Pond Help!

[Hannah P]

Hello, I am needing some advice! The block of flats that I live in has a very large overgrown pond that is situated in the middle of 15/20 trees - a lot of them overhanging. About half of the pond is just mud/silt, presumably because of the overhanging trees and lack of water coming in? There is a brook that runs alongside, about 10 feet away and probably 4 feet lower than the pond, and an inlet where the water comes in where all the silt and mud is. I'd say the pond is about 40feet across and 20 feet wide, so there is a lot of mud! There are some ducks and moor hens that are very happy there.
I really want to fix it and make it a healthy pond but have absolutely no idea how to go about this. I think if I was armed with the info then I would stand a much better chance of getting other people who live here on board. It could be a real wildlife haven. Any ideas or advice would be very very much appreciated.

[GCN lova]

hi hannah p,

is there enough oxygenators? if you could give pics that would be great. are there any newts or frogs or toads that are resident there? if there are GCNs youll need a license to do anything to its habitat.

i would cut back a few of the plants around the edges as there should be enough sunlight for the pond plants. there should be shallow edges to allow small amphibians to come out.

GCN lova

[Falesh]

Check out the Pond Conservation Clinic, specifically the pdf on silded up ponds as that may be very useful to you.

How deep is the pond at the most silted up areas?

[King Edward]

Could you post some photos of the pond?

When you say well vegetated, do you mean just trees/bushes around the pond or actual water/marsh plants growing in the pond itself. If the latter, these could already be quite valuable for wildlife.

Also, do you have any idea how old the pond is, and whether the trees have grown up relatively recently or if it's always been shaded?

[Red Robin]

Hi Hannah

You say you live in a block of flats - That suggests to me that the rather large pond may be communal and consequently the responsibility of the landlords or, at best, a residents association.

Before you spend effort, time, and money wading in and doing something yourself I would advise checking out the circumstances/rules first.

[Gill Catton]

Its also worth pointing out that lots of silt and gunk at the bottom is not necessarily and indication of poor health in a pond. Although its not pretty to look at, there are a whole range of species that depend on such habitats, and it can provide refuge and food for many, so think carefully before touching it.

A lot of new advice on pond conservation would point towards creating a new pond next to the old pond as potentially more beneficial than clearing out an older one - particularly again as there are a range of species that prefer the bare banks and lower plant numbers of a brand new pond!

Another thought is that a top notch wildlife pond often has no fish and no ducks.... Now the location of the pond suggests that this is massively unlikely to be achieved - as ducks are already there and people won't be able to resist putting fish into the ponds, so whatever you do (create new pond or clear out the old) I'd recommend created lots of wide shallow shelves with as much dense vegetation as possible to allow invertebrates and amphibians places to hide from fish at least. Try to find species of plant that ducks don't like to eat (though I'm not 100% sure what they may be - perhaps someone else knows?).

[tom00_uk]

following on from above,

if its all ready a ornamental duck or fish pond, then at least clearing it out will possibly encourage more people in the block to spend time there enjoying the water.

since your all ready visited by ducks and are connected via an overflow to a watercourse, try and stock plants that will not run a muck in the wild if they escape the confines of your pool

[dampflippers]

If you can show us some photos that will help.

There are so many factors:
You must get the agreement of whoever owns the pond.
If you contact your wildlife trust or Groundwork Trust
Or local ARG UK group you may find people willing and able to help.
It would be interesting to know if it conatains newts.
You would need to check there isn't a TPO on the trees.

[werdnal]

As well as the advice above, you may want to check on Health and Safety issues. Whilst ponds can be a beautiful addition to the environment you live in, they can also pose a potential hazard to young children living in the area. Before you make it a more useable area, and therefore possibly attract more families to visit, you might want to find out about the insurance liabilities if something went wrong.