Advice on drainage/pond please

[Emmyleigh]

Hi, I've just taken on an allotment on a brand new site - I was warned shortly after I started that my area was flooded in winter, but kept going anyway...
After the heavy rain we had midweek (a month in one night?) I went up today to find one corner rather boggy, so since I'd been considering having a pond anyway I dug out the lowest part and used it to drain the worst away from the one bed that was affected. I'm looking into making it into a permanent pond - will I have to line it? any other advice please? (hubby would like it big enough to be a test tank for his models!)

[Bill HH]

Its not as simple as it seems. I would say you will almost certainly have to line it but if you do that it wont drain the surrounding land.

I am sure our resident pondologist (Big Mally) will be along shortly.

[Bigmallly]

Hmph.........Pondologist indeed..............I had the same problem but decided to make a larger pond. As yours is on the allotment, I would not line it, just mark out where it is as the water will disappear in the summer. If you line it, you have the added problem of extra drainage as the bloke above mentioned........

[Emmyleigh]

Thanks for the suggestions. So all I have to do is dig a big hole? What's the chances of attracting wildlife if it hasn't always got water in? I must admit, it was very therapeutic playing with water - oops, I mean working hard - this morning. But I hope I don't have a regular problem with this. Extreme weather is one thing, regular is another.

[dogsbody]

You could always dig two holes, line the first one and then have a second to deal with the overflow, best of both worlds then. There's lots of good advice on here as to what to then put in your lined bit and I would suggest the unlined bit might just be up to marginals / bog plants (if you are lucky).

[Bill HH]

But whats a pond with no water in it? and what of your other half's boats?

[Bigmallly]

But whats a pond with no water in it?

A Nole.................

[chaza]

don't forget that the goodness in the pond water, your allotment will do great as a result of the water containing nitrogen, phosphorus ect, and you will have the benefit of having some fish maybe, or you could just keep it o natural.