Turning a natural spring, sump pump, marsh into a pond?

[lyra1977]

Is this feasible?

We live next to a natural spring (yay, us! ) and so we have a sump pump in the basement that runs year-round to keep the basement dry. Even in the driest part of summer the sump pump collects fresh groundwater and deposits it into our side yard, which keeps that area wet. In drought conditions there is just a small pool/puddle of fresh water in front of the drain pipe and in wet conditions the entire side yard is marshy. Unfortunately, this is all taking place directly in front of the spigot, so whenever we need to use the hose in the front yard we have to navigate through or around our marsh.

Pros: our grass in that area is very healthy! The birds love it.

Cons: mosquitoes, mud, inconvenience

My idea is to dig a bit, line the hole with a pond barrier and some rock and turn it into a water feature/small pond. I'm not sure that it would be big enough to support fish?

Am I being naive? Any advice is very welcome!!!

[Pineville]

How far away from the foundation is the sump line discharging the water? This could be part of the problem if the discharge water is getting back into the basement.

You could certainly build a pond using the sump pump water, but you will need to make provisions for overflow. This could be a low point in the liner to allow water to run away from the pond, in which case the liner should be extended a few feet into the overflow area so that the overflow water doesn't go under the pond liner. A small recirculating fountain would help the water quality. Plants in the pond will act as a great filter and also help with the water quality. If you can maintain water quality, there should be no problem with mosquitoes.

[lyra1977]

The sump line does come out close to the house, so I'll chat with my husband about that. Thanks for the tips!!

[The Helpful Gardener]

That does sound like part of the issue; you are recirculating the water back to your basement...
If you are serious about the water feature, even better than a liner is bentonite, a clay like mineral that seals up the ground to hold water.

The nice thing is often frogs will dive to the bottom and try to burrow in to hibernate through the winter; if they hit liner, they can't burrow deeper and freeze They can burrow through the bentonite and it seals after them, but they can burrow back out in spring. And it makes a natural bottom.

It can be tough to find less tha a pallet load, or then you find one pound bags for an arm and a leg, but check Tractor Supply or another feed store and you might be able to find a fifty pound bag cheap. You want the sodium bentonite, not the calcium bentonite (more for water polishing than pond sealing).

HG

[lyra1977]

Here is a picture of the area I'm talking about (I circled where the sump line comes out)...is this too close to the house?

[img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/karenmjohnson/SAM_0908-1.jpg[/img]

[The Helpful Gardener]

Okay first things first...

Prune the yews...

Now...

if you are still serious about the pond...

You could do this but it would not be a completely closed system. You would want to do this so your pond area started around where the wet spot is and discharged further away from the house if you are channeling inputs you have to allow for output). Is the slope such that you can do that or is it a wet spot because the slope is back towards the house? (another pic from the corner of the house looking out is in order...)

Before you dig...that looks like a gas line coming in from the the street on the corner. Be sure that (or electrical or water lines or whatever) isn't an issue...

We'll talk more...

HG

[Pineville]

prune the Yews AND cut back the Ivy before it grows under the roof shingles, under the sofit, and into the house.

You could probably extend the sump line further. From the photograph it appears that you have sufficient slope beyond the end of the pipe so the water shouldn't puddle.

[lyra1977]

My husband and I are cracking up about the comments about the yews and ivy. We are thoroughly for our past neglect and determined to do better! Consider it done.

Thanks for the advice, I think we might end up just digging a small trench and then running the sump line further out so that it will drain down into the street. I think I'll need to put in a bird bath, though, since the birds like to play and drink from our puddle right now.

I would love to do a pond, but honestly this spot is not the ideal place for said pond and a pond should be a project for a year or two in the future, after we have the yew and ivy under control.

[The Helpful Gardener]

I can see from your avatar you have other things to do with your time...

Good call...

HG