Farm Pond Revival

Aerial view of the pond from Google Maps, September 2011.

The pond at the farm was dug out of a swampy area about 50 years ago to serve as a source of water in case of fire. Fortunately it was never used for that purpose, but it was a great place to swim, fish, catch frogs, and skate for many years. As time went by the pond slowly accumulated silt and decomposing leaves making it unusable for swimming.  In recent years most of the fish also disappeared.

There had been talk for years of cleaning it out. Permits were obtained and two years ago during a dry summer the work was scheduled but never done as heavy rains returned just prior to the start date. This year's dry summer provided another opportunity and the job was done last week.

Photo taken from the end near the barn. looking north.

Photo taken from the end near the house, looking south.

The original pond was dug by Wayne Hillman, founder of W. R. Hillman & Sons. The work last week was done by Dick and Rob Hillman (the "& Sons"), current owners of the business, assisted by employees Mark Purington and Tom Hall.

Mark asked me to guess how deep I thought the pond will be after it refills. I estimated 10 feet. His measurement with the laser level showed it will be 8-1/2 feet deep when filled to the overflow pipe.

They also installed a standpipe on the south end of the pond to allow year-round access to the water by firetrucks.

Update 8/13/2012 - Runoff from the 2 1/2" rainfall on Saturday evening (8/11/12) has filled the pond to the overflow culvert.