spillway is seen at the bottom of the photo, with the creek leaving the frame to the right. This constant little trickle filled the pond in about three days… …nature never takes a break. Gotta love the change in grade from left to right, lends a really natural charm to the installation. Under the blue tarp are the two dozen pickerels that we pulled from the sediment. We replanted several bunches in planting baskets, to keep them under control, and the rest found their way into several other fortunate ponds.
				…finally, its lonely at the top while the boss wraps up the mulch. Late in the fourth day, putting down the last of two cubic yards. A hot job, with temps well above ninety for the entire week, but well worth it.
						Waiting for another foot of water, we’ll give it a few days… Since the pond volume turns over completely every few days, the mechanicals are basic. We installed a PONDMASTER 1250 intake filter on an existing pump. This will provide biological filtration while screening out debris. The output of this 3000gph monster is tapped for a bell fountain to provide aeration. The rest of the flow is directed against the pond edge to create a swirl to help slow down the settling of sediments. Can’t wait to return when the plantings have recovered! Our clients are reworking this entire area of the field, so for now we’ll leave this as it is, a great water feature in what should turn out to be a great yard.