Natural pond

On a chilly Monday morning, we were waiting for the excavator. In addition to various other excavation tasks, today it was going to dig out our natural pond.

There are several water catchment basins on different terraces designed to capture excess rainwater, which could be used for irrigation in the past. Since the land has not been maintained for years, this basin had become completely overgrown. The first task was to remove all the vegetation. This was quickly done with the excavator, so then the formation of the natural pond could begin.

Because it is located right next to a terrace wall, we wanted to create a border along the terrace to prevent it from collapsing. Additionally, the pond’s walls were leveled to avoid the risk of collapse. The edges will also be planted, including with vetiver, an interesting grass species with very deep roots that is excellent for preventing erosion.

Since the pond naturally retained some water, we were hopeful that compacting the excavated pond would be sufficient to retain water throughout the entire pond. After the pond was fully dug out, we filled it with water from the stream. Unfortunately, the water was absorbed by the soil faster than the pond could retain it. The water remained in the original area, but everything outside it quickly drained away.

For now, it’s not a problem as there are more important projects to work on, but this will need to be addressed in the future. One possible solution is to use bentonite. This is a very fine clay that expands upon contact with water, which can seal all the cracks and gaps, hopefully allowing the pond to retain its water.

The intention is to later transform it into a swimming pond with a natural plant filter and a waterfall.